Source: Show-Me Institute
by Patrick Tuohey
“You can plug a 1,500-watt space heater into your living room wall without asking anyone. Plug in a 1,200-watt solar panel, however, and Missouri treats you like a small power plant. The two aren’t identical, since the panel can push power back into the wiring. But that difference calls for a safety standard, not a permit process built for commercial grade rooftop arrays. Under Missouri’s net-metering law, a panel that feeds power into a home’s wiring is a ‘customer-generator.’ Its owner must file an interconnection application with a wiring diagram, wait for the utility’s approval, and have a qualified electrician or engineer certify the installation. Bright Saver, a nonprofit that sells plug-in solar kits, won’t ship them to Missouri until the law changes. Two bills filed in the 2026 legislative session would have fixed that.” (10/20/26)