What is the Solar Sharer Offer?
The Solar Sharer Offer (SSO) is a federal scheme that hands households three hours of free grid electricity in the middle of the day, when Queensland’s rooftop solar routinely pushes wholesale prices to zero or below. Announced in November 2025 by Energy Minister Chris Bowen, it went live on 1 July 2026 in south-east Queensland, NSW and South Australia, with a possible extension to other jurisdictions flagged for 2027.
It is not a marketing gimmick from one retailer. The SSO is an opt-in regulated standing offer, mandated through the Australian Energy Regulator’s DMO 8 determination, and every retailer with 1,000 or more customers in DMO regions must offer at least one compliant plan.
The key details at a glance
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Free window (SEQ) | 11am to 2pm, every day, all year. No daylight saving in Queensland, so genuinely fixed relative to solar noon |
| Start date | 1 July 2026 (mandated via the AER’s DMO 8 determination) |
| Coverage | South-east Queensland (Energex network) is mandated. Ergon has reportedly extended it to regional Queensland as "Tariff 12F"; confirm with Ergon |
| Free cap | 24 kWh per day during the window; above-cap usage billed at a "reasonable usage charge" |
| Eligibility | Residential customers with a smart meter. Renters and non-solar homes included. No smart meter? Request one and your retailer must supply it |
| How to join | Opt-in only. Ask your retailer for their Solar Sharer plan |
| Rates outside the window | Priced like the DMO time-of-use tariff, so higher than typical market plans |
| Supply charge and controlled load | Full daily supply charge applies; controlled load (like off-peak hot water) is charged normally |
Energex or Ergon? Check your network first
The federal mandate only covers the Energex network, which serves Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and the rest of south-east Queensland, because that is the region covered by the Default Market Offer. If you are in regional Queensland on the Ergon network, the SSO does not automatically apply to you.
That said, Ergon has reportedly extended the offer to regional Queensland as "Tariff 12F". Because this sits outside the federal mandate, we suggest regional customers confirm availability, pricing and terms directly with Ergon before assuming it matches the SEQ scheme.
How the free window works
Between 11am and 2pm, every kWh you draw from the grid is free, up to 24 kWh per day. Most Queensland homes use less than that in a full day, so the cap mainly matters to EV owners: a 7 kW charger running for all three hours draws 21 kWh, all free. Queensland’s lack of daylight saving is a small quiet advantage here, because the window stays genuinely aligned with the solar peak all year rather than drifting an hour in summer.
The trade-off sits outside the window. The SSO is priced like the DMO time-of-use tariff, so mornings and evenings cost more than they would on a sharp flat-rate market plan. Retailers must warn you the offer may not suit your usage before you sign, and the Better Offer check still appears on your bill every 100 days, flagging if a cheaper plan exists.
Will it actually save you money?
Energy Consumers Australia modelled the scheme for a 20 kWh-a-day household on a roughly $2,800 annual bill (using the Ausgrid network, but the lesson carries). Shift 30% of usage into the free window while keeping 40% in the 3pm to 9pm peak and you end up about $320 a year worse off. Shift the same 30% but cut peak usage to 20% and you come out about $210 a year better off. The free hours alone do not decide the result; your evening usage does.
ECA also notes the SSO is regulated standing-offer pricing, which is often dearer overall than competitive market offers. It is worth knowing the backdrop too: the DMO 8 reference bill for south-east Queensland fell 7.2% to $1,988 from 1 July 2026, the biggest drop of any DMO region, so ordinary market plans in SEQ are sharper than they have been in years.
Will free power actually save you money?
Run your own numbers in 60 seconds with our free power savings calculator, using your real usage pattern.
Calculate my savingsWho should sign up (and who should not)
Strong candidates: battery owners top the list, charging free at midday and discharging through the evening peak. EV owners who can plug in between 11am and 2pm do well. So do households with someone home during the day who can run the washing machine, dishwasher and pool pump in the window and pre-cool the house before the afternoon heat, which is a real lever in a Queensland summer.
Think twice if: your home is empty from 8am to 6pm and usage piles up in the evening, because that is exactly the pattern the ECA modelling shows losing money. Solar-only homes gain the least, since panels already cover midday and free grid power mostly displaces exports worth only around 0 to 5c/kWh. Low-usage households also see little benefit once the supply charge and higher off-window rates are counted.
Our take
For SEQ households with a battery, an EV or genuine daytime flexibility, the Solar Sharer is worth a serious look, and the fixed window with no daylight-saving drift makes routines easy to build. For everyone else it is a bet on evening discipline that many households will lose.
With the SEQ reference bill down 7.2% this year, a cheap flat-rate market plan is a strong benchmark. Our rule of thumb: opt in if you have storage or can genuinely move 5 kWh or more a day into the window; otherwise compare the whole rate card first. Regional customers should treat Tariff 12F as a separate product and check the details with Ergon.
How to sign up, and which retailers offer it
Contact your retailer and ask for their Solar Sharer plan. As at July 2026, participating retailers include Origin (as "Origin Standing Solar Sharer"), AGL, Red Energy, Engie, Dodo, OVO, Sumo and Energy Locals. EnergyAustralia missed the 1 July deadline and is expected to launch around September 2026, after Minister Bowen threatened the "full force of regulation". You need a smart meter; if you do not have one, request it and your retailer must supply it.
Before committing, compare the SSO against ordinary market plans at your address on Energy Made Easy. Commercial free-power alternatives in SEQ include OVO’s "The Free 3" (11am to 2pm daily), GloBird’s FOUR4FREE (10am to 2pm, Energex area), Red Energy’s free weekend hours (12pm to 2pm Saturday and Sunday) and Amber Electric’s wholesale pass-through, where midday prices are often near zero or negative. Commercial plans are unregulated outside the window, so read the full rate card.