Home › Do I need a licence?
Interactive
Do I need a licence?
Four questions at most. It tells you which instrument you need, which form to file, what it costs and how long it takes. It is guidance, not a decision of the Authority.
Licence checker
Question 1
Is your plant connected to the national grid?
It is about the national grid, and nothing else.
YES, connected — electricity from your plant can go into the national grid, or into the network of a distribution company, which is part of the national grid. For example:
• you are on net metering with your distribution company;
• you have an arrangement to sell your surplus to the distribution company or into the grid;
• your plant runs in parallel with the utility supply and power can flow back out through that connection.
NO, not connected — two situations people often mistake for connection, and neither of them is:
• You take a supply from the distribution company for your own use. Backup, or to cover load your plant cannot carry. Nearly every factory has this. Electricity only travels in. That is an ordinary consumer connection.
• You sell power to another business over your own wire. That never touches the national grid at all. It is a SEPRA matter, and this checker will tell you which licence it needs. Keep going.
YES, connected — electricity from your plant can go into the national grid, or into the network of a distribution company, which is part of the national grid. For example:
• you are on net metering with your distribution company;
• you have an arrangement to sell your surplus to the distribution company or into the grid;
• your plant runs in parallel with the utility supply and power can flow back out through that connection.
NO, not connected — two situations people often mistake for connection, and neither of them is:
• You take a supply from the distribution company for your own use. Backup, or to cover load your plant cannot carry. Nearly every factory has this. Electricity only travels in. That is an ordinary consumer connection.
• You sell power to another business over your own wire. That never touches the national grid at all. It is a SEPRA matter, and this checker will tell you which licence it needs. Keep going.
Who will actually consume the electricity you generate?
If more than one applies, choose the largest part of what you propose. You can run the checker again for the rest.
How will the electricity physically reach them?
This is what decides whether you also need a distribution licence.
Why this matters. One dedicated line to one buyer is a dedicated supply line, not a distribution system, so no distribution licence arises. The moment a network serves several buyers under several contracts, it is a distribution system and the licence follows.
What to file
Draft fee and indicative time
Where a fee or period is shown, it comes from a draft instrument that has not yet been notified and is not yet enforceable.
Why this is the answer
Your answers
This is guidance, not a decision
Written pre-application guidance from the facilitation desk is free, arrives within five working days, and is marked advisory. Ask the desk, or see how the model works.