If you are an EnergyAustralia customer with a smart meter in NSW, South Australia or south-east Queensland, your free daily power window should have started on 1 July 2026. It did not arrive until 3 August, 33 days late, and EnergyAustralia has now admitted to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that this breached the Electricity Retail Code.
What went wrong
The Solar Sharer Offer requires retailers with more than 1,000 customers in Default Market Offer regions to give eligible smart meter households three hours of free electricity in the middle of the day. EnergyAustralia told the ACCC on 23 June 2026 that it would miss the 1 July start date because of problems with its billing and metering systems. The ACCC has now accepted a court enforceable undertaking from EnergyAustralia over the delay.
Under that undertaking, EnergyAustralia has committed to keep offering Solar Sharer, report its compliance to the ACCC and the Australian Energy Regulator, train staff to handle customer questions about it, and keep a notice about the breach on its website.
Our take
A month without an entitlement you were promised is a month of usage you could have shifted for free, and that is not something a compliance notice on a website gives back to you. If you are an EnergyAustralia customer and have not seen a Solar Sharer window applied to your account, do not assume it is sorted just because the offer is technically live now. Ring EnergyAustralia and ask them to confirm, in writing, when your free window started and whether you were credited for the period it was unavailable.
What to do
Check your latest bill for a Solar Sharer credit or a stated free-power window. If you cannot see one, call on 133 466 and ask EnergyAustralia to explain the gap and whether you are owed anything for July. If you are not with EnergyAustralia, this is also a good moment to check whether your own retailer's Solar Sharer plan is actually live and whether its wider rates still stack up against the market.
Sources: ACCC media release, 4 August 2026, "EnergyAustralia admits breaching Electricity Retail Code over free power offer delay"; Mi3, 4 August 2026.
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