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Households in three states can to choose an electricity plan with three free hours of power a day, as Solar Sharer switches on from Wednesday.

Nearly half of Australians surveyed have expressed interest in the government-regulated scheme, but experts say it may not work for everyone.

Here’s what you need to know.

What is the Solar Sharer offer?

Solar Sharer is a regulated energy offer with free electricity in the middle of the day, which energy companies will offer in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia from 1 July. 

Households in Victoria will have access to a similar scheme, called the Midday Power Saver, from 1 October.

The energy minister, Chris Bowen, says more households will benefit from Australia’s cheap and plentiful solar energy via the scheme – regardless of whether they have solar panels on their roofs.

“When the sun is shining at its brightest and power is negative or at its cheapest, then consumers, whether they have solar panels or not, whether they be renters or not, should be able to benefit from that.”

How does Solar Sharer work?

The free power period is from 11am to 2pm in NSW, Queensland and Victoria, and from noon to 3pm in South Australia.

It is not unlimited. A daily cap of 24kWh applies; the Australian Energy Regulator says that is equivalent to a day’s usage for a five-person household. Any use above that amount will be charged.

Renew, a not-for-profit that advocates sustainable living, says that is a generous allowance – most households use somewhere between 10 and 20kWh on a typical day.

Customers will need a smart meter to opt in, however. Homes without a smart meter can usually request one from their energy retailer and most will install them for free.

Retailers with fewer than 1,000 customers are not required to offer the deal. It is also not available to customers in other states and territories or those on embedded networks (private electricity systems that operate in some apartment blocks, retirement villages or shopping centres).

Who will benefit from Solar Sharer?

The Australian Energy Council, which represents energy companies, says Solar Sharer is most useful to households with batteries, electric vehicles or large, easily shiftable loads.

It may also work well for people who work from home.

For households that take up the Solar Sharer offer, the key will be to shift as much electricity use as possible into the free-power window.

Renew advises filling up your home battery or topping up your electric car – if you have one – and programming your hot water system to run during that time

“Run your heating or cooling during those hours to pre-heat or pre-cool your home. This way you’ll use far less power later in the day,” the organisation says.

“If your dishwasher, dryer, or washing machine has a timer, set it to run during the free period. The same goes for EV charging, though to get a meaningful charge in three hours, you’ll need a fast charger rather than a standard trickle charger.”

Will Solar Sharer make my energy bills go down?

Solar Sharer is not necessarily the best or cheapest energy plan available. The scheme is part of the default market offer framework, which means it acts more like a benchmark price rather than a competitive plan. Plus, retailers may charge higher rates for electricity outside the free power window to recoup their costs.

Energy Consumers Australia (ECA) is supportive of the scheme, but says governments and retailers must clearly explain the trade-offs to customers – between free energy in the middle of the day and higher prices at other times.

“We don’t want to have people signing up to these plans assuming it will decrease their bills, when in fact it could do the opposite,” the consumer advocacy group says.

Tim Forcey, an independent energy consultant, says simply running the dishwasher, the washing machine or dryer during the day may not be enough to benefit.

“People need to assess if they can get their money’s worth during the free period,” he says, noting they may end up paying more at other times of the day through higher charges or lower solar feed-in tariffs.

There may be broader cost savings to the electricity grid if enough customers take up the offer and shift enough of their energy use into the middle of the day and away from the peaks, the regulator says.

“Shifting more demand to the middle of the day would lower the cost of the electricity system for all consumers as we don’t need to build as much generation or poles and wires to meet the evening peak.”

How else can I save more money on energy bills?

Many retailers already offer plans with free power periods.

GloBird Energy, for example, has plans that include free or low-price power periods tailored for households with home batteries, customers with electric vehicles, and a “Four4Free” offer that includes four hours of free electricity during the day.

Other examples include AGL’s Three for Free plan, which the company launched in South Australia in 2025.

“The common thread across all of these products is giving customers more control and more ways to lower their bills by shifting energy use and export to the times that deliver the most value to them,” an AGL spokesperson says.

The regulator says consumers can change their energy plan at any time and encourages people to shop around. “Customers should also check their bills to see if they are on their retailer’s best plan. Retailers are required to tell their customers at least once every 100 days if they can offer them a better plan,” an AER spokesperson says.

Both the federal and Victorian governments provide comparison sites to help people compare plans and find the cheapest deal.

A lot of retailers update their plans after 1 July, which makes it a good time to look at what is on offer.