The California Legislature passed SB 868, which would allow customers to use small plug-in solar devices without obtaining utility approval, signing an interconnection agreement, or paying interconnection fees.
The legislation is intended to make small-scale solar generation available to renters and others who cannot install conventional rooftop solar systems. The devices, sometimes known as “balcony solar,” connect to a building’s electrical system and offset electricity consumed onsite.
Under the bill, a qualifying portable solar generation device could have a maximum combined alternating-current output of 1,200 watts per dwelling, comply with the latest national and California electrical codes, and receive certification from a nationally recognized testing laboratory, including certification of a safety feature that prevents electricity from flowing onto the utility grid during an outage.
SB 868 would exempt, until January 1, 2030, qualifying systems from interconnection requirements imposed by state law, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), investor-owned utilities and publicly owned utilities.
Utilities could not require customers to:
Obtain approval before installing or using a qualifying device.
Pay a fee or charge related to the equipment or the electricity it supplies to the building.
Install controls or equipment beyond the safety features incorporated into the device.
A utility could require a customer to submit a simple online registration form identifying the installation address and the device’s make, model and size. Registration, however, could not function as an approval requirement.
The interconnection exemption would expire at the beginning of 2030. At that point, California would prohibit the sale of plug-in photovoltaic devices that do not satisfy the bill’s electrical-code, equipment-certification, and anti-backfeeding requirements.
The Assembly approved the bill 73–0 on August 25, 2026. The Senate concurred in the Assembly amendments by a 36–4 vote on August 26, 2026. The measure was enrolled on August 28 and presented to Governor Gavin Newsom on August 31, 2026.