More Solar, Less Restriction: Why 10kW Export Limits Matter

For the latest export limits click on our lines company page here.

Another genuinely good move from the Electricity Authority - and I’ll admit, one I was slightly sceptical about at first.

The Electricity Authority (EA) oversees the rules that all lines companies across New Zealand operate under. That matters because lines companies are regional monopolies - homeowners don’t get to shop around if their local network decides to be conservative.

So when the EA strongly encouraged lines companies to lift standard solar export limits to 10kW, it was a big deal.

Why? Because export limits directly control how much excess solar power your home is allowed to send back into the grid. Higher limits mean more clean, locally generated electricity flowing from one household to another - without needing new big power plants or long transmission lines.

This shift didn’t come out of nowhere. The EA has been steadily putting work into supporting smarter, higher solar uptake across New Zealand. Alongside the 10kW export push, there’s also been a voltage limit increase, which allows networks to safely handle more variable supply and demand. In plain English: the grid can now tolerate more solar without freaking out.

The timing couldn’t be better.

Over the last few years, as solar uptake has accelerated, many networks have gone into protection mode. In the name of “network stability”, export limits were quietly cut back - often to 5kW, sometimes with little explanation. From a network perspective, that keeps things tidy. From a solar perspective, it’s been frustrating.

Lower export limits don’t stop people installing solar, but they do throttle how much benefit households - and the wider grid - can get from it. Less solar flowing house-to-house means more wasted generation and slower progress overall.

My initial scepticism came from the EA framing this as a strong recommendation rather than a rule. That’s now changed. From 11 May 2026, 10kW became the mandatory default for household solar - so here’s how lines companies are actually applying it.

Solar export limits by lines company

Here’s where things stand as of October 2026:

• Most lines companies now offer the 10kW default. Vector uses a dynamic limit and Wellington Electricity a flexible one, both allowing 10kW when the network isn’t under pressure.
• Lower limits only apply at specific addresses, and lines companies must publish a list or map of them. If your address isn’t listed, you’re entitled to 10kW.
• A few haven’t caught up. Electra and EA Networks still list 5kW on their websites, and Horizon, Nelson Electricity and Network Waitaki haven’t made their approach clear.

See the full table of export limits and lower-limit lists for every NZ lines company, kept up to date on our lines company page.

Making 10kW the default is a clear signal from the EA that solar is worth adapting for, not pushing back against. Solar does challenge lines companies, but if we genuinely want more renewable energy and a fairer electricity market, the networks need to evolve rather than default to restriction.