Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Compliance is foundational to support the growth of renewables, uphold a stable power system and ensure the continued prosperity of the solar industry.

Over 18 months ago, we introduced auto-approval for small embedded generation (SEG) applications with the launch of SmartApply. With no more waiting time for approvals, we have been approving over 3,500 applications every month for the South Australian community. We can continue to offer this provided systems are installed in alignment with DER Compliance requirements.

To meet compliance requirements all approved SEG applications must be closed out in SmartInstall at the time of installation. Our SmartApply and SmartInstall portals are self-service and user-friendly to make meeting DER Compliance requirements easy.

New features and changes

We have developed new features to support the industry meet its compliance obligations:

• To make it easy to understand what you are responsible for and why DER Compliance is important, interactive online training for SEG applications has been developed. All users who submit SEG applications will need to complete this course the first time they submit a SEG application from 24th February.
• Terms and Conditions for the use of SmartApply and SmartInstall have been introduced to regulate the registration process for the use of SA Power Networks-owned platforms, and for accessing material and confidential data. All users will be required to read through and accept the Terms and Conditions upon first login from 24th February before they will be able to progress to the SmartApply and SmartInstall dashboards.
• Launching on 24th February, an improved user dashboard in SmartApply will calculate and show you your compliance percentage based on the SEG applications that have outstanding actions. You will be able to filter the applications by ‘Non-Compliant’ status and view the outstanding tasks to rectify the issue. This feature has been developed to give greater visibility for users so you can self-manage your applications and compliance.

How we are calculating your compliance percentage

Every approved and installed SEG application must be closed out in SmartInstall. When we receive evidence of an installation, and there has been no close out actioned in SmartInstall, the application is flagged as non-compliant. When you have completed the close out in SmartInstall, your compliance percentage will improve.

We require all SmartApply users to keep their compliance at or above 90%. Should a user drop below 90%, this will be shown in the dashboard, requesting you to take action to meet requirements.

From June, we will be implementing warnings for those SmartApply users who fall below 90% compliance and access may be restricted until non-compliant applications are rectified.

User guides and training material

User guides and training materials have been developed to assist with understanding the new dashboard features:

What can you do now?

• Make sure to use SmartInstall to close out all installations.
• Take actions to meet compliance requirements for non-complying applications as flagged in SmartApply.
• If you have applications that are ‘Approved’ but the installation has not or will not go ahead, these applications should be cancelled so they are no longer counted. Click the ‘Settings’ button then ‘Cancel Application’.
• In partnership with the Clean Energy Council, we have developed a free course ‘SA Power Networks Embedded Generation Compliance’ worth 30 Core CPD points. It’s available by logging into the Clean Energy Council Learning Hub. To enrol, use the enrolment key ‘ThanksSAPN’.

What’s coming up?

• Improved filtering functionality on the SmartApply dashboard to assist solar retailers with overall compliance view numbers
• Automatic notification to users when they are below 90% compliance, with warnings triggering options to review training.
• Automatic restricted access to SEG applications when non-compliance is below 90% for longer than a defined period.
• SEG applications that have not been commissioned will expire six months after the approval date.

How we will support you

Our dedicated New Energy Services Team has been set up to help, train, and provide tailored ongoing support to solar retailers and installers so that we can work together to meet compliance goals.

Contact us

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the team by:

• Email at newenergyservices@sapowernetworks.com.au, 
• Phone on 13 12 61 and select option 2.