Australia’s energy landscape is shifting rapidly. With more than 28.3 GW of rooftop solar now installed across the country and battery storage installations accelerating at a remarkable pace, the economics and practicalities of on-site energy management have fundamentally changed. For commercial buildings, industrial facilities, strata developments and embedded networks, behind the meter solar and storage has moved from a forward-thinking option to an operational priority.
Rising electricity costs, tighter network conditions and growing pressure to keep operations running have pushed many organisations to rethink how they source and manage power on site. A well-designed behind the meter system can help a site use its own solar generation more effectively, reduce exposure to peak demand charges and maintain greater continuity when the grid is under stress.
Key Points
Behind the meter solar and storage gives businesses direct control over how they generate, store and use electricity on site.
Battery storage costs in Australia fell by 11 to 16 per cent in 2024–25, making the business case stronger than ever.
Reducing peak demand charges is one of the most significant financial benefits available to commercial and industrial sites.
Resilience now means more than backup power — it means visibility, flexibility and the ability to respond to grid volatility in real time.
Accurate metering is essential to verify performance, manage demand and extract full value from a solar and storage investment.
SATEC provides NMI-approved energy meters and the Expertpower platform specifically suited to behind the meter solar and storage applications across Australian commercial and industrial sites.
Why Behind The Meter Matters for Australian Businesses
The phrase “behind the meter” refers to energy assets installed on the customer side of the utility meter. That includes technologies such as rooftop solar, battery storage, private metering, load monitoring and energy management systems. Unlike utility-scale infrastructure, these assets are controlled at the site level and are designed to serve the needs of the building or facility first. That distinction matters more than ever in Australia.
The National Electricity Market remains volatile, with spot prices capable of swinging dramatically within a single day. Demand tariff structures applied by distributors and retailers mean that a short, sharp peak in consumption can add significantly to a site’s monthly bill regardless of how well it manages energy at other times.
Australia’s rooftop solar fleet has now reached 28.3 GW of installed capacity across approximately 4.3 million installations. Rooftop solar’s contribution to total electricity generation reached 14.2 per cent in the second half of 2025, up from 13.4 per cent in the same period the previous year. Solar on its own has already changed the economics of on-site energy generation.
Storage takes that further by giving businesses more choice about when to use electricity, when to store it and which loads to protect. Battery storage costs in Australia fell by between 11 and 16 per cent in 2024–25, depending on duration. That trajectory is making behind the meter storage increasingly accessible for commercial and industrial sites across the country.
Resilience Is No Longer Just About Backup Power
Traditional backup strategies often focus on what happens during a full outage. That is still important but many businesses now face a wider set of risks. Brief disruptions, voltage fluctuations, constrained network periods and sudden demand peaks can all affect operations long before a complete loss of supply occurs.
This is why behind the meter solar and storage is becoming the new standard for energy resilience. It does not only respond to emergencies. It improves the day-to-day stability and flexibility of a site. That can mean reducing dependence on the grid during peak pricing windows, supporting continuity for essential systems and giving facility managers more confidence in how their energy infrastructure is performing.
Demand-side management strategies including load shifting and on-site generation can cut peak usage costs by 20 to 30 per cent and improve grid stability. For sites operating under demand tariffs, that kind of reduction can represent a material improvement to the bottom line. For sites with sensitive equipment or high occupancy, resilience also includes better operational awareness.
Knowing when solar output drops, when battery discharge begins, when demand is climbing and when power quality events occur is just as important as having the asset installed in the first place.
The Role of Battery Storage in the Australian Market
A record 183,245 battery units were installed in Australian households in the second half of 2025 alone, representing a four-fold increase compared to the same period in 2024. The total number of battery installations across Australian households reached 454,753 by the end of 2025. While much of this growth has been residential, the commercial and industrial segment is following.
Battery storage deployment in Australia’s NEM surged 150 per cent year-on-year in recent periods and hybrid solar-battery projects now make up a significant share of the country’s energy investment pipeline. When solar and battery storage are paired behind the meter, the site gains a practical layer of resilience.
Excess solar can be stored for use later in the day. Batteries can support critical loads during periods of grid instability. Operators can reduce imports during expensive peak periods and smooth out sharp demand spikes that affect both cost and power quality. The result is a more responsive energy system that supports both cost management and operational stability.
The Value of Visibility in a Behind The Meter System
One of the most common shortfalls in energy projects is focusing only on generation and storage hardware. Solar panels and batteries are essential but without accurate metering the site cannot fully understand performance. A behind the meter strategy depends on high-quality data.
Metering shows how much solar is being generated, how much energy is being imported from the grid, how battery charging and discharging are affecting the site and where loads are changing across the day. It also helps identify whether the system is delivering the outcomes the business expected.
This is especially important in complex environments such as commercial buildings, industrial sites and embedded networks. In these settings, decision-makers need more than a monthly bill. They need interval data, demand visibility and power quality insights that can support operational decisions and future upgrades.
Without that visibility, even a technically sound behind the meter installation can underperform from a business perspective. Savings may be hard to verify. Demand issues may go unnoticed. Resilience benefits may be assumed rather than measured.
How SATEC Fits the Picture
This is where SATEC’s metering products play a direct role in behind the meter solar and storage environments. Comprehensive smart metering solutions designed specifically for solar and battery storage applications are at the core of what is on offer. Advanced power meters deliver Class 0.5S accuracy for commercial and industrial installations and are supported by cloud-based data management through the Expertpower platform.
For commercial and industrial sites, bi-directional measurement is critical. A solar and storage system moves energy in multiple directions and standard metering is simply not equipped to capture that accurately. Bi-directional energy measurement, interval data collection per NER Chapter 7 requirements and real-time monitoring capabilities are all supported, making the meters well suited to solar and battery system optimisation and regulatory compliance within Australian grid environments.
The Expertpower platform enables automatic data collection from energy meters with customisable dashboards and multi-user access. In practical terms, that means a site can move beyond broad assumptions and gain detailed visibility into how its energy assets are performing across every interval of the day.
In a behind the meter application, the meters measure key electrical parameters such as energy, demand, voltage, current, power factor and frequency. Power quality information and event monitoring can also play an important role where enabled, particularly for sites that want to understand not only how much energy they are using but how stable and efficient the system is under changing conditions. The platform adds another layer of value by turning metering data into usable insight. Instead of looking at disconnected readings, operators can monitor trends, review site performance, track alarms and support better energy decisions over time.
For businesses investing in solar and storage, that kind of visibility is essential. It helps confirm whether the system is reducing peak demand, improving self-consumption and supporting resilience goals in the way it was intended to. Australian regulations require NMI pattern-approved bi-directional meters meeting Class 1 or better for residential solar and storage applications and Class 0.5S for commercial and industrial sites.
Compliance with these requirements is not optional, it is a precondition for operating a metered solar and storage system correctly within Australian regulatory frameworks. SATEC’s NMI-approved meters are designed to meet these requirements from day one.
A Smarter Standard for Modern Sites
The growing appeal of behind the meter solar and storage is not difficult to understand. Businesses want more control over costs, more confidence in continuity and more flexibility in how they use electricity. As energy systems become more dynamic, resilience depends on much more than having assets installed on site.
It depends on knowing what those assets are doing and how they are affecting the broader operation. That is why the combination of solar, storage and robust metering is becoming the new standard across Australian commercial and industrial sites. Solar generates opportunity. Storage adds flexibility. Metering provides the visibility needed to manage both effectively.
For organisations planning their next energy upgrade, the real question is no longer whether behind the meter matters. It is how to make sure the system is measured properly from day one so resilience is not just promised, it is proven.
FAQs - Behind The Meter Solar and Storage
What is a behind the meter solar and storage system?
A behind the meter system refers to solar panels, battery storage and energy management equipment installed on the customer side of the utility meter. These assets are controlled at the site level and are designed to serve the energy needs of the building or facility directly.
How does battery storage improve energy resilience for commercial sites?
Battery storage allows a site to hold excess solar generation for use during peak periods or grid instability, reducing dependence on imported electricity when it is most expensive. It also helps smooth out demand spikes that can significantly increase costs under Australian demand tariff structures.
Do I need specialised metering for a solar and storage system?
Yes. Standard meters are not equipped to accurately capture the bi-directional energy flows created by a solar and storage system. Australian regulations require NMI pattern-approved bi-directional meters meeting Class 1 or better for residential installations and Class 0.5S for commercial and industrial sites.
How does the Expertpower platform help manage a behind the meter system?
Expertpower collects interval data from SATEC energy meters and presents it through customisable dashboards, giving operators real-time visibility into solar generation, battery performance and demand trends. This allows businesses to verify savings, track alarms and make informed decisions about their energy assets over time.
