Embedded network

Written and checked by the Energy Merchants desk · Reviewed 3 October 2026

An embedded network is a private electricity network that sits inside a larger site and is supplied through one or more parent meters. Common examples are apartment buildings, retirement villages, caravan parks, shopping centres and some student accommodation.

The owner or an embedded network operator buys power from a retailer at the parent meter. They then on-sell it to the tenants or residents through child meters. Customers inside usually have different retail choices from a customer on the public grid, because the operator may be the only seller on offer, subject to the rules in their state.

In practice

For a solar installer, an embedded network changes who the customer is. Is it the body corporate, the landlord or an individual unit owner? Each has different rights over the roof, the meter and the benefit of the electricity generated.

A solar system on the roof can feed the common property, the parent meter or the individual apartments through arrangements such as a power purchase agreement. The metering design decides how generation is shared and billed. See power purchase agreement.

On the certificate side, the system owner on the paperwork must be the right party, and the supply address and signatures must match. Where the system serves several occupants, the assignment form must be signed by the entity that owns the system.

Common confusion

An embedded network is not the same as embedded generation. The first is about how consumers are supplied. The second is about generators connected inside a distribution network rather than the transmission grid.

It is also not the same as a shared solar scheme sold by a retailer. Exemptions, registrations and customer protections vary by state, so check the relevant regulator rather than assuming.

For process, see STC trading and how it works. The glossary has related terms.