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

Three hours of free electricity every day sounds too good to question. Since 1 July 2026, the Australian Government’s Solar Sharer Offer has given eligible households exactly that: zero-cost power during peak solar hours in the middle of the day. Three months in, the verdict on the solar sharer offer in Australia is clearer. It pays off if you have an EV, a battery or big daytime loads you can move. For everyone else, the higher rates and supply charges on launch plans often cost more than the free hours save.

Here is how the scheme works, what the real plans look like now they have launched, who benefits most, and who is 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, Energy Made Easy says the excess is charged at a “reasonable use” rate equal to the plan’s lowest off-peak rate.

What Happened After Launch: July to September 2026

The offer launched on time with most retailers, but the plans cost more than many people expected. Engie, Red, Origin, Dodo, OVO and Sumo had plans live in the first week of July. EnergyAustralia did not. It made its plan available on 3 August 2026, more than a month late, and the ACCC accepted a court-enforceable undertaking in which the retailer admitted breaching the Electricity Retail Code.

Supply charges were the big surprise. Several retailers lifted daily supply charges going into July, and some Solar Sharer plans carry a higher daily charge than the same retailer’s standard plan. In July, Energy Minister Chris Bowen asked the ACCC and the Australian Energy Regulator to look into retailers raising supply charges at a time when regulated prices were meant to fall.

Here is what launch plans looked like on the Ausgrid network in Sydney, as published by retailers in July 2026:

Retailer (Ausgrid)	Daily supply charge	Peak rate	Off-peak rate	Solar feed-in
AGL Solar Sharer	176.24c	63.72c/kWh	27.56c/kWh	0c
Origin Solar Sharer	176.41c	63.69c/kWh	27.56c/kWh	3c
Red Energy Solar Sharer	176.41c	63.72c/kWh	27.56c/kWh	1.1c to 6.7c

Prices as of July 2026. Check the current rate card on Energy Made Easy before you switch, because retailers can change standing offer rates.

A peak rate of nearly 64 cents is roughly double a typical flat rate on the same network. That is the cost of the free window. RenewEconomy’s August 2026 costing for an Ausgrid household using 21.6 kWh a day put both AGL’s and EnergyAustralia’s Solar Sharer plans at $3,270 a year. AGL’s Residential Smart Saver came in at $2,900 and EnergyAustralia’s Flexi plan at $2,800. On that usage profile, Solar Sharer was the dearest of EnergyAustralia’s 19 plans.

Early users on energy forums report the same pattern. Households with a battery or EV describe monthly bills falling to very little by filling the battery and car in the window. Households without flexible loads report that pushing even half their daily use into three midday hours is hard, and that the doubled evening rate bites.

A few practical gotchas have come up repeatedly:

• Controlled-load hot water gets no free power. Moving an off-peak hot water system onto the main meter and a midday timer needs an electrician, and some distributors charge to remove the old load-control device. Get the cost before assuming the hot water will run for free.
• Battery settings matter. Set your battery to charge from the grid during the window and hold that charge for the evening peak. Some owners found default settings let the battery drain into the morning shoulder period instead.
• VPP enrolment is separate. You can take a Solar Sharer plan without joining a retailer’s virtual power plant. Read the plan terms if the retailer bundles the two.

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 Victorian Midday Power Saver, launches 1 October 2026. It also runs from 11 am to 2 pm every day, needs a smart meter and is opt-in. The Victorian Government estimates households could save around $149 to $428 a year. When the scheme was announced in November 2025, the federal government said it would work with other states to extend the offer by 2027. Tasmania, ACT, NT, WA and regional Queensland are not covered today.

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. In its final 2026–27 Default Market Offer, the Australian Energy Regulator set the Solar Sharer at the same annual price as the time-of-use Default Market Offer in each network area, which means the free hours are paid for by higher rates at other times. On the Ausgrid network in NSW, launch plans charged about 63.7 cents per kWh in the peak (see the table above). Switching to a Solar Sharer plan also 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 can cost you more than the free electricity saves. Energy Consumers Australia modelled this in June 2026. A household using 30% of its electricity in the free window but 40% in the 3 pm to 9 pm peak would be about $320 per year worse off. The same household with only 20% of its use in the peak would be about $210 per year better off. When you use power matters as much as how much you move into the window.

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 charging itself is worth roughly $700 to $1,100 a year at that rate. That is significant, but it is not the net saving. Subtract whatever extra you pay in supply charges and peak rates compared with your current plan, then decide.

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, and how little you use in the evening peak. 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. If your hot water is an electric storage tank, our guide to solar diverters and hot water timers covers how to move it into the midday window.

Launch pricing changed the maths for this group. Here is what the published modelling shows:

Scenario	Result vs a standard plan	Source
30% of use in free window, 20% in 3 pm to 9 pm peak	About $210 a year better off	Energy Consumers Australia, June 2026
30% of use in free window, 40% in peak	About $320 a year worse off	Energy Consumers Australia, June 2026
Ausgrid household, 21.6 kWh a day, standard usage profile	$370 to $470 a year more than the same retailer’s cheaper plans	RenewEconomy, August 2026
Victorian Midday Power Saver households	Around $149 to $428 a year saved	Victorian Government estimate, 2026

The pattern is consistent. A household that is out all day and runs the aircon and oven in the evening pays more on a Solar Sharer plan. A household that works from home, runs appliances at lunchtime and keeps evening use low can come out ahead. Run a week of your own smart meter data through the comparison on Energy Made Easy before switching, rather than assuming free hours mean a smaller bill.

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.

If the numbers do not work after a billing cycle or two, you can ask your retailer to move you back to a market offer. Keep your old plan’s name and rates on file so you can compare like for like.