I work in the solar industry and can confirm that this is standard safety practice in my state as well. When grid power goes down the inverter is required to shutdown and remain off until a few minutes after normal grid conditions are restored. This is to ensure that the grid equipment is actually de-energized so it can be worked on safely. It's such a ubiquitous policy that all inverters need to be UL Certified to prove that they do this.
Utility companies pull a lot of bullshit, but this policy is actually pretty sound.
If you want to use your PV as backup power, you need to treat is as you would a conventional backup generator and install a manual transfer switch that that isolates disconnects the electrical service as the backup power is engaged. This can nearly double the cost of the solar project, so most people don't do it.
Utility companies pull a lot of bullshit, but this policy is actually pretty sound.
If you want to use your PV as backup power, you need to treat is as you would a conventional backup generator and install a manual transfer switch that that isolates disconnects the electrical service as the backup power is engaged. This can nearly double the cost of the solar project, so most people don't do it.