What is the Solar Sharer Offer (SSO)?

Solar sharer offer explained

The solar sharer offer (SSO) is an energy plan with three hours of free electricity (up to 24 kilowatt hours or kWh) restricted to these times: 

• NSW and South East QLD: 11am - 2pm
• SA: 12pm - 3pm.

Am I eligible for the solar sharer offer? 

To be eligible for the solar sharer offer, you must: 

• Live in NSW, South East QLD or SA. 
• Have a smart meter installed. 
• Not live in an embedded network. An embedded network involves a site owner (e.g. apartment buildings, caravan park) buying energy in bulk and selling it to tenants.  

Unlike solar feed-in tariffs (a bill credit for every kWh of solar from your solar system exported back to the grid), you do not need to own rooftop solar to be eligible. 

However, if you already have solar panels installed, some retailers may offer a solar sharer offer plan with a solar FiT, allowing access to both features. 

The SSO equivalent in VIC, the Midday Power Saver, will only be available from 1 October 2026 onwards, with free electricity to be delivered between 11am - 2pm. 

Things to know about the solar sharer offer

It is a standing offer

The solar sharer offer launched alongside the Default Market Offer (DMO) on 1 July 2026 as a standing offer. 

Standing offers are typically the most expensive electricity plan a retailer sells, nor do they come with features like discounts and sign-up credits. 

It is an opt-in plan

Typically, customers are automatically moved onto a retailer’s standing offer when their previous plan expires. 

However, the solar sharer offer is a standing offer that you must voluntarily opt into. 

Time of use tariffs 

The solar sharer offer relies on a time of use (ToU) tariff, where the cost per kWh of electricity used (usage rates) varies during peak and off-peak periods. 

The SSO’s rates (outside of the free hours of electricity), like other standing offers this financial year, have been capped to protect customers from overpricing. 

The SSO’s capped ToU rates for FY2026 -2027 are as follows in each state: 

How much can I save with the solar sharer offer?

If you don’t plan to use the free electricity 

If you sign up for the solar sharer offer but don’t use any electricity during the free window, you’re paying significantly higher electricity rates with no benefit compared to a more competitive market offer. 

A market offer has rates and features freely set and designed by the retailers offering it. Conversely, standing offers usually represent the highest price a retailer is willing to charge you. 

Here’s how the solar sharer offer compares to the cheapest ToU plans available on our database (at the time of writing). 

Note: these prices are based on annual usage estimates that may not be reflective of your running electricity use. 

To illustrate this further, here is a realistic example of how the solar sharer offer compares to one of the cheapest ToU plans on our database (at the time of writing). 

Note: The example below is specific to Sydney (Ausgrid). 

If John refuses to shift his energy use to the free window, he’s effectively spending $1.61 more per day for zero benefit. 

If you aren’t at home to use the free electricity or exhibit zero interest in the SSO, consider comparing electricity plans through Canstar’s database. 

If you plan to use some of the free electricity

Continuing from the previous example, let’s see how John fares with a modest 5kWh of electricity use shifted from night to day compared to the cheapest ToU plan on our database (at the time of writing). 

Note: The example below is specific to Sydney (Ausgrid). 

If John signs up for the solar sharer offer and defers 5kWh of his peak energy use to the free window, he would save $0.57 per day. 

Therefore, it is possible to save on the SSO over cheaper market offers, but this will depend on:

• The volume of energy use you shift to the free three hours. 
• The market offer’s tariff type (e.g. single rate, ToU).
• The market offer you’re comparing the solar sharer offer against. 

Simply put, the more you maximise the 24kWh of free electricity in those three hours, the more you can save. 

However, the majority of ordinary households would struggle to consume that much electricity. 

What does the capped amount of free electricity look like?

For context, 24kWh roughly equals: 

• 24 cycles on a standard washing machine
• 13-16 hours of hair dryer use
• 8-10 hours of baking with an electric oven
• 32 loads in the dishwasher.

In reality, the average five-person household consumes 10 - 20 kWh of electricity per day. Most people would simply run each appliance once.

Additionally, some evening electricity use can’t be shifted to the day when no one is present to enjoy its benefits (e.g. heating, cooling, lights). 

How do you maximise the capped amount of free electricity? 

There are only two feasible ways to use up the allocated 24kWh of free electricity — either by installing a solar battery or by charging an EV.

Installing a 24kWh solar battery

To store the full amount, you will need a 24kWh solar battery and an 8kW inverter.  Unlike its name suggests, a solar battery system does not require solar panels to operate. 

A solar battery and inverter system can be set to recharge during those three free hours, storing those 24kWh of electricity for use later. 

A full solar battery allows you to bypass costlier grid-drawn electricity during peak times, with extra to spare for the following morning.

How much can you save with a 24kWh solar battery?

In theory, if your household uses less than 24kWh daily, you could spend zero in usage rates after your battery’s first charge. 

In this case, you’re almost guaranteed immediate savings over other market offers in your state. 

Keep in mind that you’ll still have to pay supply charges — the cost in c/day you pay to remain connected to the grid, irrespective of how much grid electricity you use. 

However, the cost of buying and installing a 24kWh solar battery and an 8kWh inverter will set you back tens of thousands of dollars. 

The government-run Cheaper Home Batteries Program could offer you an upfront 18% discount for eligible 24kWh battery installations. 

But you’ll only start making ‘real savings’ when your bill savings break even with the remaining 82% of your battery installation costs. 

The time taken to recoup your investment is called your payback period. If you’d like to measure your payback period in ‘days’, divide your upfront spend by your usage rate savings per day. 

For example, John has recently installed a 24kWh solar battery for $10,000, which he fully recharges during the three free hours to cover his electricity use. 

His SSO plan’s usage rates are as follows: 

• Off-peak usage rate: 25c/kWh
• Peak period usage rate: 50c/kWh.

Typically, he consumes 10kWh during off-peak periods and 14kWh during peak periods. This is how much he saves daily when his charged solar battery covers his electricity use. 

25c/kWh X 10kWh (the cost of his off-peak use)  + 50c/kWh X 14 (the cost of his peak use)  = $9.50 (daily usage saving). 

To calculate his battery’s payback period, divide his battery’s installation costs by his daily savings. 

$10,000 (solar battery costs) ÷ $9.50 (daily usage saving) = 1,052 days or close to three years (total payback period). 

Charging an EV

If you have an EV, you can set it up for ‘scheduled charging’ during the free three hours. To use up the allotted 24kWh in three hours, you will need to either have a: 

• Home wall box charger
• EV DC fast charger. 

AGL specifies that most EVs have a battery capacity between 40kWh and 70kWh — 24kWh is enough to charge a basic model half full, giving you at least 120km of road time. 

How much can you save by charging an EV?

If you’ve shifted your EV charging times from peak periods to the free window, you’re effectively saving 24kWh worth of the solar sharer offer’s peak period rates. 

Here’s what your savings would look like: 

• NSW (Ausgrid): $15.30
• QLD (Energex): $11.73
• SA (SA Power Networks): $14.12

But how much you save charging an EV on a solar sharer offer versus a market offer will depend on the market offer’s rates, which can be found on its Basic Product Information Document (BPID). 

Like a solar battery, it’s also important to account for your EV charger’s payback period. 

How do I apply for the solar sharer offer? 

To apply for the solar sharer offer, you can visit our hub page and use Canstar’s rates table to compare solar sharer offer plans offered by our panel of providers: 

1. Input your postcode or suburb by clicking on ‘showing results for’. 
2. Select ‘time of use tariff’ from the ‘Tariff Type’ dropdown. 
3. Click ‘Sort By’ and select ‘Comparison Price - Highest First’. 

Solar sharer offer plans can be identified by their plan name or as a bullet point under each plan name. 

Once you’ve chosen a solar sharer offer plan, click on the ‘see offer’ button (to the right of your chosen plan) to complete the switch on the provider’s official website.