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Solar systems connected to the network may occasionally experience a temporary outage or export limitation. While these events are generally short in duration and won't affect your electricity supply, they may temporarily reduce or pause your ability to export excess solar energy to the grid. This page provides information about the types of solar outages and testing events that may occur, what they mean for your system, and what you can expect if your solar exports are affected.

 

Solar outages

Your rooftop solar system on the may occasionally be affected by an outage or temporary export limitation. This means your system is temporarily unable to export electricity to the grid, even though it may still be generating power for your home.

How could this affect my solar system?

  • Your solar exports to the grid may be temporarily reduced or paused
  • Your electricity supply will not be interrupted
  • The impact will generally last only a short period of time
  • Once the emergency condition has passed, normal operation will resume automatically

What do I need to do?

In most cases, you don’t need to do anything, and your system will return to normal automatically once the event has ended.

You do not need to:

  • Reset your inverter
  • Contact your solar installer
  • Contact Jemena
  • Turn your system on or off

Your property will continue to have access to electricity, and you can keep using your power as usual.

 

Solar outages and events

Solar outages or export limitations can occur for several reasons. The events below show when solar systems may be temporarily affected.
 
Solar PV Outages and Events Outage Information 
Digital system outages - utility server or related system outages that prevent commissioning tests for new or replacement inverters as part of the JEN connection process
Learn More 
New or replacement inverter testing - commissioning tests required as part of the JEN connection process
Learn More 
Annual testing - testing initiated by Jemena to ensure the emergency backstop capability of solar PV systems remains active and functional
Learn More 
Emergency Minimum System Load (MSL) events - events triggered under the direction of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO)
Learn More 

 

Digital system outage

Utility server and/or any other related digital system outages that prevent new and/or replaced inverter commissioning testing as part of the connections process.

Date of event Start time * End time **
22/12/2025 22/12/2025 13:40PM

23/12/2025 11:30PM

*   Date and time when first system outage event occurred.
 ** Time that the system was restored or estimated restoration time or estimated time when we provide the next update. 

 

New and/or replaced inverter testing

As part of ongoing commissioning activities, we are conducting daily testing of new solar microgeneration units and replacement of legacy solar microgeneration units to confirm that they are capable of remotely interrupting or curtailing electricity generation.

Date of event Start time End time
Ongoing (daily) Ongoing (daily) Ongoing (daily)

 

Annual testing (sub-network and network-wide)

Sub-network – annual testing of emergency backstop capability of solar systems at sub-network level. ​​Network-wide – annual testing of emergency backstop capability of solar systems at network-wide level​.

Date of event Start time* End time**
17/03/2026  11:00 AM 12:30 PM

*   Date and time when first active generation curtailment occured or is planned to occur.
 ** Time that the last active control for curtailment event was cancelled, completed or planned. Solar PV system maximum export limit reinstated shortly afterwards on this day.

 

Emergency Minimum System Load (MSL) event

In rare circumstances, your solar system may be temporarily reduced or switched off during a Minimum System Load (MSL) event. This occurs when rooftop solar generation is very high and demand for electricity from the grid is very low, creating conditions that can affect the stability of the electricity system and increase the risk of widespread outages.

To help manage these events, the Victorian Emergency Backstop Mechanism allows electricity distributors to temporarily reduce solar exports when directed by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).