Summary
Connecticut lawmakers are weighing a proposal that would make it easier for residents to use plug-in solar panels, often marketed as “balcony” or portable systems, in hopes of lowering electric bills as costs rise.
House Bill 5340 would allow customers to install and use plug-in solar panels with an output of up to 1,200 watts without getting approval from their local electric utility, as long as the devices comply with Connecticut’s building code and meet safety and consumer-protection requirements. Lawmakers are also drawing on experiences from other states and countries where similar systems have been adopted with fewer regulatory hurdles.
While Connecticut does not have a law that explicitly bans plug-in solar panels, experts have said interconnection agreements and unclear regulations have effectively slowed widespread use. Under the bill’s approach, customers would still be required to follow safety provisions, including testing and certification by a national product-safety group such as UL Solutions.
Supporters said the devices can produce enough electricity to cover meaningful household loads. Connor Yakaitis, deputy director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, backed the bill and said, “The advantages are for the consumer, for one, you’re able to charge or power some of your biggest (appliances) like a refrigerator,” adding, “I think it ties in very well to energy efficiency,” and that awareness of generated power can make customers more mindful about how much they use.
The legislation has moved through the state’s Energy and Technology Committee, passing out last week on a party-line vote. Republicans’ stated objections were described as focusing on other provisions of the bill rather than on whether plug-in solar should be legal.
Even with bipartisan interest in the concept, utility officials and regulators have raised concerns about how the systems would interact with existing electrical setups and metering. In written testimony earlier this month, Andrew Belden, Eversource’s vice president of renewable programs and strategy, said anti-tampering features on many utility meters would not recognize excess electricity that unregistered panels might feed back onto the grid, which he said could lead to customers being charged for additional power they produce.
An Eversource spokesperson said Monday that the utility was not aware of any customers who had sought permission to use plug-in solar devices. United Illuminating did not weigh in on the plug-in solar provisions of the bill, and a spokesperson for the company did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
To address those safety issues, the bill would require plug-in devices to conform to the state building code and undergo testing and certification, such as through UL Solutions. While the company said it began a certification process for plug-in solar in January, the report said it has not yet approved systems for the U.S. market.
The push is also being driven by demand from consumers who have been able to buy systems online. Much of the attention, the report said, has focused on Bright Saver, a California nonprofit that began shipping limited numbers of small solar systems to customers last year, and that has advocated for changes to allow plug-in solar in states including Connecticut.
Bright Saver cofounder Cora Stryker said the organization halted its initial pilot after what she described as pushback from utility officials and currently ships only to existing solar customers in California, which she said are outside the devices’ “regulatory gray area.” She also said Bright Saver plans to resume shipping its smaller kits in states that have authorized their use and told lawmakers, “We are just trying to knock down the barriers, because we know people want this stuff and we want them to be safe and installing certified systems.”
State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, who co-chairs the Energy and Technology Committee, said lawmakers are trying to catch up as plug-in solar generates sudden interest. “There’s a general consensus that this is becoming popular, but we’re not all convinced the safety standards are being met,” Steinberg said, adding that state agencies and utility regulators are reviewing the proposal.
Steinberg said representatives from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the state’s Office of Consumer Counsel, and the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority met with lawmakers on Tuesday to discuss the bill, and that officials at each agency called for further analysis before lawmakers open the door to plug-in solar. He said lawmakers could approve a legislative study as a fallback, which could delay passage of a new law for at least a year, but added that there is hope of working out details before the Legislature adjourns in early May.
“We want to be able to do this, we really do,” Steinberg said. “But we’re not sure we’re there yet.”