Free Electricity Offers from Retailers

From 1 July 2026, the Federal Government will implement the Solar Share Offer (SSO) in South East Queensland, offering three hours free electricity for householders with a smart meter.

As Australia's electricity grid is rapidly changing, homeowners are being encouraged to shift energy usage into the expected three hours of free electricity timeframes of 11am - 3pm.

Solar battery and electric vehicle (EV) owners are the bigger winners as they may be able to charge their batteries and cars during the free electricity window, and then use the stored energy during expensive peak times.

For households without solar or batteries, the scheme could still provide genuine savings, particularly for those at home during the day. Running major appliances such as dryers, washing machines, pool pumps etc during the free electricity period will help drastically reduce power bills.

However, retailers still need to recover their costs somehow, and this would mean higher peak tariffs, higher daily supply tariffs or reduced feed-in tariffs, so it's always best to read the fine print.