What is the Emergency Backstop mechanism?
As of 1 October 2024, a new program known as the Emergency Backstop mechanism has been introduced by the Victorian Government Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA). This change is part of a broader effort to strengthen grid stability and reduce the risk of widespread blackouts, particularly in response to the major outages experienced last year.
The Emergency Backstop is designed to protect the electricity grid on mild, sunny days when solar exports can exceed demand. When too much solar energy is pushed into the grid, it can cause instability, voltage spikes, and even local outages.
The backstop allows rooftop solar systems to be temporarily turned down or switched off—as a last resort—to prevent blackouts and ensure the grid stays safe and reliable.
It will only be activated in rare emergency situations, under the direction of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), and never affects the electricity supply to your home.
By managing solar exports more safely, the mechanism helps ensure more Victorians can continue to enjoy the benefits and bill savings of rooftop solar.
Who does the Emergency Backstop mechanism apply to?
The mechanism applies to all new, upgraded, or replacement rooftop solar systems under 200 kW.
It allows distributors to remotely reduce or switch off solar exports during emergency situations—acting as a last-resort measure to prevent grid overload.
As part of this rollout, manufacturers like Tesla and SolarEdge must now receive compliance approval from the Victorian Government before they can process grid connections and enable exports to the grid for new systems.
While this process is underway, it has caused temporary delays in getting customer systems fully connected and ready to export power to the grid.
What does this mean for SmartShift™ enrolments?
If you're waiting to be enrolled in SmartShift, this compliance process may result in a delay.
Although your system may already be installed and functional, we cannot complete SmartShift enrolment until your manufacturer—either Tesla or SolarEdge—has received compliance approval under the new Emergency Backstop rules. Until then, they are unable to finalise export configuration or progress enrolments.
At present, compliance approval is currently expected to be finalised within the next 1 to 3 months.
Your application remains on hold (not cancelled), and as soon as compliance approval is granted and your manufacturer resumes processing, we’ll finalise your enrolment and get your system connected with SmartShift.
We know delays like this can be frustrating, and we appreciate your patience while the broader industry works through this new regulatory process.
If you have any questions, please get in contact with us.
You can find out more about the Victorian Emergency Backstop mechanism here.
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