Free Power?!? Why There's Never Been a Better Time to Go Electric

What is the Solar Sharer Offer?

Australia now has more rooftop solar per capita than any other country on earth. Around the middle of the day, when the sun is highest and millions of panels are pumping power into the grid, wholesale electricity prices regularly fall to zero or below. For years, that abundance has flowed mostly to the grid and not directly to consumers.

The Federal Government's Solar Sharer Offer changes that. From 1 July 2026, energy retailers operating in NSW, SA and South East QLD will be required to make available at least one residential plan that includes three hours of completely free power in the middle of the day — typically a window like 11am to 2pm. The Victorian Government has confirmed its own version of the scheme, starting 1 October 2026.

The offer is part of a broader push to share the benefits of Australia's solar boom with all households — not just those with panels on the roof — and to encourage households to use cheap, low-emissions power instead of expensive evening grid electricity.

Strategy 1: Shift your big loads into the free window

This is the easiest win and works for every household — solar or no solar. Most modern appliances have a built-in delay timer. Set them to run between roughly 11am and 2pm:

• • Dishwasher — set the delay-start the night before for a midday cycle.
• • Washing machine and dryer — same trick. A single hot wash can use 2–3 kWh.
• • Pool pump — re-program your filtration timer to run in the free window instead of overnight.
• • Robot vacuum, oven self-clean, batch baking — any flexible, high-load task.

A 20-minute setup with appliance timers can shift 5–8 kWh per day into the free window — worth $250–$500 per year on its own at typical NSW/SA/QLD rates.

Strategy 2: Move hot water to the middle of the day

Hot water is the single biggest load most homes can shift. Traditional electric storage tanks were wired to run overnight on cheap controlled-load tariffs. With the Solar Sharer Offer, that logic is now reversed — you want the heater running during the free window.

A heat pump hot water system on a timer that fires once per day at midday is the gold standard. It uses 60–75% less energy than a conventional electric tank and, when paired with free midday power, can effectively run for zero marginal cost. Compare options in our hot water systems comparison and heat pump rebate guide.

If you have an existing electric tank, ask your electrician about moving it off controlled-load and onto a midday timer — often a 30-minute job.

Strategy 3: Charge a home battery on free power

The biggest unlock of the Solar Sharer Offer is the ability to charge a home battery for free and then discharge it through the evening peak. This is a fundamental change to the battery payback equation — previously, batteries only made sense if you had enough solar to keep them topped up. Now, even a solar-less household can run a battery economically.

A 10–13 kWh battery, fully charged from free midday power and discharged at 30–45c/kWh in the evening peak, can save $1,200–$1,800 per year. Paired with rooftop solar and the Federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program, payback can shrink to 5–7 years.

Make sure your inverter or battery management system can be programmed to charge from the grid during a specific window — most modern hybrid inverters support this natively.

Strategy 4: Charge your EV at home, in the free window

An average Australian commute (around 35–40 km per day) uses roughly 7–10 kWh of EV charging. Push that into the Solar Sharer window using a smart EV charger (Wallbox, Zappi, Tesla Wall Connector, etc.) and your motoring fuel cost effectively drops to zero. Over a year, that's $1,200–$1,800 in fuel-equivalent savings compared with a petrol car.

Households with two cars and a battery can stack savings: charge the battery and one EV during the free window, then top up the second EV overnight on off-peak.

Strategy 5: Pre-heat or pre-cool your home with reverse-cycle

A well-insulated, well-sealed home will hold the temperature it was at a few hours ago. That means you can run your reverse-cycle air conditioner hard during the free midday window — cooling the home in summer or warming it in winter — then coast through the evening peak with the system off or barely ticking over.

The strategy only works as well as the building shell allows. A leaky, uninsulated home will lose the free power within an hour. That's why the Solar Sharer Offer pairs so well with retrofits funded by the NSW Home Energy Saver Program and the other state rebate schemes — insulation, double glazing and draught-proofing turn your house into the battery.

Things to watch out for

• • Check the rest of the tariff. Retailers may offer free midday power but charge higher rates in the morning or evening peak. Model your usage profile before switching — the cheapest plan depends on how much load you can actually shift.
• • Solar feed-in tariffs may drop. Some Solar Sharer plans come with a lower feed-in tariff because the retailer is already giving away midday power. If you export a lot, run the numbers carefully.
• • The free window is fixed. If your household is empty between 11am–2pm, you'll need timers, smart plugs or home automation to capture the value.
• • Not all retailers will be competitive. The mandate requires at least one plan — not the best plan. Use comparator sites to find the strongest Solar Sharer offer in your area.

Why this is a tipping point for electrification

For the last decade, the case for electrifying your home — swapping gas for heat pumps, induction and EVs — rested on long-term emissions and modestly lower running costs. The Solar Sharer Offer changes the maths overnight. Three hours of free electricity per day, every day, makes electric appliances dramatically cheaper to run than their gas equivalents.

A gas hot water system has no equivalent of free midday fuel. A gas cooktop can't be timed to use a free window. A petrol car can't refuel for nothing while you eat lunch. Electric appliances can — which is why there has genuinely never been a better time to go electric.

To plan a full transition, see our guides on all-electric homes, electrifying your home and getting off gas.