Free midday power in Victoria, what is on offer now

Headlines about "three free hours of power a day" cover two different schemes, and only one applies in Victoria. Here is what a Victorian household can get at the time of writing (November 2026).

The federal Solar Sharer Offer is not a Victorian scheme

The Solar Sharer Offer is a federal program built into the Default Market Offer, the standing offer price the Australian Energy Regulator sets in New South Wales, South East Queensland and South Australia. It started on 1 July 2026 in those regions and gives eligible households with a smart meter three free hours in the middle of the day, with up to 24 kWh free each day.

Victoria is not a Default Market Offer state. Our standing offer is the Victorian Default Offer, set by the Essential Services Commission, so the federal Solar Sharer Offer does not apply here. The federal government has said it will work with the other states on extending the offer nationally by 2027. Instead, Victoria has its own scheme.

Victoria's version: the Midday Power Saver

Victoria has its own regulated offer, the Midday Power Saver. The key facts, from the Victorian Government and the Essential Services Commission:

• It started on 1 October 2026.
• Electricity used between 11am and 2pm every day, weekends included, is charged at $0.00 per kWh.
• The free use is capped at 24 kWh a day during that window.
• You need a smart meter, and you have to opt in. Nobody is moved onto it automatically.
• Licensed retailers with 1,000 or more residential customers must offer it, so most Victorians can ask their current retailer for it.
• It is for households, not small businesses. Some homes in embedded networks may also be eligible.

The prices outside the free window were set by the Victorian Government for 1 October 2026 to 30 June 2027. From 1 July 2027 the Essential Services Commission takes over setting them each year.

What you pay outside the free hours

This is the part that decides whether the offer works for you. The Midday Power Saver is a four part time-of-use tariff, and the rates outside the free window are maximums retailers can charge (they can charge less). For the current period, including GST:

• Off peak, 9pm to 11am: roughly 23 to 25 cents per kWh, depending on your distributor.
• Free, 11am to 2pm: $0.00 per kWh, up to the 24 kWh cap.
• Solar soak, 2pm to 4pm: roughly 19 to 20 cents per kWh.
• Peak, 4pm to 9pm: roughly 40 to 50 cents per kWh, with AusNet the highest at a little under 50 cents.

Daily supply charges sit between about $1.19 and $1.38 a day depending on the distribution zone. The government's own guidance is clear that both the supply charge and the rates outside the window can be higher than on other offers.

If you use more than 24 kWh in the free window on a given day, the extra is charged. The Essential Services Commission's technical paper says the most a retailer can charge for that extra is the solar soak rate. Controlled load (an off-peak hot water circuit, for example) is billed separately and is not part of the free window.

Who it suits

The Victorian Government and the Commission say the same thing: the offer suits households that can move a decent share of their use into the middle of the day. Their modelling looked at households shifting somewhere between 5% and 30% of their use into the free window.

It is more likely to suit you if:

• someone is home during the day, or you work from home
• you can put the washing machine, dishwasher, dryer or electric hot water on a timer
• you have an EV or a home battery you can charge in the window on cloudy days

It is less likely to suit you if your use is mostly in the evening and you cannot move it. With a peak rate as high as it is, a household that keeps cooking, heating and running appliances between 4pm and 9pm could pay more than on a plain plan.

If you already have solar

The government's guidance notes that solar households already make their own power in the middle of the day, so the free window adds less for them on sunny days. Where it can help is on overcast days, when panels produce less: a battery or an EV can be topped up from the grid for free between 11am and 2pm and the stored energy used in the evening. Check what feed-in tariff your retailer pays you alongside the offer, because that varies by retailer and plan.

How to sign up, and how to leave

Ask your retailer. Before switching you, they must explain that the offer may not suit everyone, estimate the cost impact on your own usage where they can, and point out any plan they think suits you better. They need your explicit consent, there is a cooling off period, and you can leave at any time without exit fees.

One safety note from the government's guidance: spread big loads (EV charger, battery, heating, dryer) across the three hours rather than starting them together, and talk to a licensed electrician if your switchboard or wiring is old.

Other free hours plans

Some retailers also sell their own market plans with free hours. Those are not regulated the way the Midday Power Saver is, so the rates outside the free window are whatever the retailer sets. We cover a few of them in our guide to free power plans with daily caps.

Check it against your own bill

Whether free midday power lowers your bill depends entirely on when you use power. Upload a recent bill to the Energy Plan Finder and it ranks every Victorian retail plan, the Midday Power Saver and other free power plans included, on your own usage. We get nothing from any energy retailer, so the ranking is just the numbers.