The Complete Timeline: From Solar Installation to Your First NER Credit in Singapore
Overview From the day Sunollo's team completes your installation to the day you see your first NER credit on your SP bill, there are several steps involving Sunollo, the Energy Mar
Overview
From the day Sunollo's team completes your installation to the day you see your first NER credit on your SP bill, there are several steps involving Sunollo, the Energy Market Authority (EMA), and SP Group. This guide walks through each phase so you know exactly what to expect and when.
Phase 1: Installation Completion (Day 1–3)
What Sunollo does:
- Completes panel mounting, wiring, inverter installation, and commissioning
- Performs AC/DC cable testing and earth leakage checks
- Conducts final generation test — your inverter should show positive kW output
- Provides you with a handover pack including: system spec sheet, monitoring app login details, warranty documents, and SunolloCare registration
What you do:
- Download your monitoring app and confirm you can see live generation data
- Sign the installation completion acknowledgement
Note: Your system is generating from this point. You are already saving on your electricity bill through self-consumption.
Phase 2: EMA Notification (Days 3–7)
What Sunollo does:
- Submits the EMA "Turn On" notification (also called the low capacity solar notification) to the Energy Market Authority within 3 working days of installation completion
- This formally notifies EMA that your system is live and generating
- For systems above 1 MWp (not applicable for residential), a generation licence is required — for typical residential systems (5–20 kWp), a notification suffices
EMA does not issue a formal approval for residential notifications — the submission itself is sufficient to proceed to the NER application.
Phase 3: NER Application Submission (Days 7–14)
What Sunollo does:
- Submits the NER application to SP Group on your behalf, including: your EMA notification reference, system specifications, your SP account number, and photographic evidence of installation
- Confirms submission to you by email with the reference number
What you do:
- Ensure your SP account details are correct (name, address, account number)
- Confirm you are the account holder — NER credits are applied to the SP bill for the registered account
Phase 4: SP Group Review (Weeks 2–8+)
SP Group reviews your application against their internal records. This is the most variable phase — during normal periods it takes 3–5 weeks; during peak periods (post-budget, post-policy announcements) it can take 8–16 weeks.
SP Group will contact you directly to schedule a smart meter installation appointment. This is a 2-hour window during which an SP Group technician will replace your existing meter with a bidirectional smart meter.
What you do:
- Ensure someone is home for the meter installation appointment
- The technician will briefly cut power to your property (typically 15–30 minutes) during meter replacement
- After the technician leaves, confirm your inverter restarted and your monitoring app shows normal generation
Phase 5: Billing Activation (Weeks 8–14)
After your new meter is installed, SP Group typically takes 1–2 billing cycles to:
- Configure your account for the NER billing arrangement
- Begin reading both import and export data from your new meter
- Apply the NER credit to your bill at the prevailing rate
You will see the NER credit appear on your SP bill as a line item called "Net Energy Rebate". In some months, if your export exceeds your import, your bill may be zero or show a credit balance.
Phase 6: Steady-State Operations
Once NER is active, your system runs on autopilot:
- SP Group reads your meter monthly
- NER credits appear automatically on each bill
- You monitor generation via your app and clean panels periodically
- Sunollo provides SunolloCare monitoring and annual performance reviews