ConnectDER's Meter Socket Adapter Achieves Wide-Scale Adoption Across California's Largest Utility Territories Serving Over 35 Million Residents

ConnectDER's IslandDER™ Meter Socket Adapter has received formal approval by PG&E, SCE, SDGE, and SMUD, having already logged over 1 million operating hours in the field with more than 100 installer partners and five battery system integrations—enabling faster, safer, more affordable storage installs for most Californians.

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ConnectDER, the leading manufacturer of meter socket adapters (MSAs), or meter collars, for solar, batteries, and EV charging installations, today announced that its IslandDER™ MSA has surpassed 1 million operating hours with a 99.6% reliability rate* across installations in California's major utility territories. IslandDER™ has been commercially available since the start of 2026 in Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE), and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE). All of the state's "big three" investor owned utilities (IOUs) have now formally approved the device, with Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) also joining the list. Across these four utilities' electricity service areas, IslandDER™ can now be installed on roughly 10 million households, benefitting 35 million Californians. The rapid adoption is driven by more than 100 installers across California who are incorporating IslandDER™ into their suite of customer solutions including solar-plus-storage, storage-only, and storage retrofits.

ConnectDER's meter socket adapters streamline the installation process of distributed energy resources (DERs) for millions of Californians by plugging directly into the existing utility meter socket outside the home. This innovation bypasses the need for laborious main panel upgrades, full service replacements, circuit relocations, and subpanels—all of which lead to lost revenue and scheduling challenges for installers and increased costs for homeowners. IslandDER™ is engineered for battery storage and home backup—with or without solar—playing a critical role in amplifying California's Virtual Power Plant (VPP) programs, which offer incentives to residents who install energy storage systems at home.

"IslandDER adoption in California has been swift from the moment field installs began, with positive installer feedback," said Ivo Steklac, ConnectDER President & CEO. "Heading into the fourth quarter, IslandDER is now a core operational tool among many of the state's top battery storage installers—with every minute saved on the job benefitting installers, homeowners, and utilities alike. IslandDER solves California's most notorious installation hurdles, like the tight confines of meter-main combination sockets and the prohibitive cost of reconfiguring panels. By eliminating these bottlenecks, we are helping installers scale their businesses, reduce project backlogs, and give homeowners immediate access to incentives and resilience."

"ConnectDER's IslandDER Meter Socket Adapter offers a significant advantage to Sunrun and our customers, especially in California where demand for battery storage has never been higher," said Mohammad Ali, Electrification Manager at Sunrun. "IslandDER provides the flexibility to work with multiple battery systems while providing a cost-effective and easy-to-install solution for whole-home backup."

"With IslandDER, we're able to deliver a comprehensive whole-home backup solution with 50% less installation time and over 50% cost savings," said Michael Ward, Vice President of Pacific Solar. "This efficiency has enabled us to offer whole-home backup as a standard feature on every project. Additionally, the need to install CTs in tight electrical panels has been eliminated, streamlining the installation process even further."

California's grid is rapidly transitioning to a storage-first model, driven by 2023's updated Net Billing Tariff (NEM 3.0) which shifted incentives toward battery storage. This resulted in the battery attachment rate on new residential solar installs reaching an estimated 79%. Further driving this growth, many of the 2 million residents with existing rooftop solar are now retrofitting their systems to participate in incentive programs. Additional programs, such as the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) and Virtual Power Plant (VPP) offerings from SCE, PG&E, and SDGE, enable "incentive stacking." Residents can now receive an upfront rebate, participate in a VPP program to sell energy back to the utility, and reduce their electric bill during peak hours by leveraging Time-of-Use (TOU) rates with their stored power.

"Retrofits are usually slowed down by panel upgrade requirements, high labor costs, and long permitting timelines," said Catt Roose, VP of Operations at Haven Energy. "With IslandDER, we can bypass costly electrical work inside the home, cut install time dramatically, and reduce disruption for homeowners, making solar-plus-storage retrofits faster, cheaper, and far more scalable."

However, installers face physical barriers in California homes, where meter-main combination panels don't have the necessary space for essential system components like a Microgrid Interconnect Device (MID) and Current Transformers (CTs). ConnectDER's IslandDER™ solves this with its built-in MID, CTs, voltage sensing, and communication protocols for real-time grid disconnect and home isolation. IslandDER™ handles complex meter-main combos in just 15 to 30 minutes without circuit relocations or subpanels. It works with leading battery systems from SolarEdge, FranklinWH, Lunar Energy, EcoFlow, and Fox ESS, providing flexible choice to both installers and homeowners.

"In the past we've had to move breakers and circuits, put them into a subpanel—a lot of labor, materials, time, and permitting that can add $5,000-$6,000 to a project," said Pey Shadzi, COO of Cosmic Solar & Roofing. "With IslandDER, you can leave all your loads in your main service panel. It provides a sleek, cleaner look on the wall with fewer boxes and materials. It's one of the most revolutionary pieces of equipment that I've seen since we started installing solar."

Beyond installer efficiency, major California utilities are recognizing the systemic cost savings of meter collars, with two of the state's largest utilities actively purchasing ConnectDER adapters for their directly funded program offerings to shave thousands of dollars off customer installation costs.

ConnectDER's MSAs are available for purchase through distribution nationwide. IslandDER™ is compatible with batteries from SolarEdge, FranklinWH, Lunar Energy, EcoFlow, and Fox ESS. IslandDER™ is approved for behind-the-utility-meter installation in many utility territories throughout the country including in California, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, DC, and more. Where meter socket adapters are not yet approved, IslandDER™ may be installed in a separate meter socket without utility approval.

*Reliability rate reflects the percentage of total installs with faultless device performance, through October 2026

About ConnectDER

ConnectDER has been a pioneer in designing and developing meter socket adapters (MSAs) since 2011, simplifying the connection of distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar, battery storage, and electric vehicle charging equipment. ConnectDER's products help accelerate installations, avoid complex electrical work, and reduce costs for both installers and homeowners—making renewable energy solutions more accessible and affordable for all. ConnectDER's MSAs are UL-listed and NEC-compliant, approved by utilities across the U.S., and used by top local, regional, and national solar installers. Installers can purchase ConnectDER's MSAs through their preferred distributor. Email [email protected] to talk to a ConnectDER sales representative. For more information, visit www.connectder.com.

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SOURCE ConnectDER, Inc.