From 1 July 2026, eligible households in South East Queensland will be able to opt into an electricity plan that provides three hours of free electricity every day between 11am and 2pm. The new Solar Sharer Offer is available to renters and homeowners, with or without rooftop solar, provided the household has a smart meter, is not supplied through an embedded network and uses a retailer required to offer the plan.
The three free hours could lower electricity bills for households that can move substantial power use into the middle of the day, but the rest of the plan matters just as much. Electricity used between 11am and 2pm will be free up to a daily limit of 24 kWh, while normal charges will continue at other times and the highest rate will apply between 4pm and 9pm. A household that schedules appliances, cooling or vehicle charging for the free window may save money, while one that uses most of its electricity during the evening peak could end up paying more.
The offer can produce worthwhile savings for households able to move substantial electricity use into the free period. It can also leave a household paying more if most consumption remains in the evening or if the household switches away from a cheaper market offer without comparing the complete bill.
What The Solar Sharer Offer Is
The Solar Sharer Offer is a new category of opt-in standing offer created through the Default Market Offer framework. It will operate in New South Wales, South Australia and South East Queensland from 1 July 2026. It does not apply in regional Queensland, where the Default Market Offer framework does not operate.
A standing offer is a regulated electricity plan with prices capped by the Australian Energy Regulator. It provides consumer protections, but it is not necessarily the cheapest plan available from a retailer. Competitive market offers may have lower rates, discounts, different free-use periods or other conditions that produce a better result for an individual household.
Customers will not be moved onto the Solar Sharer Offer automatically. An eligible customer must choose the plan and ask their retailer to make the change. Retailers serving more than 1,000 residential customers across the Default Market Offer regions are required to provide a Solar Sharer Offer, while smaller retailers may be exempt.
Who Is Eligible In South East Queensland
The offer is available to residential customers in the Energex distribution area, which covers Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and much of the surrounding South East Queensland region. Both renters and homeowners can qualify, and rooftop solar is not required.
A household must have a smart meter capable of recording when electricity is consumed. It must also have an ordinary retail electricity account rather than being supplied through an embedded network. Embedded networks are commonly found in some apartment buildings, retirement villages, caravan parks, build-to-rent developments and mixed-use complexes where electricity is sold to residents through the site owner or another private operator.
Apartment residents should check the name shown as the electricity retailer on their bill and ask whether the property is part of an embedded network. Living in an apartment does not itself make a customer ineligible, but being supplied through an embedded network does.
What Three Hours Of Free Electricity Actually Means
In South East Queensland, the free period runs from 11am until 2pm every day of the year. The first 24 kWh consumed during that window is free. That is a high daily limit for an ordinary household, although a home simultaneously charging an electric vehicle, charging a battery and running air conditioning or other large equipment could use considerably more than normal.
Retailers may charge for consumption above 24 kWh during the free period. The Australian Energy Regulator has set the maximum reasonable-use rate for excess consumption in the Energex area at 8.1011 cents per kWh, including GST. A retailer is also permitted to leave consumption above the limit free, so customers should check the retailer’s own terms rather than assume that every offer will treat excess usage identically.
The daily supply charge continues throughout the free period. Equipment on a separately metered controlled-load circuit also remains chargeable. This is particularly important for households with electric hot water or pool equipment connected to a controlled-load tariff. Moving the appliance’s operation into the 11am to 2pm window will not make that controlled-load electricity free.
The Regulated South East Queensland Rates
The Australian Energy Regulator has set maximum residential Solar Sharer standing-offer rates for the Energex area for the period from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. All figures include GST:
- Daily supply charge: 177.8531 cents per day.
- 9pm to 11am: 26.4119 cents per kWh.
- 11am to 2pm: free for the first 24 kWh each day.
- 2pm to 4pm: 8.1011 cents per kWh.
- 4pm to 9pm: 48.9020 cents per kWh.
These are maximum standing-offer tariff caps rather than a promise that every retailer will charge exactly those amounts. A retailer can charge less and may also offer separate market plans with different rates or conditions.
The important figure is the 4pm to 9pm peak rate. A household that runs ovens, air conditioning, clothes dryers, pool equipment and other large loads during that period can quickly surrender the value gained from the free window.
Why The Other Rates Are Higher
The cost of supplying the free period has not disappeared. Under the AER’s tariff design, the costs attributed to the 11am to 2pm period have been redistributed across the remaining usage periods rather than added to the daily supply charge.
For the Energex area, the regulated Solar Sharer rates outside the free window are approximately 1.12 cents per kWh higher than the corresponding regulated time-of-use standing-offer rates. The daily supply charge is the same under both regulated tariff structures.
The AER’s model annual comparison price for the South East Queensland Solar Sharer Offer is therefore the same as its model price for the ordinary time-of-use Default Market Offer. The financial advantage only appears when a household changes its consumption pattern and uses more electricity during the free period than the model assumes.
Who Is Most Likely To Save
The strongest candidates are households with large loads that can be deliberately moved away from the evening and into the middle of the day. Examples include an electric vehicle parked at home, a home battery that can charge from the grid, programmable air conditioning, a clothes dryer, washing machine or dishwasher, and pool equipment that is connected to the ordinary household circuit rather than a controlled load.
An electric vehicle can make the offer particularly valuable because several kilowatt-hours can be moved into the free window on a regular basis. A home battery may also be charged between 11am and 2pm and discharged during the expensive evening period, although battery losses, capacity, warranty conditions and the household’s existing solar arrangement still affect the result.
Air conditioning can be useful where the home can be cooled before the afternoon peak. Running an efficient system during the free period, then using blinds, ceiling fans, insulation and closed rooms to retain that cooler temperature, may reduce consumption between 4pm and 9pm. The result will be much weaker in a poorly insulated home that quickly heats up again.
Retired households, shift workers, people working from home and families comfortable using appliance timers may also find it easier to take advantage of the offer. The determining factor is not whether someone is physically home at midday, but whether meaningful electricity use can be scheduled safely and consistently.
Who Could Pay More
The offer may be unsuitable for a household that is largely empty during the day and uses most of its electricity after work. Evening cooking, cooling, clothes drying and entertainment can place a substantial proportion of consumption into the 4pm to 9pm peak period.
It may also be a poor choice for a low-use household. A customer who uses little electricity during the free period may receive only a small benefit while still paying the higher rates applied to every kilowatt-hour used outside it.
The comparison becomes even more important where the customer already has a competitive market offer. The Solar Sharer Offer is regulated, but regulated does not mean cheapest. A market plan with a lower supply charge, lower evening rate, higher solar feed-in tariff or broader discount may still cost less over the year.
What It Means For Homes With Rooftop Solar
Having rooftop solar does not prevent a household from choosing the Solar Sharer Offer, but it can reduce the value of the free period. A solar home may already be producing most or all of its required electricity between 11am and 2pm, leaving little need to import free power from the grid.
The offer becomes more relevant where the home has an electric vehicle, battery, pool or other large load capable of consuming more electricity than the rooftop system is producing. It may also be useful on cloudy days or where the solar system is small, shaded or performing poorly.
Solar households must compare the feed-in tariff as well as the import rates. Switching plans may change the amount paid for exported electricity, and a reduction in export credits can outweigh the benefit of free imports. Battery settings should also be reviewed so the system does not unnecessarily export energy, import at an expensive time or cycle without producing a worthwhile saving.
Renters And Apartment Residents Can Qualify
One of the main advantages of the Solar Sharer Offer is that it does not require the customer to own a roof, purchase solar panels or obtain a landlord’s approval for a major installation. A renter with a smart meter and an ordinary retail account can be eligible on the same basis as a homeowner.
Renters should still avoid changing any fixed electrical equipment or hot water controls without the required permission. The immediate opportunity is to use existing appliance timers, air-conditioning controls and safe charging arrangements rather than modify the property.
Apartment residents need to establish whether they have an individual retail account or are supplied through an embedded network. They should also check whether an electric vehicle charger, central hot water system or other shared equipment is billed through their own meter. Electricity that does not pass through the customer’s eligible smart meter will not receive the free rate.
What To Do Without A Smart Meter
A household without a smart meter cannot join the Solar Sharer Offer because the retailer must be able to identify electricity consumed during each pricing period. Customers can ask their retailer whether a smart meter can be installed and whether any fees, site repairs or switchboard work would be required.
Customers are not charged an installation fee when the retailer initiates the smart-meter replacement as part of the wider rollout. A customer who requests an early installation may be charged, and electrical defects or an outdated switchboard can create separate costs. Those costs should be confirmed before requesting an upgrade solely to access the Solar Sharer Offer.
How To Decide Before Switching
Start with the household’s present bill rather than the promise of free electricity. Record the existing daily supply charge, general usage rate, time-of-use rates, controlled-load charges, solar feed-in tariff, discounts and any benefit period that is due to expire.
Next, examine the household’s interval usage data through the retailer’s app or online account. Identify how much electricity is currently used between 11am and 2pm, how much is used between 4pm and 9pm, and which large loads could genuinely be moved. Do not base the decision on occasionally running one dishwasher cycle. The offer is most valuable when substantial and repeatable consumption can be shifted.
Compare the Solar Sharer Offer against both the current plan and other available market offers. Entering the property’s National Metering Identifier when using Energy Made Easy can allow the comparison to use the household’s historical consumption rather than a generic household profile.
The Australian Government’s independent electricity comparison service is available at https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/.
Official information about the Solar Sharer Offer, including eligibility and the free-use limit, is available at https://www.energy.gov.au/rebates/solar-sharer-offer.
The Bottom Line For South East Queensland
The Solar Sharer Offer is a genuine opportunity, particularly for households able to move electric vehicle charging, battery charging, cooling and other substantial loads into the 11am to 2pm window. Renters and people without rooftop solar can qualify, which gives the offer a broader reach than most household renewable-energy incentives.
It is not automatically cheaper. The plan has time-of-use charges outside the free period, including a high regulated rate between 4pm and 9pm, and controlled-load electricity remains separately charged. Households that cannot shift meaningful consumption, or that already have a strong market offer, may be better off staying where they are.
The sensible approach is to obtain the retailer’s complete tariff, compare it with actual interval usage and monitor the first bills after switching. The question is not how much electricity can theoretically be used for free. It is whether the household can move enough real consumption into 11am to 2pm to reduce the cost of the whole bill.
This information is general only and does not constitute financial, legal or energy advice. Electricity customers should compare complete plan terms and obtain information specific to their property and usage before changing plans.
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Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, but we make no guarantees regarding its completeness or reliability. The data is presented for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. We are not liable for any errors, omissions, or consequences arising from its use. Users should verify details with relevant sources and seek professional advice where appropriate for the most accurate and up-to-date guidance.
