Regulator Reveals Key Lesson From Sigenergy’s Melted Plugs

The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) has revealed it warned manufacturers and installers to provide early notification of product risks, after reviewing the spate of melted Sigenergy inverter plugs last year.

In its latest quarterly compliance update for schemes including the Renewable Energy Target, the CER detailed how it had looked into lessons from the SigenStor issues that led to a spate of melted plugs, a small fire and the mass throttling of inverters, as first reported by SolarQuotes.

“In reviewing the learnings from this incident, we have written to all manufacturers and installers to emphasise the requirement for early notification of systemic risks to ensure that these can be assessed and referred to the appropriate regulatory authority. Where a manufacturer fails to notify, we will not hesitate to use our compliance powers to remove participants from the scheme,” the CER statement read.

Faults Must Be Reported Without Delay

The update also included the release of a letter sent to manufacturers in late November, calling for potential safety issues to be reported swiftly in order to protect consumer safety and maintain public confidence in the Cheaper Home Batteries Program.

“Recent incidents, such as the overheating and damage to AC plugs in some inverters, demonstrate that serious risks can arise when faults are not escalated swiftly. While state and territory regulators, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the manufacturer have worked to address the issue, this case underscores the need for manufacturers and industry participants to act decisively including early and proactive notification when faults are identified,” the letter read.

The CER added that all manufacturers must escalate any known or suspected systemic faults or safety risks without delay to appropriate state and territory electrical safety and consumer protection regulators, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the CER.

A product recall was issued in November for Sigenergy’s single phase 8/10/12kW energy controllers that include quick connect AC plugs requiring ferrules and crimping.

As part of its response Sigenergy offered customers free replacement energy controllers with an updated AC plug, although some system owners have been kept waiting for extended periods, with the recall coinciding with a hectic Christmas period for installers.

A New Register To Escalate Issues

The CER letter detailed that a register of significant events across the distributed energy system would be established to ensure issues can be escalated efficiently.

“While our preference is to work collaboratively with manufacturers and regulators to resolve issues, we retain the authority to remove a product from the list of accredited components under the SRES (Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme) where serious or unresolved safety concerns exist. We will be tightening our regulatory stance, and the timely notification of systemic issues will be a key consideration in our review of events in the future. We will not hesitate to take action if necessary to protect consumers and uphold the integrity of the scheme. We thank the installers and industry members who have been proactive in raising concerns,” the letter read.

Installers Face Additional Requirements

Installers have been warned over mistakes around home battery labelling.

The quarterly update also detailed another letter sent out to installers in December, which noted that the overheating and damage to plugs “demonstrate that serious risks can arise when faults are not escalated swiftly”.

This letter however primarily focused on common installation issues for solar batteries in general – including incorrect labelling for system shutdown and isolation procedures, and missing emergency services labels.

The CER emphasised that installers found to have three or more adverse inspection findings or instances where Australian Standards have not been met will be removed from the scheme.

The regulator noted additional requirements would be imposed in early 2026, requiring installers to take geotagged and timestamped photographs of key labels and signage for each installation, and submit these photographs as part of compliance paperwork.

“These photographs will complement existing mandatory on-site verification photos and may be audited by the CER at any time. Failure to comply will result in failed STC claims and compliance action,” the letter to installers read.

In an article for SolarQuotes last year, electrical inspector Pat Southwell detailed how homeowers can check their battery installer’s labelling.

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