Plug-in solar in Connecticut: questions and answers
Last checked September 25, 2026
Answers below come from the text of Public Act 26-127 itself. Where the act does not answer a question, the entry says that the act does not answer it, rather than filling the gap with what a reasonable reading might be.
Questions
- Is plug-in solar legal in Connecticut?
Yes, since 1 October 2026. Public Act 26-127 created a category called a "portable solar generation device", and Section 9 says a device meeting its nine conditions is exempt from interconnection requirements and cannot be blocked by your electric distribution company. The nine conditions are the catch: the act legalises a specific kind of device, not plug-in solar in general.
- How large a system does Connecticut allow?
A maximum power output of 1,200 watts. The act does not say whether that is measured as the inverter’s AC output or the panels’ DC nameplate rating, and it has no clause equivalent to the "to the receptacle outlet" wording that settles the point in some other states. A kit with 1,600 watts of panels behind an 800-watt inverter therefore has no clear answer under the text, and we will not invent one.
- Do I need approval from Eversource or United Illuminating?
No. Section 9(c) says no electric distribution company shall require a customer using a portable solar generation device to obtain its approval before installing or using the system, pay any fee or charge related to the system other than charges the system incurs through its use, or install any controls or equipment beyond what is built into the system. PURA regulates exactly two such companies in Connecticut: Eversource (legally The Connecticut Light and Power Company) and United Illuminating.
- Do I need an interconnection agreement?
No, for a conforming device. Section 9(b) exempts it from any interconnection-agreement requirement imposed by a PURA regulation or decision. Note what that exemption is measured against: PURA’s own rules. It does not by its terms reach a utility’s separate terms of service, so reading your utility’s tariff is still worth the half hour.
- My electricity comes from Wallingford, Norwich, Groton or Bozrah. Does this apply to me?
We do not know, and we will not guess. Those four are municipal utilities. PURA describes itself as regulating Connecticut’s two investor-owned electric distribution companies, which does not include them — and Section 9(b) exempts a device only from PURA’s requirements, while Section 9(c) is addressed to an "electric distribution company". Whether that statutory term nevertheless covers a municipal utility is a question about Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 16-1, which this act does not restate and which we have not read. Ask your utility directly.
- Can I install two of them?
No. Both the interconnection exemption in Section 9(b) and the restriction on utilities in Section 9(c) are conditioned on "not more than one such device may be used behind a customer’s electric meter". A second device puts you outside the provision that made the first one exempt.
- What certification does Connecticut require?
Certification by Underwriters Laboratories or an equivalent nationally recognized testing laboratory, meeting UL Standard 1741. That is the inverter standard. It is not UL 3700, the plug-in photovoltaic system standard that Vermont, New Jersey and Maine name and that many plug-in kits advertise. A kit listed to UL 3700 does not automatically satisfy Connecticut, and a kit whose inverter is listed to UL 1741 does not automatically satisfy those states.
- What happens to electricity I generate but do not use?
You are billed for it as though you had consumed it, unless you have a meter that allows net metering. Connecticut does not merely permit this — the act requires the device itself to carry a warning saying so. The practical consequence is that oversizing a system in Connecticut costs money rather than just wasting output, so the question to ask before buying is how much you draw during daylight hours, not how much roof or railing you have.
- Will it keep my lights on during a power cut?
No, and the act requires that. A conforming device must include a device or feature that prevents the system from energizing the building’s electrical system during a power outage. That is a safety requirement — it keeps a plugged-in panel from putting voltage on lines that a utility crew believes are dead — and it is a condition of the exemption, not an optional feature.
- Can I mount it permanently on my balcony or roof?
Not and still be a "portable solar generation device". The first condition in the definition is that the device is not permanently affixed to a structure. Section 9(b) also states outright that nothing in the section exempts a device from the State Building Code, the Fire Safety Code, the State Fire Prevention Code, or any local ordinance or regulation. We do not publish mounting or wiring instructions; follow the manufacturer’s manual and your local building official.
- What if I rent, or live under a homeowners association?
The act is silent. It contains no occurrence of "tenant", "landlord", "condominium", "common interest", "covenant" or "unit owner" anywhere in its forty pages. Your lease and your association’s rules are unaffected by it, and it gives you nothing to cite against them.
- Does Connecticut say anything about batteries in a plug-in system?
Not in Section 9. The act deals with energy storage at length elsewhere — in its tariff and distribution-benefit provisions — but Section 9 contains no occurrence of "batter" or "storage" at all. So Connecticut regulates storage, just not as part of a portable solar device, and a kit with a battery is not addressed either way.
- Are these rules likely to change?
The code requirements around them are expected to. Section 10 of the same act directs the State Building Inspector and the Codes and Standards Committee, and separately the State Fire Marshal, to consider provisions ensuring the safe installation of these devices in the next amendments to the State Building Code and the Fire Safety Code. Those amendments were not adopted when we last checked. Anything we record about Connecticut is dated, and the change log lists every revision with its source.
The short version
| Status | Enacted |
|---|---|
| Size limit | 1,200 W — but the law does not say whether that is measured as AC inverter output or DC panel rating |
| Certification | NRTL listing required |
| In force from | October 1, 2026 |
Sources and verification
Statute / bill text: Conn. Public Act No. 26-127, Sec. 9 (H.B. 5340, 2026 Feb. Sess.)
Other primary sources:
- Public Act 26-127 — full text (cga.ct.gov, canonical)
- Public Act 26-127 — same text on the CGA search host (mirror of record)
- CGA — HB 5340 bill status (2026 session)
Last checked: September 25, 2026 by Claude Code, from primary sources (pending owner review)
This is not legal advice. Rules change, and utilities apply them differently. Confirm the current requirements with your utility and the state authority before installing anything.