What Is the Solar Sharer Offer (SSO) ?

The Solar Sharer Tariff — Free Midday Power Hours in NSW, South Australia, and Queensland

Last Updated: 2026-09-15

Key Takeaways

• The Solar Sharer Offer (SSO) is a daily window of free grid electricity in the middle of the day. The Australian Federal Government runs it.
• Is Solar Sharer available in my state ? As at September 2026, the offer covers only NSW, South Australia, and Queensland. It does not apply in Victoria, and it is not available in Western Australia.
• On Solar Sharer NSW plans and on Solar Sharer Queensland plans in the south-east, the free window runs from 11am to 2pm. On Solar Sharer South Australia plans, it runs from 12pm to 3pm. These hours are subject to confirmation.
• Households without rooftop solar can use the offer, and so can renters. A household needs a smart meter to use it (subject to confirmation).
• On a Solar Sharer tariff, retailers may recover the cost of the free window through higher prices at other times. A household that cannot move its use into the window may not save.

How the Solar Sharer Offer Works

The Solar Sharer Offer gives households a daily free window: a block of midday hours in which a plan charges nothing for grid electricity. The Australian Federal Government sets the rules, and electricity retailers deliver the offer through their plans. For a general overview of free hours and the Victorian midday schemes, see our guide to which states have free electricity hours.

What Is Solar Sharer Designed to Do ?

The free window exists to move household use into the middle of the day, when rooftop solar is plentiful. On sunny days, rooftop panels can generate more electricity than nearby homes use. Prices in the wholesale electricity market, where retailers buy energy in bulk, are then often very low.

Solar Sharer Offer or Solar Sharer Tariff ?

Larger retailers must make a Solar Sharer plan available (subject to confirmation). Each household decides whether to switch to one.

• The Solar Sharer Offer: the federal rules that set the free window and the daily cap that a plan must carry.
• A Solar Sharer plan: a retailer's product that meets those rules.
• A Solar Sharer tariff: the prices on that plan. It is a form of time-of-use tariff, in which the price per kilowatt hour (kWh) changes with the time of day.

For step-by-step instructions on reading the tariff periods on a bill, see our guide to interpreting your electricity bill.

Is Solar Sharer Available in My State ?

The Solar Sharer Offer covers NSW, South Australia, and Queensland. The free window sits at different hours in different areas. Check the hours on the plan itself, including during daylight saving time.

Window hours and the terms of the Ergon Energy tariff are subject to confirmation.

To see which Queensland area applies to a home, a household can find its distributor: the company that owns the local poles and wires. Energex serves south-east Queensland, and Ergon Energy serves regional Queensland. For more on distributors, see our guide to what a DNSP is.

Lookup your DNSP by Postcode, Suburb or NMI

Where the Solar Sharer Offer Does Not Apply

The Solar Sharer Offer does not apply in Victoria, where the Victorian Government runs its own schemes. Solar Soak is a reduced-rate midday band, and the Midday Power Saver is a planned free midday window. None of these schemes is available in Western Australia, and Tasmania, the ACT, and the Northern Territory are not covered as at September 2026.

Who Can Use the Solar Sharer Offer ?

Households without rooftop solar can use the Solar Sharer Offer, and so can renters. The value of the free window to a household depends mainly on the conditions below.

The Main Conditions for Benefiting from Solar Sharer

• A smart meter: a household needs one to use the offer (subject to confirmation). The meter records the grid electricity that the household uses inside the free window.
• A plan that carries the free window: a smaller retailer may not offer a Solar Sharer plan.
• Use at midday: the window is worth most to a household that uses electricity at midday or can move use into it.

Renters, Apartments, and Homes with Solar

• Renters: a renter without a smart meter may need the property owner's agreement before a meter change.
• Apartments on an embedded network: the offer excludes households on an embedded network (subject to confirmation). In an embedded network, the building buys electricity in bulk and on-sells it to occupants.
• Homes with rooftop solar: the panels may already cover much of the midday use, so the free window may add less.

What Can You Run in the Free Window ?

The free window has value when some of a household's energy consumption moves into it. Moving use to a chosen time of day in this way is called load shifting.

• Appliances on timers: a dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, or pool pump set to start inside the window.
• Hot water: an electric hot water system set to heat at midday, where the system allows it.
• Electric vehicle charging: charging at home during the window, where the car is at home at midday.
• A home battery: charging from the grid during the window, then using the stored energy in the evening. This works only where the battery system and the plan allow grid charging.

The daily cap on free electricity is 24 kWh (subject to confirmation). On some days, an electric vehicle charger or a home battery alone can use most of that cap, or more than the cap.

A home battery that is part of a solar panels and battery system may already charge from the roof on sunny days. For background, see our guides to adding a battery to an existing solar power system and how a virtual power plant pays a home battery.

Benefits and Disadvantages of a Solar Sharer Tariff

A Solar Sharer tariff can lower a bill, and it can also raise one. The result depends mainly on the prices outside the free window and on how much use a household moves into it. For a general overview of the midday schemes in every state, see our guide to free electricity hours by state.

Possible Benefits of a Solar Sharer Tariff

• Free midday electricity: no charge for grid electricity used inside the free window, up to the daily cap.
• Less evening use: running flexible loads at midday can reduce the electricity a household uses in the evening.

Possible Disadvantages of a Solar Sharer Tariff

• Higher prices at other times: retailers may recover the cost of the free window through higher rates outside it. In July 2026, retailers recovered that cost in different ways (Source: SolarQuotes).
• A higher daily supply charge: some Solar Sharer plans may carry a higher daily supply charge than other plans from the same retailer.
• Lost plan features: a switch may mean giving up features of a current plan, such as discounts or reward points (Source: CHOICE).
• Little gain without flexibility: a household that is away during the day and cannot move its use may pay more overall.

To judge whether a plan's other prices outweigh the free window, see our buyers guide to weighing up electricity bill components. To compare plan types against your own household setup, see our buyers guide to choosing an electricity plan for your setup.

Whole-Home Energy Assessment for a Solar Sharer Decision

In an all-electric home, a whole-home energy assessment can show how much use can move into the free window. It can also check that use against the daily cap before a household changes plans.

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.

Contact Us to Apply ...

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who runs the Solar Sharer Offer? The Australian Federal Government runs the Solar Sharer Offer and sets its rules. Electricity retailers deliver it to households through their plans.
• Is a Solar Sharer tariff the same thing as the Solar Sharer Offer? The Solar Sharer Offer is the set of federal rules. A Solar Sharer tariff is the set of prices on one retailer's plan that carries the free window.
• What are the free power hours NSW retailers offer on Solar Sharer plans? The NSW free window runs from 11am to 2pm each day (subject to confirmation). Check the hours printed on the plan before you rely on them.
• How much free electricity can a household use each day under Solar Sharer? A household can use up to 24 kWh of free electricity each day (subject to confirmation). Check how the plan prices any energy above that daily cap.
• When did the Solar Sharer Offer start? The Solar Sharer Offer started on 1 July 2026 (subject to confirmation). Individual retailers may have released their plans on different dates.
• Do I need solar panels to get the Solar Sharer Offer? No. Households without rooftop solar can use the Solar Sharer Offer.
• Can renters use a Solar Sharer plan? Yes, renters can switch to a Solar Sharer plan. A renter without a smart meter may need the property owner's agreement before a meter change.
• Do I need a smart meter for Solar Sharer? Yes, a household needs a smart meter to use the offer (subject to confirmation). The meter records how much grid electricity you use inside the free window.
• Does every electricity retailer have to offer a Solar Sharer plan? Larger retailers must offer a Solar Sharer plan (subject to confirmation). A smaller retailer may not offer one.
• Can a Solar Sharer tariff cost more than my current plan? It can, because retailers may recover the cost of the free window through higher rates at other times or a higher daily supply charge. A household that cannot shift its use may pay more.
• Can I charge a home battery with free Solar Sharer electricity? A home battery can charge inside the free window where the battery system and the plan allow grid charging. The daily cap still limits how much of that energy is free.
• Is Solar Sharer available in NSW? Yes. NSW is one of the three states that the federal Solar Sharer Offer covers.
• Is Solar Sharer available in south-east Queensland? Yes. South-east Queensland is the mandated area for the federal offer in Queensland.
• Is Solar Sharer available in regional Queensland? Yes, Ergon Energy carries the offer across regional Queensland through its own tariff. Check the Ergon Energy plan terms for the current details.
• Is Solar Sharer available in South Australia? Yes. The South Australian free window runs from 12pm to 3pm, one hour later than in NSW and south-east Queensland (subject to confirmation).
• Is Solar Sharer available in Victoria? No. The Solar Sharer Offer does not apply in Victoria, which has its own schemes: Solar Soak and the planned Midday Power Saver.
• Is Solar Sharer available in Western Australia? No. Neither the Solar Sharer Offer nor the Victorian free midday schemes are available in Western Australia, which sits outside the National Electricity Market.
• Is Solar Sharer available in Tasmania? No, not as at September 2026. No expansion of the offer to Tasmania has been confirmed.
• Is Solar Sharer available in the ACT? No, not as at September 2026. No expansion of the offer to the ACT has been confirmed.
• Is Solar Sharer available in the Northern Territory? No, not as at September 2026. The Northern Territory sits outside the National Electricity Market, and no expansion of the offer to the Territory has been confirmed.

Glossary

Australian Energy Regulator

The national body that oversees electricity retail rules and pricing across most of Australia, apart from Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

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.

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.

National Electricity Market

The wholesale electricity market covering eastern and southern Australia. Western Australia and the Northern Territory are outside it and run their own systems.

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).

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.