Sunprint
At a glance
Plug-in solar, also called balcony solar, is a small set of panels with a built-in inverter that plugs into an ordinary wall outlet and feeds power into the circuit, where your appliances use it. SB 868 adds a new chapter to the Public Utilities Code that frees these kits from interconnection rules at investor-owned utilities such as PG&E, SCE and SDG&E and at publicly owned ones such as LADWP, SMUD and IID. It takes effect on January 1, 2027, under the state constitution's rule for regular laws, and its exemptions last until January 1, 2030.
What counts as a plug-in kit under the law
The law calls it a "portable solar generation device". A kit, or several used together, has to meet all six conditions:
- 1,200 watts or less of AC output in total, per home, from all the kits you plug in.
- Plugs into an outlet and can be unplugged: it connects through a receptacle, not hard wiring.
- Meant for your own use, to offset the electricity the home uses.
- Meets the electrical codes: the latest National Electrical Code and the California Electrical Code.
- Certified as a plug-in solar system by UL or an equivalent nationally recognized testing laboratory.
- Shuts itself off in an outage: a certified feature that isolates it from the home's wiring so it can't send power into the grid while the power is out.
A kit that misses any one of them gets none of the law's protections.
What your utility can and can't do
Your utility can't require
- An interconnection application or agreement
- Its approval before you install or use the kit
- Any fee or charge for the kit or the power it feeds into your home
- Extra controls or equipment beyond what's built into the kit
Your utility can ask
- That you tell it about the kit through a simple online form: the address and the kit's make, model and size
- Nothing more: the notice can't be turned into an approval step
The law speaks only to utilities. It doesn't say anything about landlords, homeowners associations or building rules, so a lease or HOA rule may still matter.
The certification catch
The law leans on a safety certification that barely exists yet. According to the Senate's analysis, UL Solutions published a testing and certification framework for plug-in solar in December 2025 and January 2026, under its UL 3700 outline. That framework requires a special, non-standard plug on a dedicated circuit, installed by a professional, which in California means an electrician. The committee wrote that it wasn't aware of any manufacturer whose kit had been certified, and that UL's final standard could take 18 months to a few years.
So the plug-it-into-any-outlet kit many people picture may not qualify for some time. That's why the utilities and the electrical contractors opposed the bill: they worried about overloaded circuits, fire and shock risks, and crews working on lines during outages. The outage shut-off in the sixth condition is aimed at that last risk.
If your home already has rooftop solar on net metering, the analysis also warns that adding a plug-in kit may sit in a gray area under your interconnection agreement.
What a kit makes, and what that's worth
What a 1,200-watt kit makes in a year
A kit hanging straight down from a railing catches far less sun than panels tilted toward the sky: about 1,170 to 1,190 kWh a year facing south, against 1,980 to 2,050 kWh propped at an angle. Every kWh the home uses as it's made is one you don't buy. Outside the 4 to 9 p.m. peak, PG&E's standard E-TOU-C plan charges 36.8 to 39.9 cents a kWh and SCE's TOU-D-4-9PM 32 to 33 cents, so at 32 to 40 cents a south-facing balcony kit is worth about $370 to $480 a year, and an angled one about $630 to $820, if all of it is used in the home.
That's a big if. A kit makes most of its power around midday, and anything the home isn't using at that moment flows out to the grid. The law sets no credit for that power. The bill's supporters put the savings at $400 to $500 a year for a small apartment, 14 to 20% of its use. Our California cost guide shows what full rooftop systems cost by comparison.
Key dates
Utah's HB 340 lets plug-in solar run without utility approval, the first state law of its kind, according to the Senate analysis.
73 to 0 in the Assembly, after 35 to 1 in the Senate in May.
Chapter 985, Statutes of 2026.
California laws passed in a regular session without an urgency clause start on the January 1 after a 90-day wait.
The no-approval, no-fee rules expire unless the Legislature extends them, and plug-in kits that don't meet the code, certification and outage rules can no longer be sold in California.
What a free quote call gets you
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See what solar could save you
About a minute, and no phone number needed. If the number looks good, a free quote call gets you the exact price.
Common questions
Is plug-in solar legal in California?
California's SB 868, signed September 30, 2026, takes effect January 1, 2027. It exempts plug-in solar kits that meet its conditions from utility interconnection rules, approval and fees until January 1, 2030. A kit must be 1,200 watts or less per home, plug into an outlet, meet the electrical codes, be certified for plug-in use by UL or an equivalent lab and shut itself off in a power outage.
When does California's plug-in solar law take effect?
January 1, 2027. SB 868 was signed on September 30, 2026, and under the California Constitution a regular law without an urgency clause takes effect on the January 1 after a 90-day wait. Its exemptions end on January 1, 2030 unless the Legislature extends them.
How many watts of balcony solar can I plug in?
Up to 1,200 watts of AC output in total per home, from all the plug-in kits you use together.
Do I have to tell my utility about a plug-in solar kit?
Your utility may ask you to register it through a simple online form with your address and the kit's make, model and size. It can't make that an approval step, and it can't charge a fee or require extra equipment.
Can I buy a kit that qualifies today?
Maybe not yet. When the bill passed, the Senate analysis said the committee wasn't aware of any manufacturer whose kit had been certified for plug-in use, and UL's current framework requires a special outlet on a dedicated circuit installed by an electrician. Only certified kits get the law's exemptions.
What happens in 2030?
On January 1, 2030, the exemptions end unless the Legislature extends them, and plug-in solar kits that don't meet the code, certification and outage-shutoff conditions can no longer be sold in California.
How much can a plug-in solar kit save?
A 1,200-watt kit hanging on a south-facing railing makes about 1,170 to 1,190 kWh a year in California, in NREL's model, worth about $370 to $480 at 32 to 40 cents a kWh if the home uses all of it. Power the home doesn't use at that moment goes to the grid, and the law sets no credit for it.
Related guides
- California solar calculator
- California solar laws
- DIY solar in California
- Solar panel cost in California
- Community solar in California
- Solar batteries in California
This guide explains the law's text; it isn't legal advice. Output figures are NREL model estimates for typical setups, not a measurement of any kit. Sources: SB 868, chaptered text (Chapter 985, Statutes of 2026) · SB 868, Senate Floor Analysis, September 22, 2026 · California Constitution, Article IV, section 8 · NREL PVWatts. Reviewed November 2026.
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