Solar Sharer Offer Explained: Is 3 Hours of Free Electricity Worth It?

Three hours of free electricity every day sounds too good to question. From 1 July 2026, the Australian Government’s Solar Sharer Offer gives eligible households exactly that: zero-cost power during peak solar hours in the middle of the day. But whether the solar sharer offer in Australia actually saves you money depends on your household, your existing setup, and what you are giving up by switching plans.

Here is how the scheme works, who benefits most, and who might be better off staying put.

How the Solar Sharer Offer Works

Australia’s grid now produces more solar electricity than it can use during the middle of the day. Wholesale prices regularly drop to zero or go negative between 10 am and 3 pm in states with high rooftop solar penetration. The Solar Sharer Offer passes that surplus to households as three hours of free electricity.

Retailers with more than 1,000 residential customers in Default Market Offer (DMO) regions must make the plan available. Customers opt in through their retailer. No solar panels are required.

The free window runs at fixed times that do not change for daylight saving:

State	Free hours	Daily cap
NSW	11 am to 2 pm	24 kWh
South East Queensland	11 am to 2 pm	24 kWh
South Australia	12 pm to 3 pm	24 kWh

24 kWh is roughly what a five-person household uses in an entire day (the national average is 15.3 kWh per day, according to the Australian Energy Regulator). Most households will not hit the cap. If you do exceed it, the excess is billed at the plan’s standard daytime rate.

Who Is Eligible

You qualify if you meet all four conditions:

1. Residential customer in NSW, South Australia or South East Queensland
2. Smart meter installed at your property (interval meter that records usage in short time blocks)
3. Not on an embedded network (some apartment buildings and caravan parks use embedded networks, which are excluded)
4. Retailer offers the plan in your area (mandatory for retailers with 1,000+ customers)

Victoria’s equivalent scheme, the Midday Power Saver, launches 1 October 2026. Western Australia is considering a similar offer for 2027. Tasmania, ACT, NT and regional Queensland are not covered.

Getting a smart meter

If you do not have a smart meter, ask your retailer. In most states, your distributor will install one at no charge when your existing meter reaches end of life or when you request one. Timelines vary: some distributors complete installation within two weeks, others take six to eight weeks. A smart meter is also required for time-of-use tariffs and EV electricity plans, so it is worth having regardless.

The Trade-Off: What You Give Up

Solar Sharer plans are standing offers, not market offers. That distinction matters.

Standing offers are the regulated default. They carry higher usage rates outside the free window than competitive market offers. On the Ausgrid network in NSW, SSO peak rates sit around 63.7 cents per kWh versus roughly 47 cents on typical market plans. Switching to a Solar Sharer plan means you lose any market offer discounts, loyalty benefits or promotional rates you currently receive.

The practical effect: if you cannot shift meaningful consumption into the free window, the higher rates during morning, evening and overnight hours could cost you more than the free electricity saves. Energy Consumers Australia modelled a household that cannot shift load and uses 40% of its electricity during peak hours. That household would be $320 per year worse off on the SSO than on a standard market plan.

Controlled-load circuits (for off-peak hot water, pool pumps on dedicated tariffs) are charged separately and do not benefit from the free window.

Before switching, compare the Solar Sharer plan’s full rate schedule against your current plan using Energy Made Easy (NSW, SA, SE QLD). The free hours are attractive, but the total annual bill is what counts.

Solar Sharer for EV Owners

A home EV charger is one of the largest flexible loads in most households. A 7 kW charger running for the full three-hour free window draws up to 21 kWh. At a typical grid rate of 33 cents per kWh, that is $6.93 worth of free charging per session.

For a household that charges an EV two to three times per week during the free window, the annual saving is roughly $700 to $1,100 on charging alone. That is significant.

The practicalities: you need to be home during the window, or your charger needs scheduled charging capability. Most smart chargers (Zappi, Wallbox Pulsar Plus, Ocular IQ) support time-based scheduling through their app. Tesla vehicles can schedule charging natively. If your charger or car supports it, set the window to match your state’s free hours and forget about it. See our best home EV charger guide for models with scheduling.

One complication: if you already charge from rooftop solar during the day, the free-window scheme adds less value. You are already getting near-free charging. The scheme benefits EV owners without solar most directly.

For households that charge overnight on a dedicated EV tariff (some as low as 4.5 to 8 cents per kWh), the maths is less clear. Compare the overnight rate on your current plan with the full Solar Sharer rate card before switching.

Solar Sharer for Battery Owners

Battery owners may be the biggest winners. The scheme enables a powerful daily routine: charge the battery from free grid electricity during the solar window, then discharge it during the expensive evening peak.

On a cloudy winter day when rooftop solar is not filling your battery, the free window fills it instead. A 10 kWh battery charged for free and discharged at an evening peak rate of 40 to 50 cents per kWh is worth $4 to $5 in avoided grid costs. Over a year, that adds $500 to $800 in value on top of what the battery already saves from solar self-consumption.

Households with both rooftop solar and a battery get two energy streams during the free window: solar generation feeding the house and exports, plus free grid electricity that can top up the battery. This is particularly valuable in winter when solar generation alone may not fill a large battery.

For the full picture on battery economics, see our home battery guide, browse all models on the home batteries hub, and read about the battery rebate changes from May 2026.

Solar Sharer for Solar Households (Without a Battery)

If you have rooftop solar but no battery, the SSO is less compelling. Your panels already generate free electricity during the same midday hours. The free window overlaps almost entirely with your peak solar production.

The main benefit: on cloudy days when your panels are underperforming, the free grid electricity covers the gap. But on sunny days, you are already self-consuming or exporting, and the free grid power adds little.

There is also a feed-in tariff question. Solar Sharer plans often offer lower feed-in rates than market offers. AGL’s SSO pays 0 cents per kWh for exports (their market plan pays 8 cents for the first 8 kWh per day, then 3 cents). Origin’s SSO pays 3 cents versus 8 cents on their market plan. For a solar household exporting 8 kWh per day, switching from AGL’s market plan to their SSO could cost $230 or more per year in lost export revenue alone.

Solar-only households should compare plans carefully. The solar electricity plan comparison breaks down the key differences. For most solar households without a battery or EV, a competitive market offer with a strong feed-in tariff is likely still the better deal.

Solar Sharer for Households Without Solar

This is the group the scheme was designed for. Renters, apartment dwellers and homeowners without suitable roofs can access genuinely free daytime electricity for the first time. No upfront investment. No panels. Just a smart meter and an opt-in.

The savings depend entirely on how much consumption you can move into the free window. Running the dishwasher, washing machine and dryer during the free hours is the lowest-effort win. Households with pool pumps, electric hot water on a timer or home offices benefit the most.

Estimated annual savings by load-shifting level:

Share of daily load shifted to free window	Estimated annual saving
10%	$100 to $190
20%	$300 to $790
25 to 30%	$400 to $1,100

These figures come from modelled estimates and vary by state tariff and household size. Actual savings depend on your current plan’s rates versus the SSO plan’s non-free-window rates.

For households currently paying full retail rates with no solar, no TOU tariff and no special deal, the Solar Sharer Offer is almost certainly worth switching to. The free window alone can cover a meaningful share of daily consumption.

How to Switch

1. Check whether you have a smart meter (look at your meter box: a digital display with interval readings means you have one; a spinning disc means you do not)
2. Contact your retailer and ask for their Solar Sharer standing offer
3. Compare the SSO rate schedule against your current plan using Energy Made Easy
4. If the numbers work, opt in. There is no lock-in contract on standing offers

If you need a smart meter installed, your retailer will coordinate with your local distributor. Installation is typically free.

Frequently Asked Questions