The Solar Sharer Offer — free midday power from 1 July 2026
The Solar Sharer Offer is a new type of electricity plan for 2026-27 that gives you a block of free grid electricity in the middle of the day, when solar power across the grid is at its most plentiful. It's opt-in, it needs a smart meter, and you don't need solar panels of your own to take it up.
| Regions | Free window |
|---|---|
| NSW (Ausgrid, Endeavour, Essential) & SE Queensland (Energex) | 11am–2pm local time, year-round |
| South Australia (SA Power Networks) | 12pm–3pm local time, year-round |
| Zone | SSO annual reference |
|---|---|
| Ausgrid | $1,893 |
| Endeavour Energy | $2,320 |
| Essential Energy | $2,530 |
| Energex | $1,914 |
| SA Power Networks | $2,276 |
Reasonable-use cap: 24 kWh/day in the free window. Priced as a time-of-use variant — the SSO annual reference price equals the TOU reference price in each zone (the free midday window is offset by higher rates in other periods).
What it is
The Solar Sharer Offer is a plan design introduced with the current Default Market Offer determination for 2026-27. Its headline feature is a set window of free electricity each day, timed to line up with the midday flood of rooftop and grid solar. The free window runs late morning to early afternoon, from 11am to 2pm in New South Wales and south-east Queensland, and from 12pm to 3pm in South Australia.
How it works
It's built as a time-of-use plan. The midday window is free, but that value is recovered through higher rates at other times of day, so it isn't free electricity overall. It's electricity shifted to when the grid has the most to spare. That makes it a strong fit if you can move heavy loads into the middle of the day, running the dishwasher, a load of washing, pool filtration, hot water or an EV charge while the free window is open. Leave your usage in the evening peak and the higher other-period rates can outweigh the benefit.
What you need
You need a smart meter so your usage can be measured by time of day, and you have to opt in; no one is moved onto it automatically. You do not need solar panels, which is the whole point: it shares the grid's daytime solar with households that don't generate their own. A reasonable-use cap applies to the free window, so it's meant for normal household use, not unlimited consumption.
Who has to offer it
Retailers with more than one thousand residential customers in the Default Market Offer regions, New South Wales, south-east Queensland and South Australia, must make a Solar Sharer Offer available. It is reviewed and reset with the rest of the DMO every 1 July. This is general information, not energy-retail advice.
Related
Effective from 1 July 2026 in NSW, south-east Queensland and South Australia.