Households in three states can choose an electricity plan with three free hours of power a day, as Solar Sharer switches on from Wednesday.
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.
The free power period is from 11am to 2pm in NSW, Queensland and Victoria, and from noon to 3pm in South Australia.
Homes without a smart meter can usually request one from their energy retailer and most will install them for free.
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. »