Solar Sharer Offer in 2026: 3 Hours of Free Electricity Explained⚡

WHAT IS THE SOLAR SHARER OFFER?

The Australian Government have announced that the Solar Sharer Offer (SSO), a regulated energy offer that helps Australian properties access 3 hours of free energy in the middle of the day, will be available from July 1, 2026.

As a part of reforms to the Default Market Offer (DMO), which is changing how households that don’t or can’t shop around are protected. This is set to reinforce customer safeguards and empower households with more efficient and improved pricing.

From the start of July, energy retailers are required to offer at least one plan that includes a 3-hour period of completely free electricity every day. This will be capped at 24kWh which is deemed ‘reasonable’ usage.

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WHY IS THE GOVERNMENT SUDDENLY GIVING OUT FREE POWER?

Whilst it might feel a bit random that the Australian government is suddenly handing out free power, it’s essentially because Australia has done too well at becoming a solar superpower. With well over 4-million rooftop solar systems all feeding into the grid, daily electricity prices fall dramatically as energy supply surpasses demand.

In addition to the Cheaper Home Batteries program, which is designed to help absorb that daily solar generation, the Solar Sharer Offer will help incentivise customers to use power during the free energy periods – also referred to as ‘load shifting’.

Instead of running the majority of appliances during peak periods (5-9pm) which puts more demand stress on the grid, a cost-free period throughout the day enables Australian households to use appliances like dishwashers and EV chargers when solar is at its peak generation and reduce peak demand.

HOW DOES 3 HOURS OF FREE ELECTRICITY FIT INTO YOUR BILL?

Most Australian households are based on a time-of-use (TOU) tariff/energy plan which works by charging you based on the time you use energy - cheaper during off-peak periods, and more expensive during peak periods which is around 5-9pm during summer.

The Solar Sharer Offer sits around when solar is at its maximum production, where grid electricity is at its cheapest and demand relatively low.

Whilst the 3 hours of free energy is valuable, your retailer may increase your peak period pricing which could eat into the savings from the free energy period.

Courtesy of Origin

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FREE POWER FOR NON-SOLAR OWNERS

The Solar Sharer Offer isn’t only for solar owners. For those who don’t or can’t have solar like renters and apartment owners, they’ll finally be able to take advantage of Australia’s solar boom. As long as you have a smart meter, you can jump on the energy hype train.

Homes with or without panels can delay using their dishwasher or washing machine to midday, charge their electric vehicle, all for no cost.

Whilst it might be an insignificant change for some, this could be a real gamechanger for those wanting to participate in solar’s benefits – without the whole ‘getting solar’ thing.

It’s likely that more non-solar owners will be asking “should we be looking at solar, or even a battery?”

IS SOLAR & BATTERY WORTH GETTING IN 2026?

If the grid is handing out three hours of FREE power, why would anyone still get solar and battery? It’s a reasonable thought process, but similar to asking why you should buy a car when buses exist run for free, solar and battery offer flexibility.

Let’s say you work throughout the day and get home at 5pm – at this point, you’ve long-missed the free electricity period entirely, and are likely to be higher than standard plans to offset what retailers give away for free at midday. This scheme works well for those who can consistently shift energy usage, but for most Australian families, this kind of routine just isn’t realistic.

Even the households that do embrace the free hours of electricity, you’ll still be relying on the grid when it matters most. Dinner, air-conditioning, and even lighting is where the bulk of your daily usage costs live, and the three free hours of electricity doesn’t help any of it.

The right sized solar system can extend that free generation window to more than 3 hours, and a home battery supercharges (pardon the pun) your solar generation by storing it for later instead of using expensive grid energy.

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Working from Home or Being at Home During the Day: Solar Sharer Offer & optimise your appliance usage.

Shifting your heavy loads to the free window ill help chip away at your energy bill. If you want to go further, adding solar means you’re generating your own free power before and after the window.

You’re our all day and home in the evenings: Solar & Battery – As you’re not home during the day, you won’t be able to utilise the Solar Sharer Offer.

A rooftop solar and battery system would provide a lot of value - by the time you get home, you’re just running on the free energy you produced throughout the day.

You Rent or Don’t have Roof Access: Until now, renters and apartment owners have been largely blocked from joining the solar conversation, however, the Solar Sharer Offer changes that.

Combined with a battery, you’d be able to charge the battery up during free hours and discharge your battery during peak periods.