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

The Solar Sharer Offer started on 1 July 2026 and is available now in New South Wales, South-East Queensland and South Australia. Eligible households need a smart meter and need to opt in with a participating retailer - the plan won't apply automatically to your bill.

The free 3-hour window runs from 11am to 2pm in NSW (Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy and Essential Energy networks). The daylight-saving point is worth noting — the times are fixed in local time, so during summer the free window still runs 11am–2pm AEST/AEDT clock time, not 12pm–3pm.

The Solar Sharer Offer (SSO) is a federal government scheme that gives eligible households up to 24 kWh of free electricity every day during a 3-hour midday window. It's a regulated standing offer under the Default Market Offer (DMO) framework, administered by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). All energy retailers with more than 1,000 customers in NSW, South-East QLD and South Australia must offer at least one Solar Sharer plan.

No, you don't need rooftop solar to access the Solar Sharer Offer. All you need is a smart meter and an eligible address. The scheme is deliberately designed to give renters, apartment dwellers, and homeowners without panels access to the same midday free-power window that solar owners already benefit from. Around 4 million Australian homes have rooftop solar; the SSO is the government's way of extending some of that benefit to the ~7 million homes that don't.

Signing up takes four steps:

1. Check you have a smart meter — most NSW, SEQ and SA homes do; if you don't, ask your retailer to arrange one.
2. Check your usage patterns — pull up your last electricity bill and look at when you use the most power. If most of your usage is 5–9pm, an SSO plan may not save you money.
3. Compare retailer plans — every major retailer (Origin, AGL, EnergyAustralia, Red Energy, Amber, Engie, Alinta and others) offers a Solar Sharer plan. The free-window rate is identical across retailers (set by the AER), but rates outside the window and daily supply charges vary significantly.
4. Contact your chosen retailer to opt in. The plan is a standalone product — you can't stack it with other discounts, and it won't apply automatically.

Yes, the daily cap is 24 kWh of free electricity during the 3-hour window. For reference, 24 kWh is roughly the daily usage of an average five-person household, so most homes won't hit the cap even if they concentrate usage in that window. If you go over the cap, you don't get penalised, you just pay the normal daytime usage rate on the excess. Some retailers (notably EnergyAustralia) calculate the cap as a daily average across your billing period rather than a strict per-day limit, which means a heavy day can be offset by a light one.

Yes, in most cases. Retailers still need to recover the cost of the free window, so Solar Sharer plans typically carry higher peak rates, higher shoulder rates, or higher daily supply charges than a standard flat tariff - sometimes all three. The Australian Energy Regulator is actively monitoring this: the ACCC has been asked to investigate retailers (including Origin, AGL and EnergyAustralia) that raised daily supply charges by up to 85% year-on-year going into the July 2026 billing period.

Yes, charging your EV is one of the highest-value uses of the free window. A 7.4 kW single-phase home charger delivers around 22 kWh over the 3-hour window, which fits neatly under the 24 kWh daily cap and is enough for roughly 100–130 km of range on most EVs. Set your charger's schedule to start at 11am (or 12pm in SA) and you'll get that charge for free every day.

Yes, and it's arguably the highest-return combination available. Charging a home battery from the grid during the free window and discharging it during evening peak (5–9pm) effectively converts free daytime power into avoided peak-rate power. On a battery large enough to cover evening usage (~10–15 kWh), that swap can be worth 40–70c per kWh vs. peak rates, or around $1,000–$2,500 a year depending on your usage.

Yes, and for most households the case is actually stronger, not weaker. The Solar Sharer Offer gives you 3 free hours; a right-sized solar system gives you free (or near-free) electricity for 6–10 hours a day, including into the shoulder periods (7–11am and 2–5pm) when SSO plans typically charge higher rates. Solar owners also have the flexibility to choose any electricity plan, not just the SSO. This usually means lower peak rates and lower daily supply charges.

It depends on how much energy you can shift into the free power period. A household that can shift a large portion of their daily energy usage into that period can save a lot more than those who can’t. Combined with solar and battery, households have an opportunity to save big on their bill.

Every major energy retailer including Origin Energy, AGL, Energy Australia, Amber Electric, Red Energy, and Engie offers a Solar Sharer plan from 1 July 2026, but the plan names, rates outside the free window, and daily supply charges vary significantly.

Amber does offer a Solar Sharer plan, but their own recommendation is that most Amber customers should stay on the wholesale plan. Here's why: during the midday free window, Amber's wholesale prices are already at or near zero (and sometimes negative), so the "free power" advantage largely disappears. Switching to Amber's SSO plan means giving up access to the Amber app, SmartShift battery automation, and your feed-in tariff drops to zero cents.

Yes, a smart meter is required. The Solar Sharer Offer uses time-of-use billing, which needs a smart meter to record when you use electricity. Most NSW, SEQ and SA homes already have one (they've been rolled out progressively since 2017), but if you're on an older accumulation meter you'll need to arrange an upgrade.

Yes, Solar Sharer plans are available across New South Wales from 1 July 2026. The free 3-hour window runs 11am–2pm every day, covering households on the Ausgrid (Sydney, Central Coast, Hunter), Endeavour Energy (Western Sydney, Blue Mountains, Illawarra) and Essential Energy (regional NSW) distribution networks.