In modern buildings, electricity flows seamlessly to residents and businesses without much thought about where it comes from or how it is managed. Behind the scenes, however, there may be a private network ensuring centralised distribution for cost-efficiency and with the potential to integrate renewables.
This network is known as an embedded network, a private electricity network operating within a high-rise building or multi-tenant development such as shopping centres or retirement villages.. Increasingly common in residential complexes, hospitals and commercial buildings, embedded networks are changing the way energy is supplied, billed, and managed.
For residents, owners, operators and managers, understanding what an embedded network is and how it operates can help make better decisions about operating compliantly, efficient energy use, costs, and unlocking the benefits.
An embedded electricity network is a private electricity distribution system that supplies multiple units or properties from a single connection point to the National Electricity Market (NEM). This main connection point is known as the Parent Meter or Parent NMI.
Instead of every apartment or tenancy having a separate grid connection, electricity flows through a single point, the Parent Meter, and is distributed internally via private electrical infrastructure to individual lots. Each lot has its own sub-meter, which records individual energy consumption for billing.
As buildings and developments become larger and more complex, embedded networks provide a cost effective, flexible, and future ready solution for energy management.
While embedded networks deliver significant benefits, they require specialist expertise to operate compliantly and efficiently.
ENM Solutions plays a key role in helping developers, owners, and operators manage their embedded networks by ensuring compliance with energy market regulations, managing the assignment of NMIs for on market customers, facilitating renewable energy integration, and planning for future energy demand and emerging technologies.
Professional management protects both residents and owners, ensuring the network remains financially viable, transparent, and compliant.
Embedded networks represent a smarter, more sustainable way to manage energy in multi unit developments. By centralising distribution, supporting renewable integration, and ensuring regulatory compliance, they deliver measurable benefits for all stakeholders.
For residents, this means:
For owners and operators, this yields:
As Australia transitions toward a cleaner, smarter energy future, professionally managed embedded networks will continue to play a vital role in driving efficiency, affordability, and sustainability across our communities.
