Export rules
The 1.5 kW export limit, and how to get paid for more
Every new or upgraded solar or battery system in the south-west starts life limited to exporting 1.5 kW to the grid. For most homes that limit is lifted remotely after the install, but only if a few things are in place. Here's how it works.
Why the limit exists
Rooftop solar now supplies more than half the renewable electricity on the south-west grid. On mild sunny days there can be more solar coming off roofs than the grid can safely take. So since 1 May 2026, every new or upgraded system up to 30 kVA has to do one of two things:
- be able to be turned down or off remotely by your electricity retailer, or
- stay export-limited to 1.5 kW for good.
The remote control is only for grid emergencies. It doesn't touch what you use in your own house. Your panels and battery keep running your home either way.
How the limit gets lifted (Synergy customers)
- Before the install, the system is registered with Synergy through a Distributed Energy System application. Synergy issues a reference number for the installer.
- The connection is approved by Western Power.
- On the day, the installer sets the inverter to export no more than 1.5 kW. That's standard on every system.
- The inverter is connected to your Wi-Fi and registered with the manufacturer's portal, which links it to Synergy's systems.
- The installer runs Synergy's test to prove Synergy can talk to the inverter.
- Synergy then raises the export limit remotely, up to 5 kW for the DEBS buyback.
If the inverter loses its internet connection for long enough, it falls back to 1.5 kW until the connection is back. That's a safety default, not a penalty.
Your Wi-Fi matters more than you'd think
The inverter usually sits in the garage or on an outside wall, which is often where home Wi-Fi is weakest. A system that keeps dropping out spends more of its life at 1.5 kW. We check the signal where the inverter will go at the site visit, and fit an extender if it needs one.
If you'd rather not keep the system online, or your site genuinely can't hold a connection, you can choose the fixed 1.5 kW option. You still use all your own solar and battery. You just export less, and you won't be on DEBS.
Is 1.5 kW enough?
For a house with a battery, often yes. Most of the surplus goes into the battery instead of the grid, and DEBS only pays 2c per kWh during the day anyway. The extra export matters most if you have a lot of panels and no battery, or if you want to sell power in the evening at the 10c rate.
Bigger systems
The same rules raised the size limit. On a standard connection you can now install up to 30 kVA of inverters. A larger inverter doesn't change the export rule above: Synergy still credits up to 5 kW of export. Bigger inverters earn their place on panels, battery charging and backup, not on buyback.
Want the numbers for your house?
Send us your latest Synergy bill and we'll size a system from your actual usage, show every rebate as its own line, and tell you what we can and can't offer before you sign anything.