A Distribution Network Operator (DNO) is the company that owns and runs the local electricity wires that deliver power to your street and home. The Energy Networks Association (ENA) explains that network operators help connect your home to electricity, can move your meter, and fix power cuts that are not caused by a fault inside your home. They are not the same as your energy supplier, which is the company that bills you for the units you use. Great Britain has 14 electricity distribution licence areas, operated by six DNO groups (UK Power Networks, National Grid Electricity Distribution, SP Energy Networks, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, Northern Powergrid and Electricity North West), as listed on ENA's network-operator lookup.
Some homes sit on an Independent Distribution Network Operator (IDNO) instead of a large regional DNO. ENA's lookup covers both. You can find yours by entering your postcode on the ENA page, by reading the Distributor ID inside your MPAN on your electricity bill, or by calling 105 (England, Scotland and Wales; free via powercut105.com or ENA) to reach your local network operator.
What it means for a home battery
A grid-tied home battery that can export or import through your consumer unit has to be notified to the local network. Under ENA rules that is usually a G98 notification for type-tested micro-generators up to 3.68 kW (16 A) per phase, or a G99 application when the design sits above that threshold. See Habo's G98 vs G99 guide for the full cut-off. The notice goes to your DNO or IDNO, not to your retail supplier. Habo's installation rules walk through the wiring and notification steps in more depth.
That network process is also why Habo offers an electrician-wired EcoFlow STREAM install, not a socket plug-in treated as a whole-home supply. A plug-in battery that only runs loads from its own outlets is a different product class from a consumer-unit install that can share power with the house under G98 or G99. Never treat a plug-in pack as a legal whole-home feed.
If you already have solar and want SEG export payments, your supplier relationship and your DNO connection are still separate: the DNO looks after the wires and the G98 or G99 notice; the supplier pays the export tariff. Habo's offer is an electrician-wired EcoFlow STREAM from £2,499. Join the waitlist.
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Frequently asked questions
No. The Energy Networks Association explains that your network operator maintains the wires to your home, while your supplier is the company you pay for the electricity you use.
Use the ENA "who's my network operator" postcode lookup, check the Distributor ID on your MPAN on your bill, or call 105 (England, Scotland or Wales; see powercut105.com or ENA) to reach your local network operator.
Grid-tied battery installs are notified to the local network under ENA engineering recommendations G98 or G99. See Habo's G98 vs G99 guide for the thresholds.
Simple battery, simple install
Electrician-wired EcoFlow STREAM from £2,499. Habo will try to serve anyone who registers in an area where we have an electrician. Nothing to pay today.
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