What Is Midday Power Saver in Victoria ?
The Midday Power Saver Tariff: Victoria's Planned Free Electricity Hours and Who Can Use Them
Last Updated: 2026-09-15
Key Takeaways
- What is Midday Power Saver: a planned Victorian state-government scheme that gives households free grid electricity in a daily midday window, when rooftop solar is plentiful.
- The planned Midday Power Saver start date is 1 October 2026 (subject to confirmation). As at 15 September 2026, the scheme is announced but not yet in effect.
- The free electricity hours in Victoria run from 11am to 2pm each day (subject to confirmation). Free use stops at 24 kilowatt hours (kWh) a day (subject to confirmation).
- The Midday Power Saver tariff is free inside its window. Solar Soak, Victoria's other midday measure, is a reduced rate.
- Larger retailers must offer a plan (subject to confirmation). Each household chooses whether to join.
- To benefit, a household needs a smart meter, a plan with the window, and electricity use that can move into it.
- A retailer can recover the cost of the free window through higher rates at other times or a higher daily supply charge. A household that cannot move its use may pay more.
How the Midday Power Saver Tariff Will Work
Midday Power Saver is a Victorian state-government scheme, and it applies only in Victoria. A household on a plan pays nothing for grid electricity inside a daily window, up to a daily cap. For every midday scheme by state, see our guide to Solar Soak, free hours, Solar Sharer, and Midday Power Saver.
Around midday on sunny days, rooftop solar can generate more electricity than Victorian homes use. Prices in the wholesale electricity market (where generators sell electricity to retailers in bulk) are then often low. The free window exists to move household use into those hours.
Midday Power Saver at a Glance
The table sets out the scheme as at 15 September 2026. A kilowatt hour (kWh) is the unit of energy on an electricity bill.
| Feature | Midday Power Saver |
|---|---|
| Run by | The Victorian state government |
| Window | 11am to 2pm, every day |
| Daily cap | 24 kWh a day |
| Planned start date | 1 October 2026 |
| Who must offer it | Retailers with more than 1,000 Victorian customers |
| Meter | A smart meter |
| Review | Annual, by Victoria's Essential Services Commission (the state energy regulator) |
The window hours, daily cap, start date, retailer threshold, and review arrangement are subject to confirmation.
When Does Midday Power Saver Start ?
The planned start date for Midday Power Saver is 1 October 2026 (subject to confirmation). The Victorian state government sets that date. As at 15 September 2026, the scheme is announced but not yet in effect.
What "Planned" Means for a Household Today
- No plans yet: no household can be on a Midday Power Saver plan until the scheme starts.
- Details can change: the final hours, cap, and retailer obligation can differ from this guide.
- Rates outside the window: these may stay unclear until retailers publish their plans.
Midday Power Saver vs Solar Soak and the Solar Sharer Offer
Many Victorians confuse Midday Power Saver with Solar Soak, Victoria's other midday measure. The Victorian state government sets the rules for both.
- Midday Power Saver: free electricity inside its window, on a plan that the household chooses.
- Solar Soak: a reduced rate from 11am to 4pm every day (subject to confirmation), inside the time-of-use tariff of the Victorian Default Offer. A time-of-use tariff changes its price per unit with the time of day. See what the Solar Soak tariff is.
- Solar Sharer offer: a federal scheme for free midday hours in New South Wales, South Australia, and south-east Queensland. It does not apply in Victoria. See what the Solar Sharer offer is.
The Victorian Default Offer is the standard electricity plan whose price Victoria's Essential Services Commission sets.
Will Midday Power Saver Replace Solar Soak ?
As at 15 September 2026, Solar Soak stays in place beside Midday Power Saver (subject to confirmation). Any change is a decision for the Victorian state government.
Who Can Use Free Electricity Hours in Victoria ?
Retailers with more than 1,000 Victorian customers must offer Midday Power Saver (subject to confirmation). Each household chooses whether to take up a plan. The Victorian state government estimates that around 2.6 million households are eligible (subject to confirmation).
Conditions for a Household to Benefit
- A smart meter: a smart meter records use in short intervals, so the retailer can measure use inside the window.
- A plan that carries the window: only a Midday Power Saver plan has the free window.
- Use that can move: the value comes from use that the household can move into the window.
A household does not need solar panels or a battery to take up a plan. If you are not sure which meter your home has, your electricity distributor can tell you — see what a DNSP (electricity distributor) is.
Lookup your DNSP by Postcode, Suburb or NMI
Ways to Use the Free Hours
Load shifting means moving electricity use to a chosen time, such as the free window.
- Appliances on timers: a dishwasher, washing machine, or clothes dryer can run inside the window.
- Electric vehicle charging: an electric vehicle (EV) that charges at home inside the window can draw free electricity, up to the daily cap.
- Home battery charging: a stationary battery in a solar panel and battery system can charge from the grid inside the window, where its settings allow grid charging. The battery can then supply the home in the evening.
A household with rooftop solar often covers part of its midday use from its own panels (self-consumption). For that household, the free window may add less value on sunny days.
Possible Benefits and Disadvantages of Midday Power Saver
The result for any one household depends mainly on its own usage and on the plan's other rates.
Possible Benefits
- Lower cost for movable use: a household that moves a large share of its use into the window, such as EV or battery charging, may pay less overall.
- No solar panels needed: households without panels can take up a plan.
Possible Disadvantages
- Higher rates elsewhere: a retailer can recover the cost of the free window through higher rates at other times, or a higher daily supply charge. The daily supply charge is the fixed amount a plan charges for each day, whatever electricity you use.
- Use that cannot move: a household that is away at midday, or that uses most of its electricity in the evening, may save little or pay more.
- A daily cap: the cap limits the free electricity for a household with very large midday use.
Where to Go Next
- For every midday scheme by state, see our guide to Solar Soak, free hours, Solar Sharer, and Midday Power Saver.
- To compare plan types for your setup, see our buyers guide to choosing an electricity plan for your setup.
- To check whether a plan's other rates cancel out the free window, see our buyers guide to weighing up electricity bill components.
Energy Assessment for Your Midday Power Saver Usage
Whether a household's own usage suits the free window is a whole-home question. An energy assessment can give professional advice on it, based on that household's measured usage.
If you would rather have a professional turn all of this into a clear, costed plan for your home, find out more about how our Energy Assessments can help you.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does a Midday Power Saver plan give a household? It gives free grid electricity inside a daily midday window, up to a daily cap. Outside the window, the household pays the plan's other rates.
- What is the Midday Power Saver start date? The planned start date is 1 October 2026 (subject to confirmation). Until that date, the scheme is announced but not yet in effect.
- What hours are free under Midday Power Saver? The free window runs from 11am to 2pm each day (subject to confirmation). Check the hours in the plan summary before you choose a plan.
- Is there a daily limit on free electricity under Midday Power Saver? Free use inside the window has a daily cap of 24 kWh (subject to confirmation). The cap matters mainly for a household with very large midday use.
- Who sets the rules for Midday Power Saver? The Victorian state government sets the rules. Victoria's Essential Services Commission reviews the scheme each year (subject to confirmation).
- Is Midday Power Saver Victoria's only midday electricity measure? No. Solar Soak, a reduced-rate midday band inside the Victorian Default Offer, also applies in Victoria.
- Will Midday Power Saver replace Solar Soak? As at 15 September 2026, Solar Soak stays in place beside Midday Power Saver (subject to confirmation). Any change to Solar Soak is a decision for the Victorian state government.
- Is electricity free during Solar Soak hours? No. Solar Soak is a reduced rate, and Midday Power Saver charges nothing inside its window.
- Can Victorian households get the Solar Sharer offer? No. The Solar Sharer offer is a federal scheme for New South Wales, South Australia, and south-east Queensland, and it does not apply in Victoria.
- Does Midday Power Saver start automatically on an existing plan? No. Each household chooses whether to take up a Midday Power Saver plan.
- Which retailers must offer Midday Power Saver? Retailers with more than 1,000 Victorian customers must offer a Midday Power Saver plan (subject to confirmation).
- Can homes on an embedded network use Midday Power Saver? Embedded network operators can choose whether to offer it (subject to confirmation). An embedded network is a shared site connection, such as an apartment building that on-sells electricity to its occupants.
- Do I need a smart meter for Midday Power Saver? Yes. A smart meter records use in short intervals, so the retailer can measure the electricity a household uses inside the window.
- Do I need solar panels to use Midday Power Saver? No. Households without solar panels or a battery can take up a plan, because the free window applies to electricity drawn from the grid.
- How many Victorian households could use Midday Power Saver? The Victorian state government estimates around 2.6 million households (subject to confirmation). Eligibility for any one home depends on its meter and on the plans available to it.
- Could Midday Power Saver leave a household worse off? It could. A retailer may recover the cost of the free window through higher rates at other times or a higher daily supply charge.
- How much could a household save with Midday Power Saver? The Victorian state government published modelled savings, and those figures are estimates. The result for a household depends on how much use it moves into the window and on the plan's other rates.
- Can I charge an electric vehicle during Midday Power Saver hours? An electric vehicle that charges at home inside the window can draw free electricity, up to the daily cap in the plan's terms.
- Can a home battery charge from the grid during the free window? A stationary battery in a solar panel and battery system can charge inside the window, where its settings allow grid charging. The battery can then supply the home in the evening.
- Is "Midday Solar Saver" the name of a Victorian scheme? No. The Victorian scheme is Midday Power Saver, and "Midday Solar Saver" is a misremembered form of that name.
Glossary
- Daily Supply Charge
- The fixed amount an electricity or gas plan charges for each day a property is connected to the network, whatever amount of energy the household uses. Also called a Daily Connection Charge.
- DNSP
- Distribution Network Service Provider - the company that owns and operates the physical poles and wires of the local electricity network, and usually provides the smart meter data portal. Not the same as your Electricity Retailer. See also: Electricity Retailer.
- Embedded Network
- A shared site connection, common in apartment buildings, where the site buys electricity in bulk and on-sells it to the occupants.
- Essential Services Commission
- Victoria's state regulator for essential services, including electricity retail pricing. It sets the Victorian Default Offer and, until 1 July 2025, set the state's minimum solar feed-in tariff.
- Free Hours
- A general term for a period each day or week in which a plan charges nothing for the electricity you import, usually up to a daily limit.
- Kilowatt Hour
- The unit of energy an electricity bill counts, written kWh. One kilowatt hour is the energy a 1,000-watt appliance uses in one hour.
- Load Shifting
- Moving discretionary electricity use, such as a dishwasher or an EV charge, to a chosen time of day — usually out of a peak tariff and into an off-peak tariff or sunniest solar generation hours — using timers, schedules, or habit.
- Midday Power Saver
- A Victorian state-government scheme offering a free midday electricity window to Victorian households, announced with a planned start on 1 October 2026.
- Self-Consumption
- The share of the electricity generated by your own solar panels that your household uses on site, rather than exporting it to the grid.
- Smart Meter
- An electricity meter that records consumption and export in fixed intervals and reports them remotely. Time-varying tariffs and free-hours schemes require one.
- Solar Sharer
- A regulated offer from the Australian Federal Government giving households a free midday electricity window, covering New South Wales, South Australia, and Queensland.
- Solar Soak
- A Victorian state-government measure: the reduced-rate midday band within the Victorian Default Offer time-of-use tariff structure. Cheaper than peak, but not free.
- Time-of-Use (TOU) Tariff
- A tariff with different prices at different times of day or days of the week (Peak, Shoulder, Off-Peak).
- Victorian Default Offer
- A mandated maximum electricity price set by the Victorian Government that all Electricity Retailers in Victoria must offer to Households and Small Businesses. Acts as a safety net for consumers who do not shop around.
- Virtual Power Plant (VPP)
- A pooled network of home batteries that a retailer or aggregator can discharge into the grid at times of high demand, paying participating households a credit or per-event payment.
- Wholesale Electricity Market
- The market in which electricity is bought and sold in bulk between generators and retailers, before it reaches a household bill.