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The Electricity Authority wants to double the amount of power able to be exported to local networks from small-scale solar, wind and solar farms, as well as larger distributed generators.
The authority said some of the rules covering distributed generation were outdated and needed to be changed to keep pace with modern solar and battery systems installed in homes and businesses.
Authority general manager Tim Sparks said lines companies had wide discretion to set limits on how much electricity can be supplied, or exported, to their networks.
"Our concern is that low export limits are an inefficient use of electricity," Sparks said.
"This electricity could be put to better use by supporting the wider network and benefitting all New Zealanders."
He said the authority was seeking feedback on proposed rule changes, aimed at increasing the amount of electricity distributed generators can supply to networks at any given time.
"We think the current rules are outdated and encourage distributors to set limits that are a bit too conservative and unnecessarily restrict the amount of electricity that can be exported to the local network," Sparks said.
"So we're proposing a default 10 kilowatt export limit for small scale generation like rooftop solar, and that's double the typical size at the moment.
"Currently, most lines companies use a 5kW (kilowatts) export limit for residential solar on homes and businesses.
"However, at least one lines company has recently increased its limit to 10kW, and we think others can do the same," Sparks said.
The authority was proposing a default 10kW export limit for small-scale generation, such as residential solar, with lines companies adopting a standard assessment method if a limit lower than 10kW was needed.
The authority also wanted the industry to develop an assessment method for setting export limits for larger generation, such as solar and wind farms.
"We want people who have invested in distributed generation to get a better return on their investment by being able to export more electricity," Sparks said.
"This may also encourage more people to invest and install larger systems that both meet their own needs and have extra capacity for export to support networks."
