From 1 July 2026, most electricity retailers in south-east Queensland have to offer a plan that gives you three hours of free power in the middle of the day. It is called the Solar Sharer Offer. You do not need solar panels to get it. Research out of the University of Queensland in May found that most people had not heard of the scheme, and plenty of those who had were not sure whether they qualified. So here is the whole thing in plain terms, plus what we would do with those three hours.
What is the Solar Sharer Offer?
The Solar Sharer Offer (SSO) is a federal initiative that started on 1 July 2026. It runs first in New South Wales, south-east Queensland and South Australia, with Victoria getting its own version which will be called the “Midday Power Saver” on 1 October 2026.
In SEQ, the Solar Sharer free window is 11 am to 2 pm every day. Any power you draw from the grid within those three free hours will cost you nothing. There is, however, a daily threshold of 24 kWh during the free period, which is more than most homes use in a day. If your household happens to draw more than that during the free window, you pay a usage charge on the excess.
Who can get the Solar Sharer?
To take part in the Solar Sharer Offer, you need a smart meter but getting on the plan is not automatic; it is opt-in. You have to get in touch with your electricity retailer and sign up for it. And most retailers offer it because any retailer within the regions covered by the SSO and who has more than 1,000 customers has to have at least one plan that is compliant with the Solar Sharer.
Renters and people living in apartments can also get on the SSO, too, as long as you are the account holder, the premises has a smart meter and you opt in. If your landlord is the account holder, then you will need to ask them to sign up for it.
Is the Solar Sharer Offer free?
The three hours are free. The rest of the plan pays for them by way of the rates applied.
The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) says this plainly. It estimated how much revenue retailers would lose during the free window and allocated that amount across the other usage charges. So the free power is real, and it is funded by the added cents per kilowatt-hour customers pay at every other time of the day.
Here is what that looks like in Brisbane. On the Energex network, the Solar Sharer rates run at 26 c through the night and morning, 0 c from 11 am to 2 pm, 8 c through the early afternoon, then 49 c during the evening peak, before dropping back to 26 c later at night. The daily supply charge is 178 c.
Whether you end up saving once you opt into the Solar Sharer Offer depends on when your house uses its power and the rates your retailer charges. The AER's Solar Sharer fact sheet (which you can download here) shows how a household could end up paying more after switching, even after shifting usage into the free window, so check the retailer’s whole rate card.
Remember, too, that the SSO is a regulated plan, not a competitive deal. Retailers can also offer market plans with similar free-power windows that may better suit your household so it is worth asking what else they have.
Making the most of the free solar sharer window
You do not have to be home between 11 am and 2 pm to use the free power. Most newer dishwashers, washing machines and dryers have delay-start timers, while many air conditioners and EV chargers can be scheduled from an app. In summer, you could even pre-cool the house before the more expensive evening peak.
Pool pumps and electric hot water are worth looking at too, although some are connected to controlled-load tariffs and may not be easy to shift. For smaller plug-in appliances, inexpensive smart plugs using apps such as Tuya/Smart Life or Tapo can automate the free window for you.
The bigger opportunity is storing the power. A compatible home battery can charge from the grid between 11 am and 2 pm, then hold that energy for the evening when Solar Sharer rates are highest. That way, the free window still works for you even when there is nothing else worth running at lunchtime.
Do you need solar and what if you already have it?
You do not need solar to get in on the Solar Sharer Offer – that is the whole point of the scheme. So much rooftop solar now feeds into the grid in the middle of the day that there is more power than the system can use. The Solar Sharer passes some of that surplus to households without solar panels.
And if you already have solar…
The free window overlaps the hours your panels already produce maximum power. If you are exporting to the grid, you know that feed-in tariffs in SEQ are only about 5 c/kWh – while the evening peak rate on the SSO is 49 c. That’s almost ten times what you sold it for, so having a battery to store midday power for use in the evening becomes the wisest thing to do.
Keep in mind too that on overcast days when your panel don’t get maximum sunlight, the Solar Sharer makes having that battery extra handy because it can fill from the grid for nothing during the free window.
The price drops and what they actually mean
The same AER processes that gave us the Solar Sharer Offer also lowered the cost of electricity – and cheaper electricity is more than welcome. Some households in SEQ are seeing cuts of roughly 7 to 11% and some small businesses about 10 to 14%. Regional Queensland prices have fallen, too.
So is being on the Solar Sharer of any real benefit to you if prices are falling? Yes, especially if you have a battery to store power. Storage is where you win because midday power is now free on these plans but the evening carries the cost. That’s the thing to keep in mind if you have been on the fence about getting a battery. Plus, the federal battery rebate makes it easier by lowering the cost of new or upgraded battery systems. See our Queensland federal battery rebate guide.
Setting it and forgetting it
Modern battery systems can schedule when to charge without you thinking about it. Some older systems may also support scheduled charging, so it is worth checking what yours can do before assuming you need new hardware. With modern systems, all you do is tell the app your tariff and it charges in the free window then holds the energy for the evening – but some battery systems do it with more intelligence than others.
We take a look at how the software of two of the most popular brands differ in our Sigenergy vs GoodWe comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Can I charge my EV directly during the Solar Sharer free window?
You can charge an EV during the free window of the Solar Sharer Offer, as long as the car is home between 11 am and 2 pm. A 7 kW charger draws about 21 kWh across the three hours, which sits under the 24 kWh threshold before the excess usage charge applies, though the house is drawing power at the same time, so you may cross it. A 7 kW charger can draw about 21 kWh across the three-hour window, leaving only around 3 kWh of the 24 kWh free allowance for the rest of the house. If your charger lets you control its charging rate, you could reduce it slightly to leave more headroom for the house.
Will my other rates go up if I switch to a Solar Sharer plan?
The other rates on a Solar Sharer plan are how the free window gets paid for. The AER allocated the forgone revenue across the usage charges, so on the Energex network you are looking at 26 c for most of the day and 49 c through the evening peak. Compare those against what you pay now before you switch.
Do I need solar panels to get a Solar Sharer plan?
You do not need solar panels to get the Solar Sharer Offer. Any household with a smart meter in an eligible region can opt in.
Is there a limit on the free power on the Solar Sharer?
The free period of the Solar Sharer covers up to 24 kWh a day. If you draw more than that between 11 am and 2 pm then you pay a usage charge on the excess only, not on the entire amount you used. Most households won’t reach the limit since 24 kWh is more than a typical home uses in a full day. You need to think about the limit if you are charging an EV or filling a large battery in the same window.
How do I sign up for the Solar Sharer Offer?
You sign up by asking your retailer for its Solar Sharer plan or by comparing plans on the government's Energy Made Easy site. If you do not yet have a smart meter, then that will be arranged first.
Thinking about a battery to go with the Solar Sharer?
We install and size batteries across Brisbane and South East Queensland. If you want to know what the free window would be worth on your actual usage, ask us for a free assessment and we will run the numbers with the current federal battery rebate applied.
