Belgian grid operator reports sharp decline in solar inverter failures

<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Belgian grid operator Fluvius says inverter-related complaints have fallen by more than half since 2023, even as solar panel connections rose 8.5% year on year amid record sunshine.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Belgian grid operator Fluvius said the number of complaints it receives about solar inverter failures has fallen by more than half since 2023.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The operator received over 5,000 complaints in 2023 relating to grid inverters shutting down at times when the electricity grid became overloaded. Inverter shut downs are most likely to occur when high levels of home solar generation, due to plentiful sunshine, is combined with low consumption, and is a mechanism designed to protect both the grid and a home solar system.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Following the inception of an action plan for failing solar inverters, Fluvius said the number of relevant complaints halved in 2024. This downward trend has continued into 2025, with Fluvius receiving 5% less complaints across the first five months of the year compared to the same time period in 2024.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A study of 1 million connection points within Fluvius’ network conducted on a particularly sunny day in April this year concluded that only 1% of solar inverters were at high risk of failure on such days.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fluvius noted that the number of reported inverter failures has decreased despite an 8.5% increase in solar panels connected to the grid in 2025, and despite spring this year being sunnier than last year's.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Among the targeted actions to reduce inverter failures has been the use of thicker overhead cables that better handle higher peaks in the electricity grid, Fluvius said. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The grid operator has also redesigned its </span><a href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/05/03/belgian-grid-operator-releases-tool-to-help-residential-pv-system-owners-detect-inverter-failures/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">network checker</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, an online tool that helps consumers determine whether or not they are at risk of failing solar inverters. A new version of the checker is launching this month which will place the inverter into a high-, medium- or low-risk group. If a voltage issue has already occurred, the customer will be able to view an estimated resolution time.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">More permanent solutions to inverter failures include structural work on the electricity grid and the addition of substations, as outlined in Fluvius’ ten-year investment plan.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The company added that if an inverter does fail, and the cause of the failure is not related to internal installation, customers within its area remain entitled to compensation so long as the inverter is registered with the operator. The </span><a href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/04/05/belgian-grid-operator-pays-for-residential-pv-curtailment/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">compensation system</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is in place if consumers are not reconnected within 30 workings days after a curtailment.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In September, Fluvius said </span><a href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/09/17/flanders-reaches-81-digital-meter-adoption-among-solar-homes/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">81%</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of residential PV system owners in the Belgian region of Flanders had digital meters installed after the regional government made the switch </span><a href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/03/21/mandatory-switch-to-smart-meters-on-track-in-flanders/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">mandatory</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>