November 12, 2026
From 1 November 2026, customers in the National Electricity Market (NEM) can now establish secondary settlement points within their premises. This is the final stage of the AEMC's Unlocking CER benefits through flexible trading rule, made in August 2024, and AEMO's Flexible Trading Arrangements (FTA) program.
For the first time, a single premises can have more than one point that is metered and settled in the market, without the need for a second physical connection to the distribution network and without setting up an embedded network. A battery, an EV charger, a solar system, or flexible plant can now carry its own National Metering Identifier (NMI), its own meter data, and, for large customers, its own energy service provider/retailer.
The reform also creates a new accredited market role, the NMI Service Provider (NMISP), to create and maintain the NMIs for these secondary settlement points. ENM Solutions is accredited by AEMO as an NMI Service Provider and is ready to support customers, retailers, and aggregators taking up the new framework.
In December 2025, we set out what was coming and when. Now that the rules are live, this article focuses on how they work in practice: the eligibility tests, how the arrangements differ for large and small customers, which meters can be used, and where secondary settlement points can now do the job that once needed an embedded network or a second connection.
A secondary settlement point (SSP) is a metering installation inside a customer's premises that is registered in the market as its own settlement point, with its own NMI. It sits behind the premises connection point (PCP), which is the existing point where the premises connects to the distribution network.
In practice, an SSP lets a customer separate flexible loads and resources, such as batteries, EV chargers, and controllable plant, from passive loads like lighting and refrigeration. The flexible resource can then be priced, traded, or managed as required. When an SSP is classified as a market connection point, its energy is settled on its own NMI and the PCP is settled subtractively. If an SSP is not classified as a market connection point, no subtractive calculation is made and the PCP's FRMP stays financially responsible for that energy.
Under new clause 7.2.6 of the National Electricity Rules (NER), a Market Participant can establish an SSP when the premises and the meter follow a set criteria.
The premises must:
The SSP metering installation must:
Before participating in the market at an SSP, the FRMP must appoint an NMI Service Provider, and keep one appointed for as long as it is the FRMP. AEMO can refuse to let a FRMP participate at an SSP if it has not done so.
Servicing SSP's are the NMI Service Providers, a new market role that requires AEMO Accreditation to participate within the market. Holding this accreditation requires a MarketNet connection, ability to transact with MSATS, public liability and professional indemnity insurance, and requirement to complete periodic AEMO audits. Importantly, accreditation is required for this role even where a business already holds other accreditations, such as the ENM, Metering Provider, or Metering Data Provider roles.
Every SSP must have an accredited NMI Service Provider. The NMISP creates the SSP's NMI, registers it in AEMO's Market Settlements and Transfer Solution (MSATS), and maintains accurate standing data for as long as the SSP exists.
We covered why the AEMC chose a contestable role over distribution network service providers (DNSPs) in our earlier article. In short, the role builds on functions an Embedded Network Manager (ENM) already performs. Within MSATS, the NMISP sits in the Local Network Service Provider (LNSP) role for the SSP, while the LNSP for the PCP is recorded in a new Premises Network Service Provider (PNSP) role. Noting that for SSP's created behind child connection points - the PNSP would be the ENM of that child NMI.
Large customers get the most flexibility. The FRMP for a large customer SSP can be different from the FRMP at the PCP. That means a manufacturer, cold store, hospital, or shopping centre owner can keep its retailer for the building, and appoint a different party to buy, sell, or optimise the energy flowing through a battery, solar array, or EV charging hub on the same site.
Under the NER, a large customer's SSP can be classified as a market connection point of:
Common large customer scenarios now include:
Where a large customer has different retailers at the PCP and an SSP, the National Energy Retail Rules (NERR) treat it as a shared customer of the distributor and each retailer separately. There is no need for a contract between the two FRMPs although they are encouraged to liaise with their customer ot ensure the acticities of one retail arrangement on the network are understood for the other.
Within the AER's Draft Retail Exempt Selling Guideline (version 8), they confirm that a non-authorised FRMP selling energy to a large customer through an SSP can rely on the existing R5 registrable exemption class. On the network side, the AER's draft Network Exemptions Guideline (version 8) confirms that creating an SSP does not, by itself, require a network exemption, including for customers of a Small Resource Aggregator. The AER expected to finalise both guidelines in November 2026.
Households and small businesses can also have SSPs, but with one key difference. The FRMP for every SSP must be the same as the FRMP for the PCP. The AEMC chose not to allow multiple FRMPs at small customer premises at this stage, pending further work on consumer protections.
What small customers gain is visibility and choice of product. A retailer can now offer a separate tariff or service for a home battery, EV charger, or hot water system, settled on its own NMI, while the rest of the home stays on the existing plan. The FRMP can also appoint a different Metering Coordinator at the SSP from the one at the PCP.
The NERR amendments keep small customers protected:
Importantly, if a residential small customer changes retailer at the PCP and no matching transfer is raised for the SSP, MSATS automatically moves the SSP to the new FRMP, sets it to off market, and applies zero settlement data. The SSP is not disconnected, but the new retailer has to choose to support it.
Throughout the formation of these rules and operational preparation, one question that frequently arises is around the metering that can apply at Secondary Settlement points. Despite common misconceptions, Type 4 meters and/or those that meet a higher burden of measurement/performance/specification and market standards can still be used at an SSP. For a small customer, the NER states a new or replacement meter at an SSP must be either a type 4 or a type 8B meter that meets the minimum services specification. For large customers, the standard meter types remain available alongside the new type 8A. Customers and retailers do not have to adopt the new meter types to take up an SSP, although there are requirements around how these are classified in the market systems.
Despite this, the rule allows for three new metering installation types with lower minimum specifications than type 4. The purpose of this change was to allow in-built measurement devices such as EV chargers and inverters be used for settlement, instead of installing a separate revenue meter.
A few rules apply to types 8A and 8B:
Before 1 November, a large customer that wanted a second energy service provider on site had two main options. It could set up an embedded network, with a parent connection point and a child NMI for the flexible asset, or it could pay for a second physical connection to the distribution network to get a second NMI. The AEMC noted the embedded network framework was never designed for this, and both options carry cost, time, and compliance overhead.
Secondary settlement points give these customers a purpose-built path. The table below shows how common arrangements compare.
While embedded networks can still be utilised for these solutions and may be simpler for those already established where a site supplies more than one end user, such as an apartment building, shopping centre, or retirement village, SSPs become a new option for energy solutions providers and customers to consider rather than be restricted to embedded networks. Conversely, SSP's do not replace child connection points. An SSP cannot measure a child connection point or supply to another end user, and a NMI cannot be both an embedded network parent or child and an SSP at the same time. Each are separate NMI allocations for separate connection points.
However, the two frameworks can work together. A customer inside an embedded network can establish an SSP within their own premises, for example for an EV charger or battery behind their child connection point. The AER's draft guideline confirms an embedded network remains an embedded network when individual customers adopt SSPs, and the exempt network operator keeps its existing obligations. Perhaps of most note in these scenarios is that the exempt frameworks of relevant jurisdictions will continue to apply.
Existing arrangements do not have to change. Customers using an embedded network to access a second provider can stay on that framework or move to SSPs if and when it suits them.
SSPs are voluntary, but they come with rules that shape what is possible at each site:
ENM Solutions is one of the first providers to be accredited by AEMO as an NMI Service Provider and is ready to create and maintain SSP NMIs from day one of the new framework.
The NMISP role was modelled on the work Embedded Network Managers already do, a service we have also been providing as one of the first accredited since 2017 - an area we have extensive experience. As one of the longest serving and only independent Embedded Network Managers in the NEM, we create and manage NMIs in a variety of scenarios and configurations, along with MSATS standing data and market transfers. Appointing ENM Solutions as your NMISP means you do not need your own accreditation, MarketNet connection, or specialist market systems to offer SSPs. We have also supported Small Resource Aggregators to bring customer resources into the market through embedded network arrangements, meaning our team are experienced and ready to go using SSPs as an option to simplify this process.
Having been actively engaged in this reform from the start and heavily involved in industry testing amongst a vast array of test scenarios prior to the go-live date, our team are ready and waiting to help you get started and be an early mover in Secondary Settlement Points and Flexible Trading. This includes an applied understanding of how these arrangements intersect with embedded networks, exempt frameworks and use cases.
We can help:
As with all our work, we bring a high level of service, transparency, and depth of market knowledge. If you are considering a secondary settlement point, or want to understand what flexible trading means for your sites, talk to our team at 1300 000 366, get in touch online, or read more about our NMI Service Provider services.
