CitiPower

VIC — Melbourne CBD and inner suburbs. 10 clause-level requirements, each mapped to a primary source.

At a glance

Network
CitiPower
State
VIC
Connection portal
CitiPower/Powercor eConnect
Pre-approval
Required before install
Typical timeframe
5–15 business days
Static export limit
single-phase 5 kW; three-phase 5 kW per phase
Flexible exports
Up to 10 kW total across all phases — CitiPower/Powercor flexible exports — Offered after a pre-approval returns a 0 kW export limit — CitiPower/Powercor: "Eligible customers will be offered a flexible exports connection after lodging a pre-approval and receiving a 0kW export limit." The alternative is a 0 kW static limit. No rollout schedule is published.
Zero export possible
Yes

Standard 5 kW/phase static (inverters up to 10 kW per phase installable). Dense inner-city network — constrained/zero-export approvals occur; larger connections may need network studies.

Clause-level requirements

VIC-EB-01

Applies to all NEW rooftop solar systems ≤200 kW from 1 Oct 2024, AND to legacy systems that have an inverter replaced after 1 Oct 2024 — unless the replacement is like-for-like or under warranty.

Applies to: New installs ≤200 kW; non-like-for-like inverter replacements

Source: DEECA — VIC emergency backstop (Stage 2) — accessed 2026-07-28

VIC-EB-02

Systems >200 kW: emergency backstop applies to all new, upgrading and replacement systems from 25 Oct 2023 (Stage 1).

Applies to: Large systems >200 kW

Source: DEECA — VIC emergency backstop (Stage 1) — accessed 2026-07-28

VIC-EB-03

Governing instrument: Stage 2 Ministerial Order (in effect Oct 2025, Vic Government Gazette GG2025S553) — REPLACES the previous Stage 2 Orders. Adds: legacy-system & battery clarifications; DNSP obligations to support installers incl. diagnostic information for failed testing; DNSP requirement to maintain operating utility servers and conduct network-wide testing; DAPR reporting additions.

Applies to: All parties

Source: Vic Government Gazette GG2025S553 — accessed 2026-07-28

VIC-EB-04

Pre-approval connection application must be submitted to the distributor BEFORE installation (model standing offer flow); check product-list changes since initial sale.

Applies to: Installer/retailer, per job

Source: DEECA industry guidance — Apply stage — accessed 2026-07-28

VIC-EB-05

Equipment must be CSIP-AUS compliant (or a compliant combination of equipment).

Applies to: Equipment selection

Source: DEECA industry guidance — accessed 2026-07-28

VIC-EB-06

Inverter(s) must be connected to the internet and REMAIN connected for the entire registration and commissioning process — non-connected devices are the biggest cause of connectivity failure.

Applies to: Install & commissioning

Source: DEECA industry guidance — Install and test stage — accessed 2026-07-28

VIC-EB-07

Configure the installation to communicate with the relevant distribution business's utility server; apply Australia A settings per the distributor's testing and commissioning process.

Applies to: Commissioning

Source: DEECA industry guidance — Install and test stage — accessed 2026-07-28

VIC-EB-08

The commissioning test must be run during DAYLIGHT conditions — tests run at night or in low light will not pass.

Applies to: Commissioning scheduling

Source: DEECA industry guidance — Install and test stage — accessed 2026-07-28

VIC-EB-09

Post-install: a licensed electrical inspector must conduct a safety check BEFORE the system generates; the system stays OFF until the inspection is approved and a Certificate of Electrical Safety is issued (the inspector turns the system on).

Applies to: Post-install

Source: DEECA industry guidance — Post-install stage — accessed 2026-07-28

VIC-EB-10

Post-install: notify the energy retailer and distribution business and submit required information for meter reconfiguration; the system is export-ready only when the distributor completes meter configuration and confirms connection.

Applies to: Close-out

Source: DEECA industry guidance — Close out stage — accessed 2026-07-28

Where the sources disagree

Emergency backstop threshold unit — 200 kW or 200 kVA

Two Victorian government sources state the SAME threshold in DIFFERENT units, and the difference decides which backstop stage a large system falls in. DEECA's page — the regulator's own, and the source the clauses in this file carry — gives ≤200 kW, which is the figure this profile states and renders. Solar Victoria's installer training page, the one an installer is actually sent to, reads verbatim: "Rooftop solar installers will need to install new, upgrading or replacement solar systems (less than or equal to 200kVA) to comply with Victoria's emergency backstop requirements." That is the only occurrence of the figure on that page and it is kVA. kVA is apparent power and kW is real power: at 0.8 power factor 200 kVA is 160 kW, so a system between 160 and 200 kW is inside the mechanism under one reading and outside it under the other. FirstPass does NOT choose between them and has not changed the figure — the clause-sourced 200 kW stands, because a clause carries a source and the training page's sentence is prose. Found 2026-09-02 by reading the page the weekly source check flagged as changed, rather than accepting a new hash. Question to put to DEECA and to Solar Victoria: for the emergency backstop mechanism, is the ≤200 threshold measured in kW or in kVA, and which figure governs a system rated between 160 and 200 kW?

Sources

Generated from data/networks/citipower.json. Every requirement above links to the primary source it was read from, with the date it was read. Network requirements change — check the linked source before relying on any line of this page. This page is decision support for a licensed installer, not advice, and it is not published or endorsed by CitiPower.

FirstPass — plan a job against current network guidance