The government has made a targeted amendment to two existing sets of safety rules to create a legal framework for plug-in solar devices using a standard socket. According to the statutory instrument made on 16 July 2026, laid before Parliament on 17 July 2026 and due to come into force on 27 August 2026, the changes sit within the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 and the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002. The Secretary of State made the instrument under section 29 of the Electricity Act 1989 and section 11 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987. The preamble records that representative organisations and other relevant persons were consulted for the consumer protection element. The Regulations were signed by Martin McCluskey, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
At product level, the 1994 plug safety rules are amended so a notified body may approve a standard plug intended for a plug-in microgenerator even where it does not conform to BS 1363 in one specific respect. The instrument says approval is possible where BS 1363 itself contains a provision that prohibits or restricts the use of the plug for the connection of an electricity-generating device to a socket-outlet. That exception is tightly drawn. The plug must still conform to BS 1363 in all other respects, it must comply with the Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification, and the notified body, in effect an authorised third-party conformity assessor, must be satisfied through inspection or sample testing that the manufacturer can keep production consistent with the approved design. The change therefore preserves the existing plug safety regime while allowing a limited carve-out for this product category.
The instrument gives 'plug-in microgenerator' a narrow statutory meaning. The device must generate electricity from the direct conversion of sunlight, have a maximum rated alternating current output of no more than 800 watts, connect to a low-voltage consumer installation by means of a standard plug and socket, and operate in parallel with a distributor's network. The definition also excludes a broader storage function. The device must not be designed to import electrical energy from a low-voltage consumer installation for later supply, except for control or auxiliary functions permitted by the interim specification. In practical terms, the Regulations are aimed at small plug-in solar units rather than general-purpose battery products or larger generation systems connected through fixed wiring.
The electricity safety amendment is equally important because it moves the interim specification from product approval into installation and operational law. The 2002 Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations are amended to insert the same definitions and to change regulation 22(1)(c). Under the revised wording, where a source of energy forms part of a low-voltage consumer installation it must comply with British Standard Requirements, but where the source of energy is a plug-in microgenerator it may comply instead with the Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification. The explanatory note states that the effect is that a plug-in microgenerator must not be installed or operated unless it complies with that specification.
The legislative design is notable. Rather than rewriting BS 1363 itself in this instrument, ministers have created a route under which a notified body can approve a plug that departs from the standard only because the standard currently blocks socket-connected generation. The operational rule then points back to the same interim specification. That gives government a way to authorise a limited product class without reopening the wider domestic plug standard in full. The use of an interim product specification also indicates that the framework is provisional rather than fully settled. Version 2 of the specification is named directly in the Regulations and dated 16 July 2026, so compliance is tied to a published government document identified on the face of the law. For manufacturers and conformity assessment bodies, that creates a clear reference point, but it also means approval work will depend on the contents of that specification rather than on plug standards alone.
For consumers, the immediate point is that the instrument does not make every imported or online 'plug-in solar' device lawful by default. The legal route applies only to products that fall within the statutory definition, use an approved plug type and comply with the interim specification. The 800-watt ceiling is part of the legal definition, not a marketing label, and the exclusion of general energy import for storage narrows the kinds of devices that can qualify. The territorial coverage is also split. Regulation 2, which amends the 1994 plug safety rules, extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Regulation 3, which amends the 2002 electricity safety rules, extends only to England and Wales and Scotland. On the face of the instrument, that means the product approval change is UK-wide, while the installation and operation amendment under the 2002 Regulations does not extend to Northern Ireland.
For manufacturers, the main compliance question is no longer whether a socket-connected solar unit can be marketed in broad terms, but whether the specific plug design can obtain approval and whether production controls are strong enough to show ongoing conformity with tested samples. For distributors and network operators, the Regulations define the permitted device class as one designed to operate in parallel with the network, which gives a clearer legal basis for judging safety expectations at the low-voltage level. The explanatory note states that a full impact assessment is available from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and published alongside an Explanatory Memorandum on legislation.gov.uk. That points to expected cost and implementation effects for business and the public sector, even though the legal amendment itself is narrowly framed. From 27 August 2026, the regulatory position is clearer than before: plug-in solar is being brought inside the formal safety regime, but only through a bounded approval route and only by reference to a government-issued specification.