If you live or work in a building that’s part of an Embedded Network, you might have wondered why you can’t choose your electricity retailer — especially if you’ve heard that people in other states can.
The short answer is: the WA market isn’t designed for it.
How electricity supply works in WA
Western Australia runs its own electricity market, separate from the National Electricity Market (NEM) that operates in the eastern states. In WA, most customers are non-contestable, which means they can’t shop around for a different electricity retailer. Instead, they must buy electricity from Synergy (in the south-west) or Horizon Power (in regional areas).
Only large industrial users — those with very high electricity consumption — are contestable, meaning they can choose their supplier.
So even before you consider an Embedded Network, most WA customers already don’t have retail choice.
What this means for Embedded NetworksAn Embedded Network (EN) is a private electricity network inside a site, like a shopping centre, apartment building, or business estate, where one main connection supplies power to the site, and the EN operator then manages supply to each tenancy or unit. In WA, ENs are regulated through what’s called an Alternative Energy Services (AES) arrangement under Energy Policy WA. But the systems and market processes that would allow a customer within an EN to switch to another retailer simply don’t exist here. In other words, there’s no marketplace or billing mechanism to make it happen — even if someone wanted to. |  |
Could this change in the future?
When Energy Policy WA released its voluntary Embedded Network Guidelines, it floated an idea: if a tenant really wanted their own electricity supply, they could pay to “wire out” of the Embedded Network.
That would mean hiring an electrician to physically separate their wiring and connect directly to the main grid.
However, this approach would:
- Be very expensive — it often involves complex electrical works and approvals.
- Be disruptive — the site’s electrical design may not easily allow it.
- And in most cases, have to be undone when the tenant’s lease ends, so the site can be restored to its original setup.
So while it’s technically possible, in practice it’s rarely feasible.
How this compares to the eastern states
In other parts of Australia, like Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland, Embedded Networks are part of the National Electricity Market. There, customers have a legal right to choose another retailer — though in reality, it’s still a complicated process.
Those states use accredited Embedded Network Managers (ENMs) and national market systems that allow retailer switching. But those systems don’t exist in WA, which operates independently.
What’s next for WA
The upcoming reforms and guidelines being developed by Energy Policy WA are focused on consumer protections, transparency, and clarity for operators, rather than introducing retailer choice.
Until the broader WA electricity market allows small customers to choose their retailer, tenants in Embedded Networks will continue to receive electricity through their EN operator — not a separate provider.
For now, that means the focus remains on making sure prices are fair, information is clear, and consumer protections are in place.