What Is the Solar Soak Tariff in Victoria ?

The Solar Soak Period in the Victorian Default Offer: a Reduced-Rate Band and Who Can Benefit

Last Updated: 2026-09-15

Key Takeaways

• The solar soak tariff is a reduced-rate band from 11am to 4pm every day, inside a Victorian time-of-use tariff. Your retailer still charges for every kWh that you use in the band.
• The official name is the Solar Soak Period. Victoria's Essential Services Commission sets it inside the time-of-use plans of the Victorian Default Offer.
• Midday Power Saver is a separate Victorian scheme with free hours inside part of the solar soak hours. The two schemes run side by side (subject to confirmation).
• Solar Soak does not apply outside Victoria. In NSW, Endeavour Energy uses the same name for a network tariff on solar exports. For the other states, see our guide to free electricity hours by state.
• To pay the Solar Soak rate, a household needs a smart meter and a time-of-use plan that carries the band. Load shifting moves use into the band and can increase the saving.

What Is Solar Soak in Victoria ?

Solar Soak is one price band inside a Victorian time-of-use tariff. A time-of-use tariff has a price per kWh (kilowatt hour, the unit of energy on a bill) that changes with the time of day. Your retailer charges Solar Soak electricity at a reduced rate from 11am to 4pm every day.

Who Sets the Solar Soak Period ?

• Who: Solar Soak is a Victorian state-government measure. The Essential Services Commission (ESC), the state regulator for retail electricity prices, sets it.
• Where it sits: the official name is the Solar Soak Period. It sits inside the time-of-use plans of the Victorian Default Offer (VDO), a regulated offer that the ESC sets each year.
• Market offers: the ESC does not set the prices of market offers, the plans that retailers design themselves. A market offer can use its own bands and names.
• Purpose: the band exists to move household use into the middle of the day, when rooftop solar is plentiful.

How Solar Soak Hours Fit Inside a Time-of-Use Tariff

The VDO time-of-use plans have three bands (Source: Essential Services Commission, September 2026). The ESC can change the bands when it sets a later VDO.

The price order in this table is subject to confirmation.

A shoulder band is a mid-priced band between peak and off-peak. The VDO time-of-use plans have no shoulder band, but a market offer can use one.

Victoria's five electricity distributors own the poles and wires. Their network tariffs are the charges that retailers pay for the use of that network. These network tariffs use the same three bands (subject to confirmation). The rate inside each band can differ between network areas. For step-by-step help to find the bands and rates on your own bill, see our guide to how to interpret your electricity bill.

Solar Soak vs Midday Power Saver

Both are Victorian state-government measures, and both target the middle of the day. At 15 September 2026, Midday Power Saver is announced but not yet in effect.

The Midday Power Saver hours and start date are subject to confirmation.

Will Midday Power Saver Replace Solar Soak ?

Midday Power Saver runs side by side with Solar Soak (subject to confirmation). Its free window sits inside part of the Solar Soak Period. For the free window in detail, see our guide to the Midday Power Saver electricity tariff.

Solar Soak in NSW and Other Names That Cause Confusion

The Victorian Solar Soak Period does not apply outside Victoria. Similar names in other states can mean a different product:

• New South Wales: Endeavour Energy's "Solar Soak" is a network tariff on solar exports, the electricity that rooftop panels send to the grid. It is a different product from the Victorian reduced rate for household use. Essential Energy calls its similar export tariff "Sun Soaker".
• Other states: midday network tariffs in Queensland and South Australia use the name "solar sponge". Synergy in Western Australia calls its midday plan "Midday Saver".

In New South Wales, South Australia, and south-east Queensland, the federal Solar Sharer Offer gives households free midday hours. See our guide to the Solar Sharer electricity tariff. In Victoria, see our guide to the Midday Power Saver electricity tariff. For the midday schemes in every state, see our guide to free electricity hours by state.

Who Can Benefit from the Solar Soak Tariff ?

• A smart meter: the meter records your use in short intervals. A retailer needs those readings to bill each band.
• A time-of-use plan that carries the band: a flat-rate plan charges one price all day. Which plans carry the band can change, so check the plan summary.
• Use that can move: load shifting moves use out of the evening peak and into the band, and the saving can grow with it.

Households That May Gain Less

• Embedded network customers: in an embedded network, one operator buys electricity for a site, such as an apartment building, and on-sells it. The operator does not have to offer the band (subject to confirmation).
• Households with rooftop solar: their own panels can cover part of their midday use (self-consumption). In a cool climate such as the Central Highlands, panels usually produce less in winter, so the band can matter more then.

Which Loads Can Move into Solar Soak Hours ?

Common loads to move into Solar Soak hours include:

• Hot water: an electric hot water system can heat water at midday, if its timer allows it. A system on a controlled load (a separate circuit with its own tariff times) can keep those times.
• Dishwasher, laundry, and pool pump: a delay-start timer or a pump timer can run these appliances inside the band.
• EV charging: if the car is at home, an electric vehicle (EV) charger or the car's app can schedule charging inside the band.
• Battery charging: a stationary battery in a solar panels and battery system can charge inside the band. If the system allows it, the battery can also charge from the grid on low-solar days.

When Midday Power Saver starts, the same timers, EV charging schedules, and battery settings can use its free hours. A battery in a virtual power plant can follow the operator's charging schedule instead.

Energy Assessments Based on Your Solar Soak Usage

Whether Solar Soak suits a household depends mainly on how much use already falls inside the band, and how much more can move there. To compare plan types for solar, battery, and EV households, see our buyers guide to choosing an electricity plan for your setup. For the other midday schemes, return to our guide to free electricity hours by state.

An energy assessor can use your smart meter data to measure your use in each band. The assessor can also estimate how much more use can move into Solar Soak hours.

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.

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Frequently Asked Questions

• What is Solar Soak in plain terms? Solar Soak is a cheaper band of hours in the middle of the day on a Victorian time-of-use tariff. Your retailer charges a reduced rate for electricity that you use in those hours.
• What are solar soak hours? Solar soak hours run from 11am to 4pm every day in the Victorian Default Offer time-of-use plans. The Essential Services Commission can change them when it sets a later offer.
• What is the Solar Soak Period? The Solar Soak Period is the official Victorian name for the reduced-rate band. It sits inside the time-of-use plans of the Victorian Default Offer.
• Is solar soak electricity free? No. Solar Soak is a reduced rate, and your retailer charges for every kWh that you use inside the band.
• Who is behind the solar soak tariff? Solar Soak is a Victorian state-government measure. The Essential Services Commission, the Victorian regulator for retail electricity prices, sets the Victorian Default Offer that contains the band.
• What does "Victorian Default Offer Solar Soak" mean? It means the Solar Soak band inside the Victorian Default Offer, the regulated offer that the Essential Services Commission sets each year. The band is one of three time bands in the offer's time-of-use plans.
• Do market offers in Victoria have to use Solar Soak? The Essential Services Commission does not set the prices of market offers. A market offer can use its own bands and names, so check the plan summary for a midday band.
• Is Solar Soak Victoria-only? Yes. The Victorian Solar Soak Period does not apply outside Victoria.
• Is Solar Soak NSW the same as the Victorian Solar Soak Period? No. In New South Wales, Endeavour Energy's Solar Soak is a network tariff on the solar exports that rooftop panels send to the grid. It is a different product from the Victorian reduced rate for household use.
• What names do other states use for midday tariffs? Networks in Queensland and South Australia use the name "solar sponge", and Synergy in Western Australia uses "Midday Saver". In regional New South Wales, Essential Energy has a similar export tariff with the name "Sun Soaker".
• What is the difference between Solar Soak and Midday Power Saver? Solar Soak is a reduced-rate band. Midday Power Saver is a separate Victorian scheme with free hours, announced for 1 October 2026 (subject to confirmation).
• Will Midday Power Saver replace Solar Soak? The two schemes run side by side, with the free hours inside part of the Solar Soak Period (subject to confirmation). At 15 September 2026, Midday Power Saver is announced but not yet in effect.
• Is Solar Soak part of the Solar Sharer offer? No. The Solar Sharer Offer is a separate federal scheme for New South Wales, South Australia, and south-east Queensland.
• Is overnight off-peak electricity cheaper than Solar Soak in Victoria? In the Victorian Default Offer, the overnight off-peak band costs more per kWh than Solar Soak (subject to confirmation). Rates can differ between network areas, so check your plan.
• Does the Victorian Default Offer have a shoulder band? The Victorian Default Offer time-of-use plans have peak, off-peak, and Solar Soak bands only. A market offer can still use a shoulder band.
• Do I need a smart meter for Solar Soak? Yes. A retailer needs the interval readings from a smart meter to bill the use inside each band.
• Which appliances suit solar soak hours? Appliances with a timer or a schedule suit the band best, because load shifting can then run them inside the band. Examples are hot water systems, dishwashers, washing machines, pool pumps, and EV chargers.
• Can I charge a home battery during solar soak hours? A battery in a solar panels and battery system can charge inside the band. If the system allows it, the battery can also charge from the grid on low-solar days.
• Can embedded network customers get Solar Soak? An embedded network operator does not have to offer the band, although it can choose to (subject to confirmation). Check with the operator that bills your building.
• Does rooftop solar reduce the value of Solar Soak? It can. Your own panels can already cover part of your midday use, so the reduced grid rate applies to less of it.

Glossary

Controlled Load

A separately metered circuit controlled by a signal from the DNSP. These circuits typically contain a single specific appliance or type of appliance - eg. an Electric Hot Water Service (and historically Air-Conditioners or Electric Slab Heating). They are typically billed at a discounted rate and often run only during off-peak hours. They appear on a separate Meter Register on an Electricity Bill. See also: Dedicated Circuit.

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.

Off-Peak

The lowest-priced time period in a Time-of-Use (TOU) Tariff — typically overnight and sometimes weekends. In current usage refers to the Time electricity is imported on a Meter Register and at Other Times, the import rate on that Same Meter Register might be different. It can also currently refer to Dedicated Circuits / Controlled Loads that are only permitted to draw power at set Off-Peak times. And historically, before Smart Meters, only the latter could receive an Off-Peak Rate. See also: Time-of-Use (TOU) Tariff, Controlled Load, Dedicated Circuit.

Peak

The highest-priced time period in a Time-of-Use (TOU) Tariff — typically weekday daytime and early evening. See also: Time-of-Use (TOU) Tariff.

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.

Shoulder

A mid-priced period in some (but not all) TOU Tariffs, between Peak and Off-Peak. See also: Time-of-Use (TOU) Tariff.

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.