The Solar Sharer Offer is a regulated electricity plan with three free hours every day, available since 1 July 2026 to households with a smart meter in NSW, South East Queensland and South Australia. You must ask for it. It saves money only if you move use into the free hours, because the other 21 hours are priced higher to pay for them.
Scheme rules and price caps checked
The design in one line. The AER set the plan so that a typical home that shifts nothing pays exactly what it would on the standard time-of-use reference price: in Sydney, $1,893 a year either way. Every kilowatt-hour you move into the window is the saving.
The Solar Sharer Offer is a standing offer created by the Competition and Consumer (Industry Code - Electricity Retail) Amendment Regulations 2026, which amended the Electricity Retail Code. The obligations sit in sections 12, 13, 13A and 18 of the amended Code. The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) set the prices in its 2026-27 Default Market Offer final determination, published on 26 May 2026. The government announced the scheme on 4 November 2025.
The AER must publish a guideline including its Solar Sharer design approach before 1 December 2026, and the offer may be adjusted from 1 July 2027.
The federal scheme does not apply in Victoria, the ACT, Tasmania, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, regional Queensland (Ergon Energy), or to homes on embedded networks. Victoria has its own Midday Power Saver, and regional Queensland has a state-regulated equivalent, tariff 12F, with the same rates as Energex. The full state-by-state picture is on free electricity.
Retailers only need one Solar Sharer Offer per region, whatever your underlying network tariff. They can reassign you to a time-of-use network tariff once you are on it, but cannot require that before you opt in.
The first 24 kWh a day used in the window is free. The government says that is enough for an average five-person household; the AER describes it as roughly a five-person home moving all its daily use into the window. Above 24 kWh you pay the above-cap rate, which equals the plan's off-peak rate (Ausgrid, Essential, Energex) or solar soak rate (Endeavour, SA Power Networks).
Controlled load is excluded. A hot water system or pool pump on a separate controlled-load circuit is billed on its own tariff and gets nothing free in the window. If your hot water is on controlled load, you may not be able to shift it.
| Network | Free window | Supply (c/day) | Solar Sharer rates outside the window | Standard time-of-use reference rates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AusgridNSW | 11am-2pm | 176.41 | Off-peak 27.56c (all other hours, and above the cap) Peak 63.72c (3pm-9pm, Nov-Mar and Jun-Aug only) | Off-peak 24.04c (all other hours) Peak 60.20c (3pm-9pm, Nov-Mar and Jun-Aug only) |
| Endeavour EnergyNSW | 11am-2pm | 185.13 | Off-peak 37.53c (all other hours, and weekends) Solar soak 14.19c (10am-11am, and above the cap) Peak 48.75c (4pm-8pm working weekdays) | Off-peak 35.69c (all other hours, and weekends) Solar soak 12.35c (10am-2pm) Peak 46.85c (4pm-8pm working weekdays (average of the 46.57c and 47.14c seasonal caps)) |
| Essential EnergyNSW | 11am-2pm | 272.22 | Off-peak 27.60c (10pm-7am, 10am-11am, 2pm-3pm, and above the cap) Peak 45.57c (7am-10am and 3pm-10pm) | Off-peak 24.14c (all other hours) Peak 42.12c (7am-10am and 3pm-10pm) |
| EnergexQLD | 11am-2pm | 177.85 | Shoulder 26.41c (9pm-11am) Off-peak 8.10c (2pm-4pm, and above the cap) Peak 48.90c (4pm-9pm) | Shoulder 25.30c (9pm-11am) Off-peak 6.98c (11am-4pm) Peak 47.79c (4pm-9pm) |
| SA Power NetworksSA | 12pm-3pm | 180.05 | Peak 58.84c (6am-10am and 4pm-midnight) Solar sponge 19.66c (10am-12pm and 3pm-4pm, and above the cap) Off-peak 35.17c (midnight-6am) | Peak 56.22c (6am-10am and 4pm-midnight) Solar sponge 17.04c (10am-4pm) Off-peak 32.55c (midnight-6am) |
These are maximums. Almost every retailer charges exactly these prices; see the retailer register.
The AER reallocated the revenue (including network costs) lost in the free hours to the other periods. So the Solar Sharer usage rates are 1 to 4c/kWh above the matching standard time-of-use caps, while the supply charge cap is the same. In Sydney, Ausgrid's peak rate goes from 60.20c to 63.72c and off-peak from 24.04c to 27.56c. The AER assumed no load shifting when it set those prices.
Shift nothing and the annual bill on the Solar Sharer Offer equals the time-of-use reference price, for the AER's standard usage profile:
| Network | Flat rate | Time of use | Solar Sharer Offer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ausgrid | $1,899 | $1,893 | $1,893 |
| Endeavour Energy | $2,328 | $2,320 | $2,320 |
| Energex | $1,988 | $1,914 | $1,914 |
| Essential Energy | $2,604 | $2,530 | $2,530 |
| SA Power Networks | $2,334 | $2,276 | $2,276 |
The AER's own warning: customers whose usage differs from its modelled profile, "or those who are on competitively priced market offers may not experience lower bills from transferring to the Solar Sharer Offer even if they change their behaviour." Many market plans are cheaper than these reference prices. Check yours on the Default Market Offer page.
Before or when making the offer, a retailer must say that:
Retailers must keep these records for six years. The plan is also included in the "better offer" checks retailers run every 100 days, but those use your last 12 months of usage and do not assume you change any habits, so they will rarely flag it.
Likely to come out ahead:
Likely to pay more:
Ask your current retailer for its Solar Sharer Offer; you don't need to switch company. Or compare what each retailer charges in the retailer register. Before opting in, put your own usage and rates through the savings calculator and compare with the whole market on Energy Made Easy.
General information only, not financial advice. We are not a retailer.
1 July 2026, in NSW, South East Queensland and South Australia. The AER set the first prices in its 2026-27 Default Market Offer determination on 26 May 2026. Victoria's separate Midday Power Saver started on 1 October 2026.
No. It is opt-in only. Retailers cannot place you on it by default or when a contract rolls over; you have to give explicit consent. Retailers must also tell you it suits people who can shift usage, that not shifting could cost more, and that use above the cap may be charged.
No. The window is fixed in local time all year: 11am-2pm in NSW and Queensland, 12pm-3pm in South Australia. Retailers cannot choose a different window for this plan. Some Essential Energy areas keep SA or Queensland time, and the window still starts at 11am local time.
The extra is charged at the plan's above-cap rate, which equals the off-peak or solar soak rate for your network: from 8.10c/kWh on Energex to 27.60c/kWh on Essential Energy at the maximum prices. The government describes 24 kWh as enough for an average five-person household.
Only if you move enough use into the window. The AER priced it so a typical home that changes nothing pays the same as the standard time-of-use reference price. If you are on a discounted market plan, you could pay more. Test it with your rates in the calculator.