Quick answer
Find the network operator for any Winsford address with the Energy Networks Association’s postcode search. Systems with an inverter up to 16 A per phase, 3.68 kW on a single-phase supply, are fitted first and notified within 28 days under G98. Larger systems, including panels plus a battery over that limit, need G99 approval before connection.
Why the network needs to know
When panels on a roof make more electricity than the house is using, the surplus flows out through the meter into the cables under the street. The local distribution network was built to carry electricity towards homes, not away from them, so the company that runs it needs to know where generation is connected. That lets it keep voltages within limits, protect people working on the lines and plan for more connections in the same area.
The company concerned is the network operator for your area. It is not the same as your electricity supplier. The supplier sells you electricity and buys any exports; the operator owns the wires and substations, whichever supplier you use.
Finding the operator for a Winsford address
The Energy Networks Association runs a postcode search that tells you which network operator covers any address in Great Britain (find my network operator). Enter the postcode of the house rather than assuming from the town, because operator areas do not follow council boundaries. The firm doing the work will use the same search, and its notification or application goes to whichever operator it shows.
G98: fit first, then notify
Most home systems use the G98 route. It applies where the generating equipment’s output is no more than 16 A per phase. On the ordinary single-phase supply that most houses have, that works out at 3.68 kW of inverter capacity. Within that limit, the system goes in and starts working, and the firm has 28 days from commissioning to tell the network operator, with the details of the equipment and where it is.
What counts is the inverter’s rating, not the total of the panels. It is common for a roof’s panels to add up to rather more than the inverter, because panels rarely produce their full rated output in British conditions. A 4 kWp array on a 3.68 kW inverter can therefore still fall within G98. For a sense of scale, a 3.68 kWp system on an unshaded south roof at 35° in Winsford would make about 3,512 kWh a year in the PVGIS model (PVGIS 5.3; more on what panels make in Winsford).
What goes into a notification
A G98 notification is a short technical form, but it ties the system to the property for good, so it is worth knowing what it records. It identifies the address and the meter point, the reference number printed on electricity bills. It lists the inverter by make, model and rated output, along with any other generating or storage equipment, and gives the date the system was commissioned. It names the firm that installed it. The operator files it against the property, which is why a later buyer, or a firm adding a battery, can ask for it. If you receive a copy, keep it with the MCS certificate rather than in an inbox that may not last as long as the panels.
G99: apply first, then connect
Above the G98 limit, the G99 route applies. The firm sends an application to the operator before any connection is made, describing the equipment, its capacity and how the system will behave. The operator studies its effect on the local network and replies. The answer may be a straightforward approval, an approval with a cap on how much the system may export, or a statement that the network would need work, with the cost and timing. The system must not be connected until the approval is in hand.
Larger home systems, systems on three-phase supplies above the per-phase limit, and many combinations of panels with a battery fall under G99. Because the wait for a decision varies, ask the firm early whether your proposal is likely to need it, and build that time into the plan.
When the local network is the limit
Each part of the network can only take so much generation before voltages start to rise outside the permitted range. In streets where many homes already export, or on long rural lines, an operator assessing a G99 application may say the full proposed export cannot be accepted without reinforcement. The usual answer for a home is to cap the export, which lets the system be connected straight away and leaves most of the household’s own use unaffected. Systems within the G98 limit are small enough that the operator does not assess them in advance, which is one reason the threshold exists.
Batteries and the combined total
A battery that can discharge to the grid counts as generation. The operator therefore looks at the combined capacity of the solar inverter and the battery’s inverter, or of a single hybrid inverter that handles both. A 3.68 kW solar inverter plus a battery inverter of a few kW will usually take a home over the G98 limit, so the G99 route applies unless the design limits what can be exported. Batteries in Winsford covers storage in more detail.
Export limitation
Export limitation is a control that stops a system sending more than a set figure to the grid, whatever its size. It allows a larger array or a battery to be connected where the network, or the G98 threshold, would otherwise be a constraint. The operator has to accept the arrangement, which is described in the application. For the household it means some surplus may be held back on the sunniest days, so the export figures in a quote should allow for the limit.
Adding to an existing system
A system that is extended later, with more panels or a battery, is judged on its new total. A house whose original 3 kWp system went through G98 may need a G99 application when a battery is added. The firm doing the addition should check the earlier paperwork, work out the combined capacity and make the right submission. Keep copies of both.
Flats and three-phase supplies
Blocks of flats and some larger houses have three-phase supplies. The 16 A threshold applies to each phase, so the capacity that fits under G98 is larger, but a system sized for a whole block will often still need G99. Flats and solar covers who arranges panels on a block.
The meter and the export tariff
Grid connection and export payments are separate. The network operator deals with the connection; the electricity supplier pays for exports through an export tariff under the SEG scheme, which needs an MCS certificate and a meter that records exports (Ofgem; MCS). Ask your supplier about a suitable meter before the panels go on, so exports are counted from the first day. Export and self-use explains the tariff side.
What to ask about the connection
- Which route applies to this design, G98 or G99, and on what figures?
- For a G99 case, when does the application go in, and how does a slow reply change the dates?
- Is export limitation proposed, and at what figure?
- Can I have the operator’s acknowledgement or approval for my own records?
- If I add a battery later, what would that mean for the connection?
These questions sit alongside the wider checks on choosing an installer. If you rent, the owner must agree before any of this begins; see who decides. For anything else about your own home, use the question form.