Time-of-use tariffs explained

Peak, shoulder, off-peak and solar soak

A time-of-use (ToU) plan splits the day into periods, each with its own price per kWh. The names vary by network, but there are four kinds:

• Peak: the late afternoon and evening, when demand on the grid is highest. Always the dearest rate.
• Shoulder: a mid-priced period on some networks. Energex calls 9pm-11am shoulder.
• Off-peak: the cheaper hours, usually overnight. On some networks it covers every hour that is not peak.
• Solar soak or solar sponge: a cheap midday period, priced low because rooftop solar floods the grid then. Endeavour, South Australia and Victoria have one by name, and Energex's 11am-4pm off-peak works the same way.

You need a smart meter for any of this, because a legacy meter cannot record the time of use. If you are not sure what you have, see our smart meter guide. There is also a fixed daily supply charge, the same whatever hour you use power.

Time-of-use hours and rates by network

These are the reference time-of-use prices for 2026-27: the AER's Default Market Offer caps in NSW, South East Queensland and South Australia, and the Victorian Default Offer in Victoria. Each mirrors the network's own time-of-use tariff. Market plans from retailers are often cheaper and can use different hours, so check your plan's fact sheet.

Why every free-power plan is a time-of-use plan

The Solar Sharer Offer and Victoria's Midday Power Saver are time-of-use plans with one period priced at zero: three free hours a day, up to 24 kWh. The other 21 hours still have a peak and an off-peak rate, and the AER set those 1 to 4 cents per kWh above its standard time-of-use caps, because the free hours have to be paid for somewhere.

So the question with a free-power plan is the same as with any ToU plan: how much do you use in the peak, and how much can you move? A household that moves nothing pays about the same as on the reference ToU plan. One that piles its dishwasher, laundry and hot water into the free hours does much better. Our free power calculator works it out for your network, and the retailer register shows each retailer's rates outside the window.

Worked example: flat rate vs time-of-use

A three-person home on each network, using the regulator's average hourly pattern and its household benchmark for annual use. First it changes nothing; then it moves 3 kWh a day (roughly a dishwasher, a load of washing and some drying) out of the 4pm-9am hours and into the middle of the day. Same calculator engine as the calculator, reference rates from the table above.

Who time-of-use suits, and who it does not

Time-of-use tends to pay off if you:

• are home in the day, or can put appliances on timers;
• have electric hot water you can heat at midday or overnight;
• charge an EV at home (see EV electricity plans);
• have a home battery that can be charged cheaply and run the house through the peak (see batteries and free power).

It tends to cost you if most of your use falls in the evening and cannot move: heating or cooling a house from 4pm, cooking, and everyone home at once. In South Australia the peak also covers 6am-10am, which catches morning showers and breakfast. If that sounds like your home, a flat rate may be the safer choice. Compare what is on offer at your address on Energy Made Easy or Victorian Energy Compare.

Mandatory time-of-use: what networks are doing

Networks are moving smart-metered homes onto cost-reflective network tariffs, which is why people talk about "mandatory time-of-use". It happens at the network level, as a charge to your retailer:

• SA Power Networks: homes with a smart meter go on its residential time-of-use network tariff by default, with an opt-in "Electrify" alternative.
• Ausgrid: the default is a demand tariff, not time-of-use: an introductory demand tariff for 12 months, then the standard one. Time-of-use is available through your retailer.
• Energex: secondary sources say smart meter customers are assigned to residential time-of-use tariff 6900 (peak 4pm-9pm, off-peak 11am-4pm, shoulder 9pm-11am). We have not confirmed its scope on an Energex or AER page.
• Victoria: all five networks moved to a new three-period time-of-use structure from 1 July 2026, adding an 11am-4pm solar soak and moving peak to 4pm-9pm.

What protects you is the retail rule. For two years after a new smart meter, your retailer needs your explicit informed consent to change your tariff structure, and it must offer smart meter customers a flat-rate option. Your retailer can still choose to pass the network's time-of-use costs into its prices, so it pays to check your plan once a year.