Point 4 of 6 · The switchboard
Generators and your switchboard: connecting one in Victoria
In Victoria, changes to a home’s wiring for a generator are for a licensed electrician: the Victorian Government says you must not connect permanent generators or do other electrical work around the home. Energy Safe Victoria rules out plugging one into a power point or wiring it to the switchboard, the only exception being a generator inlet already installed for the purpose, because the back-feed this causes can put utility workers and neighbours on the same local network at risk.
General information about Victoria, not advice about your property. Energy Safe Victoria and your electricity distributor are the places to check.
The line Victoria draws
The Victorian Government’s power safety page has two short instructions under “Using generators”. The first is to get a licensed electrician’s help to connect a generator. The second says you must not connect permanent generators or do other electrical work around the home, calling it both illegal and dangerous, and work that only licensed electricians can do.
Energy Safe Victoria’s generator page says the same about the wiring itself: “Never modify your house wiring to accommodate a generator. Any changes to household wiring must be carried out by a licensed electrician.”
Why not a power point: back-feed
Three Energy Safe pages carry the rule, each in slightly different words. Read together, they say what back-feed puts at risk.
| Energy Safe page | Its words |
|---|---|
| Using a generator safely | “Never try to power the house by connecting the generator into a wall socket or switchboard, unless there is an existing dedicated generator inlet. This can result in back-feed that can risk the safety of utility workers and neighbours in other words, those connected to the same local network.” |
| Power outages and energy safety | “Never try to power the house by plugging the generator into a wall socket or connecting it to the switchboard. This can risk the safety of utility workers and neighbours connected to the same network.” |
| Storms and energy safety | “Never try to power the house by plugging the generator into a wall socket or connecting it to the switchboard. This is a safety risk for you, utility workers and your neighbours using the same network.” |
Only the first names an exception, an existing dedicated generator inlet. Energy Safe’s page doesn’t describe one further, so whether a switchboard has one, or could have one fitted, is a question for an electrician.
The outage page adds a line about leads: “Never modify an extension cord to plug in to household wiring.”
After a flood
Energy Safe’s floods page repeats the rule and says where the generator goes instead: “If you are using a generator, do not attempt to connect it to the wiring of your home. A generator should only be used outside, with an extension cord to supply power direct to appliances such as the fridge or freezer.” It explains why outside: “Using a generator indoors creates a number of safety risks including the potential for carbon monoxide poisoning or a fire.” Its generator page sets out the full advice for running one on leads.
Connecting generation is prescribed work
Energy Safe’s list of prescribed electrical installation work includes generation: “Electricity generation systems including any wiring systems, switchgear, controlgear or accessories installed to provide control or protection to those generation systems (excluding stand-alone power systems with a power rating that is less than 500 volt-amperes).” The regulations define a stand-alone power system as a generation system connected to an installation that is not connected to a supplier’s network.
What prescribed means in practice, in Energy Safe’s words: generally, once prescribed work is completed, “a Certificate of Electrical Safety for prescribed electrical installation work is required to be issued and the work inspected by a licensed electrical inspector before connection to electricity supply.” Whether a particular generator connection falls in that list is for the electrician and inspector to say.
The inspectors have a class for it. Energy Safe’s Class RE licence, in effect from 5 April 2024, lets an inspector inspect electricity generation systems and battery systems, and it is offered in full and in a version restricted to generation powered by internal combustion engines.
What Energy Safe asks of the electrician
Energy Safe’s page for A Grade electricians sets out a list that begins “As an A Grade Electrician, you must:” and includes:
- “ensure your electrical installation work is safe to be supplied with electricity”
- “ensure your electrical installation work complies with relevant Standards”.
The A Grade licence itself “does not allow you to contract for electrical installation work for profit or reward”; that takes Registered Electrical Contractor registration as well. For householders, Energy Safe’s instruction is to engage a Registered Electrical Contractor, who sends a licensed electrician.
The other points on the path
If you want a generator to run part of the house in an outage, a registered electrical contractor can tell you whether your switchboard has a dedicated generator inlet, and what connecting one would involve.