ESB calls itself a utility working “right across the electricity market: from generation, through transmission and distribution, to supply”. It runs those jobs as separate businesses. The ones that touch a home solar job do very different things.
ESB Networks handles the grid connection. A system up to 6 kVA single phase costs nothing to register. ESB Networks also states it has “no function in qualifying equipment or installers”. Electric Ireland, another of ESB's businesses, does sell and fit solar PV, from about €6,800 before the SEAI grant, and it pays 19.5c per kWh for exported power. The grant comes from SEAI.
The ESB Businesses That Touch a Solar Job
ESB was set up as a statutory corporation under the Electricity (Supply) Act 1927. The Irish Government owns most of it, holding 97.7 per cent. The other 2.3 per cent sits with the trustees of an Employee Share Ownership Plan. ESB lists its businesses as ESB Networks, Electric Ireland, ecars, Generation and Trading, and ESB Telecoms.
| Business | What it does for your solar | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| ESB Networks | Registers the system and connects it to the grid | Nothing, under inform and fit |
| Electric Ireland | Sells and fits panels; pays for your export | From about €6,800 before grant |
What ESB Networks Does, and What It Says It Does Not Do
ESB Networks handles the connection. Its microgeneration guidance is clear about the limits of that job. On kit and installers it says: “ESB Networks have no function in qualifying equipment or installers.” On money it says: “ESB Networks DAC are not responsible for the purchase or sale of any electricity. This is a matter for a customer and their electricity supplier.”
So ESB Networks is the wrong place to ask whether a panel brand is fine, or whether a company is any good. SEAI keeps the registered company list. SEAI also says it “does not approve, guarantee, or warranty a company or their works”. You can still check a company yourself, and how to vet a solar installer sets out what to look at.
What ESB Networks does do is register the system and set your export capacity.
- Connection is free at house scale. ESB Networks says there is no charge to connect a micro-generator “provided it is Micro-Generation which can be connected under the 'inform and fit' process i.e. up to 6kVA single phase or 11kVA three phase”.
- The inverter sets the limit, not the panels. Single-phase systems need an inverter rated at 25A, about 6 kVA. Three-phase systems need 16A per phase, about 11 kVA. ESB Networks adds that the inverter “limits output to these levels even if additional generation is installed behind it”. See the maximum solar system size in Ireland for what happens above that.
- Your standing charge does not change. ESB Networks says the bill may fall, because you draw less from the network. But “there is no change to your standing charge which remains the same”.
The ESB Step That Comes Before Anyone Goes on Your Roof
The grid application comes before the install, not after it.
SEAI says your installer “must apply to ESB Networks to connect your solar PV system to the electricity network, before installing the system”. It adds that this “usually takes at least 4 weeks / 20 working days”. ESB Networks describes the same window from its side. You may not connect a micro-generator unless ESB Networks has had the application and has not objected within 20 business days. Where the application is correct, the Maximum Export Capacity is issued within 20 working days.
- You can complete and submit the NC6 notification form yourself. ESB Networks says it is usually best for your installer or electrician to fill it out, because the form contains technical questions.
- If a past installer never submitted it, you do not have to track that company down. ESB Networks says you “can contact any registered solar installer to complete and submit it on your behalf”.
- On a new build the order is stricter. ESB Networks wants the application approved and the house connected to the grid first. Only then can the microgenerator be connected in parallel and switched on. Our new build solar grant guide covers the rest.
For a microgeneration query, ESB Networks gives one email address: networkservicesbureau@esb.ie.
Can You Buy Solar Panels From the ESB?
Through Electric Ireland, yes. Its solar PV page says the cost “ranges in price from approximately €6,800 upwards before the SEAI grant is applied”. What you pay depends on panel count and extras, such as a hot water diverter.
Two things about that offer are worth knowing before you fill in the form. First, Electric Ireland is not the company that rings you. Its own form notice says the data “will be securely transferred to Ohk Energy to allow them to call you and discuss the offer with you”. Second, the battery is a Dyness. It carries a 7 year warranty, which you can extend to 10 years by registering with the maker.
Electric Ireland also does the ESB Networks paperwork as part of the job. It lists “submission of NC6 form to ESB Networks” among what the install includes. SEAI puts that same duty on every registered solar PV company. For the pricing, see the Electric Ireland solar panels offer.
Electric Ireland's grant FAQ says homes “built and occupied before 2021” can apply. It puts the grant at “€900 per kWp up to 2 kWp and €300 for every additional kWp up to 4kWp”. Both figures have moved. SEAI's live page says the house must have been built and occupied before 2025. It pays €700 per kWp up to 2 kWp, then €200 for each extra kWp up to 4 kWp. On SEAI's figures a 2 kWp system draws €1,400. Check SEAI's own grant page, not a quote.
Who Pays You for Exported Electricity
Your electricity supplier pays you. ESB Networks says plainly that this is not its job. Registering your export capacity is what lets ESB Networks record your export quantities, or work out deemed quantities, and pass those on to your supplier. Once your Maximum Export Capacity is in place, ESB Networks tells you to “contact your electricity supplier or billing company to discuss payment arrangements”.
Electric Ireland pays 19.5c per kWh for exported power. Compare the export rate on offer once the panels are up, not just the unit price before. Our pages on the Clean Export Guarantee rates and the Electric Ireland microgeneration rate compare what each one pays.
- Registration. ESB Networks says “only registered microgenerators are eligible for any export payments”. Without a registered export capacity, “you will not be eligible for payment by your registered supplier”.
- A smart meter. ESB Networks confirms you need one to be paid for export. Where you qualify for a meter, ESB Networks “endeavours to install a smart meter within four months of a valid NC6 form being processed”. Those not yet eligible in the rollout are paid on a deemed figure instead. See smart meters and solar export.
- Timing. Applications cannot be backdated. ESB Networks says that under CRU rules, “export begins from the date the application is processed, not the date it was submitted”. Power exported before then is not paid for.
If your export data does not show up after all that, see missing ESB Networks export data.
What SEAI Asks of You
SEAI sets the grant rules. The home needs an MPRN. The house must have been built and occupied before 2025. The grant is closed to homes that have already had solar PV funding at that MPRN. Once approved, you have 8 months to finish the work and send in the paperwork.
SEAI pays the grant and holds the registered company list. ESB Networks registers the system, sets the export capacity and connects it, free at house scale. Your supplier buys the exported units. Electric Ireland can be both your installer and your supplier.
Price the Electric Ireland offer against companies on SEAI's registered list before you decide. Ask each one who submits the NC6 form, what inverter rating they propose, and which export rate you would be on afterwards. Then compare the answers side by side before you sign anything.
Get a solar quote →Frequently Asked Questions
Electric Ireland does, and it is one of ESB's businesses. Its solar PV page quotes installs from about €6,800 upwards before the SEAI grant. The price turns on the number of panels and extras, such as a hot water diverter. ESB Networks connects your system to the grid, and says it has no function in qualifying equipment or installers. The call about an Electric Ireland solar enquiry comes from Ohk Energy. Electric Ireland's own form notice names it as the company the data goes to.
Not at house scale. ESB Networks says there is no charge to connect a micro-generator, provided the system can be connected under the inform and fit process. That means up to 6 kVA single phase or 11 kVA three phase. Above that you move to mini-generation. There, a technical assessment is carried out and ESB Networks issues a quotation for the connection. The limit is judged on the inverter rating: 25A single phase, or 16A per phase on three phase.
Your electricity supplier pays you, not ESB Networks. ESB Networks says it is not responsible for the purchase or sale of any electricity, and that this is a matter for a customer and their supplier. Registering your export capacity is what lets it record your export quantities, or work out deemed quantities, and pass those on to your supplier. If your supplier is Electric Ireland, the rate is 19.5c per kWh. You need a registered export capacity, and a smart meter where you qualify for one.
SEAI says the application usually takes at least 4 weeks, or 20 working days. It says the application must be made before the system is installed. ESB Networks issues the Maximum Export Capacity within 20 working days where the application is correct. ESB Networks also says you may not connect a micro-generator until it has received the application and let 20 business days pass without objecting. If your installer has to supply more information, the process takes longer.
Yes. The completed ESB Networks NC6 form is one of the papers SEAI needs before it pays the solar grant. The others include the Declaration of Works, the commissioning certificate, the Safe Electric certificate, the post-works BER and the invoice. ESB Networks also wants the notification on safety grounds, saying microgenerators have the potential to give an electric shock or create a dangerous hazard for you or your neighbours. You are not allowed to connect a micro-generator until ESB Networks has had the chance to object.
By SEAI. The solar electricity grant pays €700 per kWp up to 2 kWp, then €200 for each extra kWp up to 4 kWp. It is capped at €1,800 and paid pro rata. SEAI also sets the eligibility: the house must have been built and occupied before 2025.
ESB Networks sends microgeneration queries to networkservicesbureau@esb.ie. Use it for anything to do with the registration, the NC6 form or your Maximum Export Capacity. The same address handles requests for a copy of the NC6 form your solar company submitted, cancelling an application with a mistake in it, and removing your export capacity if the system comes out. For payment questions, ESB Networks sends you to your electricity supplier instead.