Victorians Will Get Free Electricity Every Day from October

Midday Power Saver

Free Electricity from 11am to 2pm Every Day

Victoria's Midday Power Saver will offer eligible households electricity at zero cents per kilowatt-hour from 11am to 2pm, seven days a week.

Around 2.6 million Victorian households with smart meters are expected to be eligible, but nobody will receive the free electricity automatically. Households must opt into a participating retailer's Midday Power Saver tariff.

Solar panels, an electric vehicle and a home battery are not required. For many households, the simplest strategy will be shifting appliances such as washing machines, dryers and dishwashers into the free period, along with water heating, pool pumps or EV charging where possible.

Home Batteries Change the Equation

A home battery capable of charging from the electricity grid creates another possibility: take electricity from the grid for free between 11am and 2pm, store it, then use that energy after the free period ends.

That matters because the Midday Power Saver is not simply three free hours added to an existing electricity plan. Electricity outside the midday window will cost more.

Indicative average Victorian usage rates put electricity at about 24.17 cents/kWh from 9pm to 11am, zero cents from 11am to 2pm, 19.40 cents from 2pm to 4pm and 43.24 cents from 4pm to 9pm.

Actual retailer prices and distribution-area charges will vary, but the principle is striking: a suitable battery could potentially charge when grid electricity costs nothing and discharge during the expensive evening period.

There are unavoidable battery charging and discharging losses, so a kilowatt-hour put into a battery does not become a full kilowatt-hour of usable electricity later. Even so, starting with zero-cost energy makes the calculation unusually interesting.

Solar Households Could Benefit Too

Victoria now has more than 850,000 homes with rooftop solar, helping create the very midday electricity surplus the new tariff is designed to address.

For solar-and-battery households, sunny days may already provide enough surplus solar to charge the battery. The Midday Power Saver could become more useful when solar production falls because of clouds, winter conditions or household consumption.

It is an intriguing reversal of the economics that encouraged Victorians to install solar. Generous feed-in tariffs once rewarded households for exporting surplus electricity. Today, some solar owners receive only a few cents per kilowatt-hour for exports while paying considerably more to buy electricity later.

From October, eligible households on the new tariff will effectively be encouraged to consume grid electricity when abundant daytime generation makes it least valuable.

The Catch: The Other 21 Hours Cost More

The word "free" should not be considered in isolation.

Midday Power Saver customers will face higher electricity prices outside the three-hour window. A household that shifts little consumption to midday and continues drawing heavily from the grid during the evening peak may lose much of the benefit.

Battery owners have more flexibility because they may be able to shift the electricity itself rather than reorganising every appliance around lunchtime.

There is another limitation: fair-use provisions will apply to consumption during the free period. That could be particularly important for batteries and electric vehicles, which can draw substantial amounts of electricity within three hours.

How Much Could Victorian Households Save?

Victorian Government estimates put potential annual household savings at between $149 and $428, depending on how much electricity consumption can be moved into the free window.

Households able to shift EV charging could potentially achieve total savings of up to $1,102 a year.

Battery economics will be more complicated. Capacity, charging rate, round-trip efficiency, solar production, household consumption, available battery capacity at 11am, fair-use limits and the retailer's rates outside the free period will all influence the result.

Why Is Victoria Giving Electricity Away?

The scheme addresses an increasingly familiar problem for electricity grids with large amounts of rooftop solar.

During sunny periods, abundant solar generation can coincide with relatively low household demand. Later, solar generation falls just as people return home, cook, heat or cool their houses and switch on appliances.

Making midday electricity free encourages households to move demand towards the period when renewable electricity is plentiful and away from the expensive evening peak.

How Do I Get the Free Electricity?

The Midday Power Saver begins on 1 October 2026. Eligible households will need a smart meter and must choose a participating retailer offering the tariff, then actively opt in.

Before switching, compare the entire tariff rather than concentrating solely on the three free hours. Battery owners should also check whether their system permits grid charging, its charging rate and capacity, and how the final fair-use provisions affect potential savings.

For the right household, the proposition could go well beyond running the dishwasher for free at lunchtime. A battery may allow Victorians to collect free electricity at midday and keep some of it for the hours when power costs considerably more.

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Closer to October we will publish a list of participating retailers along with contact information.