GridFree · NSW embedded networks · General information, not legal or energy advice

Stuck on an embedded network? Answer 4 questions. Get your exit path.

In an embedded network, your building's operator sells you the power, and you can't just switch retailers like everyone else. The pathfinder below asks four quick questions and maps what is realistic in your situation: your options, what to ask the operator in writing, and where to complain for free. It is instant, free, and honest about how hard exiting usually is.

EXIT PATHFINDER · FREE · NO SIGN-UP

Question 1 of 4

Are you in an embedded electricity network?

Check your power bill: if the seller named on it is your building's operator, rather than a retailer you chose, you probably are.

Who is your embedded network operator?

Optional. It is usually the name printed on your bill above the charges. We use it to personalise the questions you should ask. You can skip this.

Operator name optional

Which best describes you?

This decides who is actually allowed to trigger an exit.

What is your main goal?

Pick the one that matters most right now.

General information only, not legal or energy advice. Everything runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Get the pack · A$79

✓ No change-of-mind refunds. ACL consumer guarantees apply. General information only, not legal or financial advice.

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See the exit map

General information only. Not legal or financial advice.

A$79 one-off · AUD, GST incl. · Secure checkout

Renting? The exit decision belongs to the owner, but you can start the conversation: a draft tenant-to-landlord letter is included in the letter templates.

Free tool · Complaint letter

Put your complaint in writing, the way EWON expects to see it

EWON will usually ask whether you have raised the problem with your operator first. Fill in four fields and get a firm, reasonable complaint letter you can copy, edit, and send yourself.

Everything runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent or stored anywhere.

What EWON can generally do

Investigate complaints about embedded network operators that are EWON members, as exempt sellers in NSW generally must be.
Help you and the operator resolve the dispute, often by negotiation or conciliation.
Make binding decisions in some cases, up to the monetary limit set in its charter.

What EWON generally cannot do

Set or regulate retail electricity prices.
Give you legal advice or act as your lawyer.
Override a valid term of your contract, although it can look at whether the operator followed the rules.

General information only, not legal or energy advice. For advice about your situation, contact EWON, the AER, or a qualified professional. Check EWON's website for its current scope, process, and limits.

How it works

How do I get out of an embedded network? The three moves, in order

STEP 1

Confirm you're embedded

Check your bill: are you buying from the building's operator (an exempt seller) or a retailer of your choice? Everything downstream depends on this answer.

STEP 2

Map the parties, ask in writing

List every party in the chain, then request your exit terms from the operator in writing. Nothing verbal: the templates do the asking.

STEP 3

Line up metering and document everything

Arrange your unit's metering and a willing retailer in the right sequence, and keep the paper trail airtight so a stalled exit becomes an ombudsman-ready file.

The exit map

Leaving an embedded network is a wiring diagram, not a phone call.

There is no "switch retailers" button when your building runs the network. Here is the sequence the pack walks you through. Miss a step and the whole thing stalls.

Confirm you're actually embeddedYOU + OPERATOR
Check your bills and supply arrangement: are you buying from the building's operator (exempt seller) or a retailer of your choice? Everything downstream depends on this answer.
Map the partiesOPERATOR / RETAILER / METERING / DISTRIBUTOR
List every party in the chain: who owns the parent meter, who supplies the gate meter, who bills you. Often only one name shows on the bill.
Request your exit terms in writingYOU TO OPERATOR
What the operator requires to release your unit: metering changes, fees, notice periods. Template letter included, nothing verbal.
Line up metering and a retailerMETERING PROVIDER + NEW RETAILER
Your unit needs its own meter arrangement and a retailer willing to supply it. The sequencing matters: this step has to land before the next one. Watch for double billing on network charges.
Document and dispute as neededYOU + EWON IF BLOCKED
Keep the paper trail airtight. If the operator stalls or the charges don't add up, this is the file you take to the ombudsman.
Verify the first billYOU
Confirm the old charges stopped, the new supply started, and nobody's double-billing you. The exit isn't done until the bill says so.

Retirement villages and caravan parks: some sites have different rules. The pack covers the standard strata and apartment path first, with the village treatment flagged separately. Note: village and park residents usually can't exit an embedded network individually; that module explains what is actually movable and what to ask the village operator instead.

The grievance

Everyone else can switch. You can't.

People in NSW apartments, retirement villages, and caravan parks on embedded networks live with a retail market they can see but can't touch.

TICKET 01 · LOCKED IN

You can't shop around for power

Your neighbours compare retailers every year. You're billed by the building's operator at the operator's terms. The competitive market may as well be on another planet.

TICKET 02 · OPAQUE BILLS

The bill answers nothing

Is the rate fair? Are the network charges right? The bill rarely shows enough to check, and the operator isn't volunteering a breakdown.

TICKET 03 · STALLED EXITS

"We'll get back to you", for months

Asking to leave kicks off a multi-party process nobody explains to you. Steps stall, parties point at each other, and months pass.

TICKET 04 · NO ROADMAP

Nobody hands you the map

The operator won't plan your exit. The retailer can't until you do. You're expected to project-manage your own escape from a system you didn't choose.

What's inside

Sequencing, templates, documentation.

The pack's value isn't information. It's the order of operations plus the paperwork to prove it. General information; your situation needs its own verification.

PRE-CHECK · FREE

Exit-feasibility pre-check

Three questions before anything else. If any answer is no, your building may not be exit-able yet:

Is your building actually on an embedded network? (Check your bill: the seller named on it.)
Does the operator hold an exemption or a full authorisation, and from whom?
Is your metering individually addressable, or shared across the building?

MODULE 01 · INCLUDED

The exit sequence

The full step-by-step order of operations: which party to contact first, what has to land before the next step starts, and where exits usually stall.

MODULE 02 · INCLUDED

Letter templates

Fill-in letters to the operator, metering provider, and prospective retailer: requesting exit terms, metering changes, and supply in writing. Includes a tenant-to-landlord letter asking the owner to act.

Who does what: owners decide and drive the exit; tenants can ask, document, and escalate. The templates are split into owner and tenant versions.

MODULE 03 · INCLUDED

Bill decoder

How to read an embedded-network bill: what each line should be, what's worth questioning, and what a fair comparison looks like.

MODULE 04 · INCLUDED

Dispute file builder

How to assemble the paper trail so that if the operator stalls, your complaint file is already ombudsman-ready.

MODULE 05 · INCLUDED

Village and park notes

Where retirement villages and caravan parks differ from the standard strata path, flagged separately and handled carefully.

Sample: operator exit-terms letter template (illustrative excerpt)

Template: request for exit terms (page 1)

Dear [Operator name],

I am the owner of [lot/unit] at [address], currently supplied under your embedded network arrangement. Please confirm in writing: (1) the metering changes required to release my unit; (2) any exit fees and notice periods; (3) the process and timeframe for the changeover.

Illustrative excerpt. The real templates ship as fill-in letters for the operator, metering provider, and retailer, in owner and tenant versions. You send them; GridFree never contacts anyone on your behalf.

What this is, and is not

Stated plainly, not buried.

What GridFree is

The exit sequence: which party to contact, in what order, with what paperwork.
Fill-in letter templates for the operator, metering provider, retailer, and landlord (owner and tenant versions).
A bill decoder and a dispute file builder that makes an EWON complaint stronger by documenting everything first.
Plain-English notes on where retirement villages and caravan parks differ.

What GridFree is not

Not legal or energy advice. General information about the exit process. Energy rules and exemptions change; get professional advice for your situation.
Doesn't act for you. It won't negotiate with your operator, lodge complaints, or manage your exit. The letters are templates; you send them.
Doesn't replace EWON. The Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW is the free dispute path, and it's named on this page on purpose.
No outcome is promised. The pack maps the process; the exit still depends on your operator, your metering, and a willing retailer. Anyone promising a guaranteed exit is selling something else.

Free help exists

Before you wait for a pack: free paths that work

You don't have to wait for GridFree to start. These are real, free, and available now.

The free paths: real, available today

EWON, the Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW. Free dispute resolution for energy complaints in NSW, including embedded-network disputes. Living in an embedded network (free, checked Oct 2026).
AER guidance on embedded networks. The Australian Energy Regulator publishes the rules exempt sellers and network operators have to follow: the actual rulebook, free. Embedded network customers (free, checked Oct 2026).
National Debt Helpline: 1800 007 007. Free, independent financial counselling if the bills are already unmanageable.

What the pack adds on top

Sequencing. The rules tell you what's allowed; the pack tells you the order to do it in, so the exit doesn't stall between parties.
Templates and documentation. Every step in writing, building an ombudsman-ready file as you go, so EWON sees a documented case, not a story.
The multi-party exit map. Operator, retailer, metering, distributor: mapped in one place with who does what when.

The honest version: if your dispute is already with EWON, or you're comfortable reading the AER rulebook and running the process yourself, start there. It's free. GridFree is for people who want the whole exit pre-sequenced with the paperwork assembled.

We sell general information. These services give actual advice about your situation, free.

The difference: EWON resolves disputes for free. Lawyers bill to fight your operator. The pack does the thing neither of them does: it maps your exit before it becomes a dispute, for A$79. General information, not legal or energy advice.

How this launches

The gates, published up front

GridFree launches when all three gates are passed. If any gate fails, it doesn't ship.

GATE 1
Pricing is set: A$79 one-off. Published and live.
GATE 2
The content is checked against the public rulebook, and its limits are stated. The exit sequence, letter templates, and the retirement-village treatment are checked against the AER's published embedded-network guidance and EWON's materials (sources listed in the pack, last checked 4 October 2026). They are general information, not legal review and not legal advice: the pack states its limits up front rather than claiming a lawyer signed it off.
GATE 3
The economics have to work. If the first paid cohort's value doesn't cover acquisition cost by at least 3 to 1, the product is retired. No zombie products.

FAQ

Embedded network exit questions, answered straight

What is an embedded network, exactly?

An embedded network is a private electricity network inside a building or site: the operator buys power at a parent meter and on-sells it to residents. They are common in apartment buildings, retirement villages, and caravan parks. You are a customer of the operator, not of a retailer you chose.

Is leaving even possible?

In many cases yes, but it is a process, not a switch: metering changes, retailer arrangements, and the operator's exit terms all have to line up before you can leave. The exit map above shows the sequence step by step. No outcome is guaranteed: it depends on your operator, your metering, and finding a willing retailer.

Can't I just complain to EWON directly?

Yes. EWON, the Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW, is the free dispute path in New South Wales, and it is named on this page on purpose. GridFree does not replace it. The pack's dispute file builder is designed to make an EWON complaint stronger by documenting everything first.

Will you negotiate with my operator for me?

No. GridFree does not act for you, contact your operator, or manage your exit. The pack gives you the sequence and the letter templates; you send the letters and run the process yourself. If you want someone to act for you, that is a lawyer or an advocate, not a pack.

What does A$79 include?

The full exit pack: the sequenced exit roadmap (6 steps, in order), fill-in letter templates for the operator, metering provider, retailer, and landlord (owner and tenant versions), the bill decoder, the dispute file builder, and the village and park notes. One-off payment of A$79, yours to keep.

General information, not legal or energy advice.

What are the refund terms?

No change-of-mind refunds. Australian Consumer Law guarantees apply: our goods and services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure, and compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage.

I'm renting. Is this for me?

Partly. The exit decision belongs to the owner, not the tenant, so a renter cannot exit the network alone. But the pack includes a tenant-to-landlord letter that asks the owner to act, and the dispute documentation approach works for tenants too.

Can I choose my own electricity retailer in my apartment?

Often yes in principle, but the building's wiring and metering can make it hard in practice. The Australian Energy Regulator notes that embedded network customers may have less opportunity to choose a retailer because of metering arrangements or a lack of energy-only contracts. Under the AER exemption framework, an exempt seller must not hinder you choosing a retailer.

GridFree's free exit-feasibility pre-check tells you whether your building's setup allows a switch before you spend anything. General information only, not legal or energy advice.

GET STARTED

Start with the free exit-feasibility pre-check

One email with the three questions that decide whether your building is exit-able yet. No drip campaign, no list rental. Unsubscribe anytime.

The comparison

Free paths exist. Here is when the pack is worth paying for.

Free ways to do this

EWON, the Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW. Free dispute resolution for energy complaints in NSW, including embedded-network disputes. Living in an embedded network (free, checked Oct 2026).
AER guidance on embedded networks. The Australian Energy Regulator publishes the rules exempt sellers and network operators have to follow. Embedded network customers (free, checked Oct 2026).
National Debt Helpline: 1800 007 007. Free, independent financial counselling if the bills are already unmanageable.

If your dispute is already with EWON, or you are comfortable reading the AER rulebook and running the process yourself, start there. It is free.

When the GridFree pack is worth paying for

Sequencing. The rules say what is allowed; the pack gives the order of operations, so the exit does not stall between parties.
Templates and documentation. Every step in writing, building an ombudsman-ready file as you go.
The multi-party exit map. Operator, retailer, metering, distributor: mapped in one place with who does what when.
Does not replace EWON. The dispute file builder is designed to make an EWON complaint stronger by documenting everything first; if your dispute is already with EWON, the pack may add nothing.

A$79 one-off · AUD, GST incl. · General information only. Not legal or financial advice.

Sources cited inside every module. Source list last checked 4 October 2026.

The paid alternative: an energy lawyer can advise on your exit, but it is advice billed by the hour, so ask for a fixed-fee quote first. The pack does not replace legal advice; it is general information and templates you run yourself.

General information only. GridFree is general information about navigating embedded-network exits in NSW, not legal, energy, or financial advice. Exemptions, rules, and retailer arrangements change; always check current AER guidance and get professional advice for your situation before acting.

Stuck on an embedded network? Here's the exit map.

Get the exit pack now. A$79 one-off, secure checkout.