19/01/2026
A regulatory gap in the UK certification system for PV, BESS and EV installations....
Within the UK regulatory framework governing electrical installations — including solar PV, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and EV charging infrastructure — there is a growing disconnect between the intent of the law and its practical enforcement.
Under the principles of the Competent Person Schemes and BS 7671, the ability to certify electrical work is predicated on the existence of a competent, qualified individual (for example, a Qualified Supervisor) who exercises technical oversight and accepts responsibility for compliance and safety.
In practice, however, the system operates as follows:
the authority to issue certificates is effectively retained by the company as a legal entity,
the obligation to report staffing or competency changes (such as the departure of a qualified electrician) rests solely with the company,
there is no continuous or real-time verification that a competent person remains employed,
audits are periodic, pre-arranged, and largely document-based, rather than reflective of the current technical workforce.
As a result, it is entirely possible for the following situation to occur:
the only qualified electrician leaves the company,
the company retains the right to issue electrical certificates,
no immediate regulatory mechanism exists to verify whether genuine electrical competence is still present.
From a legal and regulatory perspective, this outcome:
is inconsistent with the spirit and purpose of the regulations,
yet remains possible due to structural gaps in ongoing oversight and enforcement.
The risk typically materialises only after an incident:
fire,
electric shock,
insurance claim,
or post-event investigation.
At that stage, certification may be challenged retrospectively, and liability reassigned.
Until then, the system operates on presumed compliance rather than verified competence.
In a high-risk technical sector, this effectively means: the framework validates paperwork, not people.
If electrical safety is to be substantive rather than procedural, regulatory reform must focus on:
continuous verification of competent persons,
explicit linkage between certification rights and active employment of qualified staff,
moving beyond paper-based compliance models.
Without such measures, installations may remain compliant in form —
but not necessarily safe in fact.