Belgian grid operator Fluvius said the number of complaints it receives about solar inverter failures has fallen by more than half since 2023.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. The grid operator has also redesigned its network checker, 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.
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.
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 compensation system is in place if consumers are not reconnected within 30 workings days after a curtailment.
In September, Fluvius said 81% of residential PV system owners in the Belgian region of Flanders had digital meters installed after the regional government made the switch mandatory.
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