The export limit is now 10kW. Here is what that actually buys you.
Exporting power is the worst-paid thing your solar system does. You are paid somewhere between about 5 and 17 cents a unit for power you send to the grid on a standard plan. You pay around 33 to 39 cents for power you buy back. Every unit you use yourself is worth roughly two to four times a unit you export.
So a rule change that lets you export more is not, by itself, a windfall. Anyone selling it to you as one is overselling. It matters for a narrower reason: until this year the export cap was the thing quietly deciding how big your system could be.
What the rule actually says
On 11 May 2026 an amendment to the Electricity Industry Participation Code came into force. For straightforward residential connections up to 10kW, processed under what is called the Part 1A process, your distributor now has three options.
A default 10kW static limit
It can apply a default static export limit of 10kW.
A dynamic or flexible limit
It can offer a dynamic or flexible limit instead, which must be at least 10kW at any time your export is not being actively controlled during a congested period.
A lower limit, but only if justified
Or it can apply a lower static limit, but only after running a standardised network assessment that justifies it.
Sources: Electricity Authority.
The honest caveat about how much changed
Most coverage frames this as the day the cap lifted nationally. It is more accurate to say the mandate caught up with where most networks already were.
At the time the Authority consulted, around 25 of the 30 lines companies already offered 10kW or were close to it. Four were moving that way. One was not considering it.
So if your distributor was already at 10kW, 11 May changed nothing for you in practice. What it changed is that the limit is now guaranteed rather than discretionary, it cannot be quietly reduced without a justified assessment, and the same rules apply whichever network you happen to live on. If you were on one of the networks still at 5kW, it changed a great deal.
Why 6.6kW became the New Zealand standard
| Under the old 5kW cap | Under the 10kW default | |
|---|---|---|
| What set the limit | A network policy choice | The Code, since 11 May 2026 |
| A lower limit needed | Nothing — it was discretionary | A justified standardised assessment |
| Inverter built around | 5kW | The size the household actually needs |
| Largest array behind it | 6.6kW — about a third over the inverter | Set by your consumption, not the cap |
Under a 5kW export cap, installers built around a 5kW inverter. Australian and New Zealand standards allow the panel array to be oversized against the inverter by up to about a third, because panels almost never produce their full rated output in real conditions. A 5kW inverter with 6.6kW of panels sits right at that limit.
So 6.6kW was never a judgement about the right amount of solar for a New Zealand house. It was the largest array that fitted neatly behind the inverter the export cap allowed. The number came from a network rule, not from your roof. Remove the cap and the reason for 6.6kW goes with it.
You can install a system larger than your export limit. It runs at full output whenever your house is drawing that power. It only throttles when it is producing more than you are using and more than you are allowed to export.
Empty house, sunny day
Nobody home, nothing running, system producing 6kW. Under a 5kW cap you were throttled and that generation was lost.
Shoulder seasons
Spring and autumn are when panels perform best here, because output falls as panels get hot. That is also when heating and cooling loads are lowest. Peak generation and lowest household use land in the same weeks.
Battery already full
Once storage is charged, everything else has to go somewhere.
What size system makes sense now
If you are home during the day, run a heat pump, charge an EV, or heat water on a timer, the old cap cost you less than you would think. If your house is empty from eight until five, it cost you more.
The shape of the question has changed. It used to be “how big a system fits under the export cap”. It is now “how much power do you actually use, and when”. For most households that points larger than 6.6kW, particularly with an EV in the future, an unheated part of the house, or a hot water cylinder that could run on a timer.
Find out your actual export limit before you choose a size
We check your address and your distributor before we quote, so the limit is a known number rather than a surprise after installation.
The two other changes that landed this year
From 1 April 2026 distributors must pay solar exporters for supply at peak times.
From 1 July 2026 retailers with more than 5% of the market must offer at least one plan that pays more for exporting at peak. Note what that does not do. It sets no minimum rate. Retailers still choose the cents.
Sources: Electricity Authority — peak rebates.
Council consent
Still required in most districts. Both major parties have proposed removing it. Neither has.
Your buyback rate
The limit change lets you export more. It does not improve what you are paid for it.
Inverter voltage settings
The same amendment package requires default adoption of the Australia A voltage, frequency and protection settings in AS/NZS 4777.2:2020, and adherence to AS/NZS 4777.1:2024 for Part 1A applications. This is a separate change often confused with the export limit. It affects how your inverter behaves when local voltage runs high, not how much you may export.
Your limit is still local
The 10kW default applies where the network supports it. Your actual limit is set by your lines company and, on constrained parts of some networks, may still be lower. We check your address before quoting, so you know your real limit before you commit to a size.
Common questions
General information about network connection rules. Not a quote, engineering advice or financial advice. Export limits are set by your local lines company and vary by network and address. Figures are current as at the date shown and change without notice. Your actual export limit and system size are confirmed in your tailored quote.
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