| Size (Watts) (measured at microinverter) | Requirements | YVEA Response |
|---|---|---|
| 392W or fewer | Anti-islanding capabilities, component specific UL listings (solar panels, inverters, etc.) | Allowed starting August 12, 2026 - no Interconnection Agreement - member shall complete a notification form |
| 392W to 1920W | UL 3700 - total system UL listing - still in outline of investigation phase, fully listed products not expected to be ready until 2027 at the earliest. | Allowed starting August 12, 2026 - no Interconnection Agreement - member shall complete notification form |
| 1920W or greater | Not considered plug in solar, held to different standard | Requires DER Interconnection Application |
Plug in Solar, sometimes referred to as balcony solar is a technology that achieves exactly what it sounds like. A small solar array, often portable, that is capable of plugging directly into a wall receptacle. They are intended to offset a small portion of electrical consumption, or store energy in a battery for backup power or arbitrage.
Colorado House Bill 26-1007 allows home and business owners to install plug-in solar systems up to 1,920 watts, measured by the AC nameplate rating of the microinverter, without completing a utility interconnection agreement. The bill also allows utilities, including YVEA, to require members to notify us when a plug-in solar system is installed. This notification is important because plug-in solar systems can export energy back to the grid during periods of strong sunlight and low on-site energy use. Although YVEA meters can physically handle exported energy, our billing system is designed primarily to bill for energy delivered to a home or business. Without proper notification, exported energy may be summed together with regular usage, which could result in an inaccurate bill when the member ends electric service.
We have created this notification form for our members to notify us if they’ve installed plug in solar. Upon completion of this form, you can be confident that any exported energy up to 1920 Watts will be dropped out of your billing calculation. Any export value greater than 1920 Watts without a Net Metering / Interconnection Agreement would violate our rules and regulations, and may result in a disconnect of service.
YVEA has an export limit rule set at 10kW for residential services, and 25kW for all other service types. So long as your exported kW to YVEA’s system doesn’t exceed that value, you may expand on. We will still require notification of the presence of a plug in solar device with this form.
Plug in solar is capable of “exporting” to the grid during times of high solar irradiance, and low electrical consumption. This exported energy needs to be accounted for in our billing software. Upon notification that a plug in solar device is present, YVEA will assure that no exported energy is inadvertently summed alongside regular energy consumption.
No. Devices under 1920W will not receive credit for any exported kWh to YVEA’s system. Devices larger than this will require a traditional net metering / interconnection agreement.
Depending on the size and complexity of the system, an electrician may be necessary for installation. For devices larger than 392 Watts, we expect UL 3700 will require a dedicated circuit from your breaker box.
While individual components of a plug-in solar systems (panels, wiring, microinverters) have their own UL listings, UL 3700 is intended to serve as a system wide listing. This listing will be necessary to prevent the known safety hazards found in this whitepaper. Currently, YVEA is not aware of any UL 3700 listed products on the market.
We feel that the safety hazards are well represented in this whitepaper.