Quick answer: The Solar Sharer Offer gives eligible households in NSW, South Australia and South East Queensland up to 24kWh of free electricity during a three hour window each day, from 1 July 2026. You don’t need solar to use it, and it doesn’t replace what solar or a battery does. Solar generates power across the whole day and earns a feed-in credit for exports. A battery lets you store cheap or free power for the evening peak, including power drawn free during the Solar Sharer window.
What is the Solar Sharer Offer?
The Solar Sharer Offer (SSO) is a regulated electricity plan introduced through reforms to the Default Market Offer, overseen by the Australian Energy Regulator. It gives eligible households a free three hour window each day, with the first 24kWh of usage in that window at no cost. You don’t need rooftop solar to opt in.
The exact free window depends on where you live, and it doesn’t shift for daylight saving. According to Energy Made Easy, the government’s official plan comparison service, the window is 11am to 2pm in NSW and South East Queensland, and 12pm to 3pm in South Australia.
It’s worth being clear about what the SSO isn’t. It’s not a rebate, and it doesn’t cover your whole bill. Outside the free window you pay normal time of use rates plus your daily supply charge, and any usage above 24kWh in the free window is charged at the cheapest rate available outside it.
Who’s eligible, and who isn’t?
To get the SSO, Energy Made Easy states you need to be a residential customer with a smart meter, living in an area where the Default Market Offer applies, and not supplied through an embedded network such as some caravan parks or apartment blocks. Retailers with more than 1,000 customers across DMO areas must offer it, though some very small retailers are exempt.
Renters and owners can both apply, and rooftop solar isn’t required. It’s opt-in only, so you need to actively ask your retailer for it.
Where it’s available?
The Solar Sharer Offer only applies in three areas so far.
Region | Solar Sharer Offer available? |
New South Wales | Yes |
South Australia | Yes |
South East Queensland | Yes |
Regional Queensland | No |
Western Australia | No |
Tasmania | No |
ACT | No |
If you’re in regional QLD, WA, Tasmania or the ACT, this offer doesn’t apply to you yet, whether or not you have solar.
Does it mean you don’t need solar?
No, and this is worth being direct about. Three hours of free grid electricity is a genuine saving if your household can shift usage into that window, but it’s a different thing to what solar does.
Solar panels generate electricity across the entire day, not just three hours, and every kilowatt-hour you export earns a feed-in credit. The SSO creates none of that value. It only makes what you draw from the grid free for part of the day.
If most of your household’s electricity use happens in the evening, when everyone’s home, the free window on its own won’t help much. That’s where a battery changes the picture.
To know more about Solar Sharer Offer Explained: What It Means If You Have Solar or a Battery
Comments
Post a Comment