Question: Can we install our own smart meter, at our own cost, to switch electricity retailers if we’re on an embedded network, and do the ACCC, EWON or strata rules need to sign off on it?
Our apartment is on an embedded network plan for electricity. We want to install a smart meter at our cost that all retailers can read so we can shop around for a better deal. This assumes the installation wouldn’t interfere with the other meters. We’re also wondering whether the ACCC and EWON need to approve the change, and whether any strata regulations apply.
Answer: Installing a smart meter alone won’t let you switch retailers; that requires arranging market-compliant metering through an electricity retailer instead.
The ACCC and EWON do not need to approve a resident moving from an “off-market” embedded network electricity arrangement to an “on-market” retailer. EWON may assist if there is a dispute, but it is not an approval body. Energy regulations allow individual customers within an embedded network to become on-market customers and choose an electricity retailer, although this can be difficult in practice for residential customers. Installing a smart meter alone does not achieve this. You should first approach an electricity retailer, which can arrange the necessary market-compliant metering and connection requirements. Strata approval may also be required if the meter installation or associated works affect common property, such as meter boards, cabling or electrical infrastructure. By comparison, customers supplied through centralised hot water or gas arrangements generally do not have the same retailer choice.
This post appears in the October 2026 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Joseph Arena Embedded Network Arena E: joseph@embeddednetworkarena.com.au
