The short answer surprises people: for a compliant, type-tested kit there is nothing to refuse, because G98 is connect-and-notify, not an approval. Here is the honest, sourced version, and the handful of cases where a DNO can still make you act.
This question comes up a lot, usually from someone worried their network operator will say no after they have spent the money. So let me answer it straight before the detail: for a compliant, fully type-tested micro-generator, a G98 notification is not something a DNO approves or refuses. G98 is a "connect and notify" route, sometimes called fit-and-inform. You connect the kit, then tell your Distribution Network Operator within 28 days. There is no permission being granted, so there is no permission to withhold.
G98 exists precisely so that small, safe, standardised generation does not need a case-by-case approval. It applies to fully type-tested micro-generation up to 16A per phase (about 3.68 kW single phase), which covers every plug-in solar kit under the new 800 VA rules many times over. Because the equipment has already passed type testing, the network does not re-assess it for your specific home. You notify, the DNO logs it on its asset register, and that is the process. This is the opposite of the older, larger-scale route where you apply and wait for a yes.
So if you have used a compliant kit and filed the form, the honest answer to "can it be refused" is no. The worry is understandable, but it is aimed at the wrong process.
"Cannot be refused" is not the same as "the DNO has no powers". It has clear ones, and they bite on non-compliance, not on paperwork. A DNO can require remedial action or disconnection in these cases:
Notice what these have in common: every one is about the kit or the install being non-compliant, not about the DNO exercising discretion over a compliant notification. Get the compliance right and the notification is a formality.
Can a G98 notification be refused? For a compliant, type-tested plug-in solar kit, no, because it is a notification, not an application. What can happen is a DNO requiring action on a kit that is not compliant, not registered, over the limits, or unsafe. The way to avoid all of that is simple and entirely in your control: buy a kit that is on the ENA G98 Type Test Register, stay inside the 800 VA rules, and file the form. Do that and the network side is a formality.
Sources: ENA Engineering Recommendation G98 (connect-and-notify for fully type-tested micro-generation); the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002, Regulation 26 (disconnection powers). This page is general educational information, not legal or electrical advice.
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