Sydney Metro Power & Wastewater Rules, by Council

Which electricity distributor covers your address doesn't follow council boundaries exactly, but it's close enough to map council by council (see the state-wide NSW article for the full framework, including Essential Energy's stricter rural export limit). Septic and OSSM approval runs through your council under the same statewide Section 68 process regardless of distributor.

Before you act on any of this: distributor boundaries can have exceptions at the edges, and this page is a research aid, not a legal reference. Always confirm your exact distributor via the network's own postcode checker before assuming which rules apply.
Jump to a council:
Wastewater is uniform across all these councils: Section 68 OSSM approval, NSW Health product accreditation, and the two-stage Approval to Install/Approval to Operate process apply identically regardless of which distributor serves your area. The genuine council-to-council variation on this page is entirely about which distributor covers you, and therefore which export rules and connection process apply.

Ausgrid councils: North Sydney, Hunters Hill, Georges River, Mosman, Ryde, Sutherland Shire, The Hills Shire, Waverley, Hornsby, Ku-ring-gai

Ausgrid covers eastern and northern Sydney, including all ten of these councils. Ausgrid's standard residential export limit follows the mainstream 5kW-per-phase figure — none of these councils fall under Essential Energy's stricter rural limit, since Ausgrid's whole network sits within its metro/Central Coast/Hunter footprint rather than Essential Energy's regional area.

Source: Ausgrid network area information

Endeavour Energy councils: Camden, Campbelltown, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith, Blacktown, Wollondilly, Fairfield, Hawkesbury

Endeavour Energy covers Greater Western Sydney, including all nine of these councils. Endeavour's standard export limit also follows the mainstream 5kW-per-phase figure for metro connections — the stricter rural limit covered in our state article applies specifically to Essential Energy's regional NSW network, which doesn't extend into any of these Sydney metro council areas, even in Endeavour's more rural-fringe LGAs like Wollondilly or Hawkesbury.

Source: Endeavour Energy network area information

Don't see your council listed? This page currently covers the same councils as our NSW livestock and land & water pages. Essential Energy covers all of regional NSW outside Greater Sydney, where the stricter rural export limit applies. The state-wide NSW article covers the full framework in the meantime.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my council determine my electricity distributor in NSW?

Not exactly, but it's close enough to map council by council for Greater Sydney - Ausgrid covers eastern and northern Sydney councils, and Endeavour Energy covers Greater Western Sydney councils. Essential Energy covers all of regional NSW outside these metro networks.

Do any Sydney metro councils fall under Essential Energy's stricter rural export limit?

No. Essential Energy's network, and its stricter 3kW rural export limit, covers regional NSW - it doesn't extend into any Greater Sydney council area, even in more rural-fringe LGAs like Wollondilly or Hawkesbury.

Does my septic approval process change based on my electricity distributor?

No. Section 68 OSSM approval runs through your council under the same statewide framework regardless of which electricity distributor serves your area - these are separate systems.