Connecting your solar or diesel generation

A growing number of people are installing equipment at their home or business to generate power for their own use. They may also export surplus power back into our network. This equipment can include: solar panels, wind or micro-hydro turbines and diesel generators.

Approving your generator for connection to our network

For those applications 10kW or less, our aim is to have your approval within five working days.  Larger solar and diesel applications may take 10 working days.

Connecting to the Orion network requires: 

  1. A licenced electrician to complete wiring and electrical documentation.
  2. A licensed inspector is to complete a record of inspection (ROI).
  3. An approved inverter. An inverter is an electrical device that transfers energy from the solar panels to your house supply. The inverter has built-in electrical protection systems that keep you and electrical workers safe.
  4. Information on the size of your energy system. This allows us to manage network congestion of surplus energy.

The Electricity Authority provides information on the rights and responsibilities of a person or organisation wanting to connect a distributed generation system to an electricity network and the network provider. Part 6 of the Electricity Authority Code, Connection of Distributed Generation.

Information guides

Please select from the below generation guides that explain what you need to do to connect your power generation equipment to our network:

Generation type

Guide/application

Solar
Home/business
15kW or less

Review information and apply online

Solar
Business
15kW or more

Complete and email the pdf application

Diesel
Business
15kW or more

Complete and email the pdf application

Compliant inverters

Please check this pre-approved list of compliant inverters to see if your chosen inverter is included. If your inverter is not on this list, you will need to supply a copy of the specifications and a current certificate of suitability to AS/NZS 4777 with your application.

For further information, please contact us on 03 363 9731 or email us.