The government is looking at letting people use plug-in solar panels in New Zealand, more than ten years after they were banned over safety worries.

Plug-in solar panels are small solar units that plug straight into a normal wall socket, like a heater or a phone charger. They do not need an electrician to wire them into your home's main power board. They have been illegal since 2012 because of concerns about electricity and fire safety.

The Ministry for Regulation carried out the review after Minister for Regulation David Seymour asked for it in May. The review found the ban could be lifted if proper safety standards were written. Energy Minister Simeon Brown has been working on those standards, and said the ministry's ideas would help make solar power cheaper and faster to get.

Seymour said plug-in solar is useful for renters and people in apartments who cannot put solar panels on a roof. "If they're good enough for Germany and the UK, they're good enough for us," he said, according to RNZ.

The review set out 15 recommendations in total. The ministry said all of them could be done within 18 months.

Right now, getting solar panels installed at home can be slow and complicated. The review found a small solar setup could need up to six different approvals and five visits from four different organisations before it can be switched on. The ministry said that is too much and wants a simpler system where not every installation needs a full in-person check by an inspector.

Under the proposed changes, approved installers could sign off on some installations without an inspector visiting, and some projects would not need council permission. The review also suggested lines companies (the businesses that run local power lines) should process standard connection requests in one working day instead of ten.

Some changes can be made by ministers without going through Parliament. Others, including making electricity meter data easier for people to see, would mean changing the rules that govern how the electricity industry works.

The ministry estimated the changes could save between $28 million and $50 million over 10 years through lower costs, less waiting, and more people using plug-in solar.

Solar power has been getting attention from more than one party. National wants to remove some rules so households can install solar without council consent. Labour has proposed subsidies to help renters and lower-income families pay for installation. The Greens have proposed zero-interest loans for solar installation.

The broader context here is that the two coalition partners both have a role in making this happen. Seymour is driving the review, and Brown is responsible for the safety standards the ministry says must come first. The 18-month timeline is a guide, not a rule. Some changes can be made without new laws, but others will need to go through the Electricity Authority, which runs the rules for the electricity market.

The fact that National, Labour and the Greens all have solar policies suggests there is broad agreement on the direction, even if they each have different ways of getting there. National's plan to cut council rules, Labour's subsidies, and the Greens' loan scheme all fit alongside what the ministry is recommending. The key question is whether Brown's safety standards are ready quickly enough to end the ban within the timeframe the ministry has suggested.

For renters and apartment dwellers, plug-in solar is the only type of home solar power that does not require changing the building. The ban takes that option away completely. Whether the safety standards arrive on time will decide whether those households can generate their own electricity soon, or keep waiting.