Northern Territory Solar Power System Grid Connection Rules & Process

Around 98% of grid-connected NT households have Power and Water as their electricity distribution network operator. In addition to a number of micro-grids, it operates and maintains the Territory’s three main grids:

1. Darwin-Katherine grid: Covers Darwin, Palmerston, and the Darwin rural area. Extends south to include Batchelor, Adelaide River, Pine Creek, and Katherine, with supply extending to Mataranka and Larrimah.
2. Alice Springs grid: This grid supplies Alice Springs and surrounding rural areas.
3. Tennant Creek grid: Supplies Tennant Creek and nearby rural areas.

Power and Water has the following inverter and export limits for standard connections:

Single Phase Vs. Three Phase Power

Properties with three-phase connections are able to draw more power from the grid and export more power to it than those with single-phase connections. Because of this, Power and Water allows three-phase properties to install higher total inverter capacity and export more, but they also have the following requirements:

• If the total inverter capacity is over 5 kW, then three-phase inverters must be used.
• The inverter capacity must be balanced between the phrases.

NT Solar Grid Connection Process

Solar power systems fall within one of four classes in the Northern Territory. Small commercial and home systems are Class 1 and larger commercial systems (inverter size up to 30kW) are Class 2. Larger systems fall into in the Class 3 and 4 categories.

For Class 1 and Class 2 solar power systems, the process for connecting to the mains grid is:

1. Installer Submits The Connection Application

Most residential solar and battery installations fall under Power and Water’s Basic Micro Embedded Generation arrangements. The installer will normally complete and submit the Basic Connection Application using the technical details of the proposed solar/battery system. Power and Water says basic applications can take up to 10 business days to process.

2. Obtain Power And Water Approval And Arrange Meter Changeover/Reconfiguration

If you don’t already have a smart meter, your existing meter will need to be replaced. Your electricity retailer normally arranges the meter changeover. If there is an existing smart meter, they will also arrange its remote reconfiguration so that it will record electricity exports.

3. System Installation And Inspection

Your installer, or a suitably qualified electrical contractor employed by them, installs and tests the approved system, completes the required commissioning information and issues an NT electrical Certificate of Compliance. NT WorkSafe receives a copy of the CoC. Installations may subsequently be selected for compliance auditing.

4. Arrange Solar Buyback With The Retailer

You will need to arrange with your electricity retailer to receive a feed-in tariff for surplus solar electricity your system exports to the grid. Normally, you will first need to provide them with an approved Power and Water connection agreement, and then they will ensure your electricity meter and account are configured for solar.

Remote NT Communities

Remote communities with their own micro-grids, separate from the NT’s three main grids, are treated differently and require pre-approval, as these isolated grids can have very limited capacity to integrate additional rooftop solar.