What Is a DNO?

Your DNO, Distribution Network Operator, owns and maintains the electricity network that delivers power to your property. It is not your energy supplier; it is determined by where you live, not who you buy from.

When they get involved

Solar panels and batteries. Generating equipment must be notified. Smaller systems are generally notified after installation; larger ones need permission before.

EV chargers. Notification is usually required.

Heat pumps and other high-demand equipment, where the existing supply may not be adequate.

Any supply upgrade, moving from a single-phase to a three-phase supply, or increasing capacity.

Why it matters to you

Two practical reasons.

Timing. Where prior permission is needed rather than notification, it takes time, and a project can stall waiting for it.

Export payments. For solar, the DNO notification sits alongside MCS certification in the paperwork that makes a system eligible for the Smart Export Guarantee. Without it, you may have a working system and no route to the income.

Whose job

The installer's, normally. Confirm it explicitly and ask for evidence it has been done, this is one of the pieces of paperwork most often left outstanding.