AusNet solar pre-approval, export limits and switch-on in Sale

Every grid connected solar or battery system in Sale needs pre-approval from AusNet Services before installation starts. For a typical home, AusNet’s standard offer allows up to 10 kW of inverter capacity per phase with 5 kW of export, or 3.5 kW of export on a single wire earth return (SWER) line. After the job, an independent Licensed Electrical Inspector checks it and you receive a Certificate of Electrical Safety.

Sale Solar does not handle any of these steps. The independent installer you engage applies to the network, installs and tests the system, and books the inspection. This page explains what happens so you can follow their progress.

Who is the electricity distributor for Sale?

AusNet Services owns and runs the poles, wires and substations across eastern Victoria. The Australian Energy Regulator lists its distribution area as Melbourne’s outer northern and eastern suburbs and eastern Victoria. AusNet says it serves about 838,000 electricity customers over 80,000 square kilometres, and that 93% of its network is in regional and rural areas. Sale, Maffra, Heyfield, Loch Sport and the rest of Wellington Shire sit inside that network.

Your electricity retailer is a different business. The retailer sends your bill and sets your feed-in credit; AusNet decides whether your system can connect and how much it may export.

What does AusNet pre-approval cover?

Pre-approval is the network’s agreement that your system can connect at your address, at a given size and export limit. AusNet states plainly that pre-approval is needed before installation begins.

The application is made through AusNet’s online portal by the installer, the solar retailer, or a Registered Electrical Contractor acting as your authorised representative. For most homes the standard offer is assessed automatically.

Supply at the property	Most the system may send to the grid	Combined inverter rating allowed
Ordinary single phase house	5 kW at any moment	No more than 10 kW on that phase
Single wire earth return (SWER)	3.5 kW at any moment	No more than 10 kW on the phase
Three phase supply	15 kW in total	No more than 30 kW in total

Two details trip people up:

• The size that counts is the inverter, not the panels. AusNet sizes every system on the total combined rating of its inverters, and that includes a battery inverter. A 6.6 kW panel array on a 5 kW inverter counts as 5 kW.
• A paid manual assessment applies when the request is above the pre-approved offer, above 10 kW per phase, or uses a generation type other than solar without a battery.

Read the current rules on AusNet’s up to 30 kW connection page.

Why might my export limit be lower than my neighbour’s?

Each substation has a fixed capacity for handling solar exports. AusNet notes that as more customers on one substation install solar, less export capacity is left, so the limit offered at your address depends on the capacity available when your application goes in, and it can change over time. Two houses in the same Sale street can be offered different limits if they apply years apart.

A lower export limit does not stop you installing solar. It caps how much you can send back to the grid at any moment. Surplus beyond the limit is either used in the house, stored in a battery, or curtailed by the inverter.

What is the emergency backstop?

AusNet requires systems under 30 kW to be solar emergency backstop enabled. In practice that means:

1. The inverter must be on AusNet’s approved inverter list.
2. The system must run a software client that complies with CSIP-Aus, the communications standard that lets the network send it instructions.
3. The inverter must support the volt-var and volt-watt response modes, which adjust output when voltage on the line runs high.
4. The system needs an internet connection so it can receive signals.

If a property has no internet, the installer can apply for an exemption. The system is then held to a fixed export of 1 kW. Ask about this early if your property has patchy or no internet.

What are the steps from approval to switch-on?

AusNet sets out four steps, and Energy Safe Victoria adds the inspection and certificate.

Step	Who does it	What happens
1. Get approval	Installer, retailer or authorised REC	Pre-approval application through AusNet’s portal
2. Install the system	Licensed electrician working for a REC	Panels, inverter and any battery installed and tested
3. Complete the post-application	Installer	Details of the finished installation lodged with AusNet
4. Meter reconfiguration and readiness	Arranged through the installer and your retailer	Meter set up to record exports
Inspection	Independent Licensed Electrical Inspector	Checks the completed electrical work
Certificate	Your REC or electrician	Gives you the Certificate of Electrical Safety

How long does each step take?

AusNet’s connection page does not publish a timeframe for approval or meter work, so be wary of anyone who promises a fixed date for those steps. Energy Safe Victoria does publish two timings for the safety side:

• the inspection of prescribed work should be completed within 8 business days of the work being finished
• the contractor or electrician must give you a copy of the Certificate of Electrical Safety within 4 days of completing it, once the inspection has been done

Why does solar need an independent inspection in Victoria?

Solar systems and battery energy storage systems are listed as prescribed electrical work. According to Energy Safe Victoria’s guide to certificates, prescribed work must be inspected by an independent Licensed Electrical Inspector. Your contractor organises the inspection. Inspectors are not Energy Safe employees, and Energy Safe does not arrange or schedule inspections, so a delay is a question for your contractor.

Two laws make the certificate compulsory: the Electricity Safety Act 1998, and the general electrical safety regulations made under that Act. It records who did the work and what was done. Keep it with your house papers: you will want it for warranty claims, insurance and any later upgrade. Energy Safe offers a COES search at no fee if you lose track of yours, and contractors may charge for administering certificates.

What does a careful installer do at each stage?

A good provider will:

• apply for pre-approval before ordering equipment or booking the install
• tell you the approved export limit in writing, and show it in the inverter settings at handover
• choose an inverter from AusNet’s approved list and set up the backstop connection
• give you the inspection result and your certificate without being chased
• lodge the post-application so meter reconfiguration is not held up

They will also refuse shortcuts. A careful installer will not fit a larger inverter than the approval allows, will not skip the internet connection the backstop needs, and will not leave out the inspection. These checks appear as line items in the solar quote checklist.

Does adding a battery or more panels need a new approval?

Usually, yes. Because AusNet sizes systems on total inverter capacity, adding a battery inverter, swapping to a larger inverter or adding a second inverter changes the figure that was approved. Expect the installer to lodge a fresh application before the work. Adding panels to an existing system is covered on the solar system upgrades page, and a like for like inverter swap or a move to a hybrid unit on the inverter replacement page.

A local note for Sale and Wellington Shire

Supply around Sale ranges from town streets near the centre to rural lines on farms toward Stratford and Heyfield. A rural property may be supplied by a SWER line, with its lower export limit, and a large shed system on three phase supply falls under the 30 kW rules. Local conditions in town are covered on the Sale area page. If you are unsure which supply you have, a photo of the meter and switchboard lets an electrician tell you quickly.

Next step: send the details the network will ask for

To get a quote that is ready for AusNet’s application, send a connection-ready solar enquiry and include:

• your full street address, so the provider can check the network at your location
• whether the property is single phase, three phase or on a rural line, if you know
• a photo of the meter and switchboard
• the size of any existing system and its inverter label
• whether the site has a reliable internet connection for the backstop

The provider can then size the inverter to fit the export limit before quoting.

Send a job enquiry