Victoria's free midday power deal: what it means for your energy bills
Victoria now offers three hours of free power a day. We look at what it means for the cost of EV charging, hot water, air con and solar at home.
What happened
Victoria has launched its own version of the federal Solar Sharer scheme, according to reneweconomy.com.au. From Thursday 1 October 2026, electricity retailers operating in the state must offer a default version of the Midday Power Saver plan, giving households three hours of free electricity every day between 11am and 2pm.
The scheme is aimed at households who cannot install their own rooftop solar, while helping absorb the glut of solar power generated in the middle of the day. According to the source, the Victorian government says households who shift usage into the free window could save between $149 and $428 a year, and households with an electric vehicle could save up to $1,102 a year by charging during the three-hour period.
Participation is opt-in, and only available to customers who have a smart meter and are with a retailer that has 1,000 or more customers. Prices outside the free window may be higher than on other plans, and there are "fair use caps" limiting free usage to 24 kWh a day. A Swinburne academic quoted in the source warned that if too many households and EVs draw power at once in the same three-hour window, it could create a new midday demand peak that strains local networks — meaning the scheme's success will depend on managing demand intelligently, not just shifting it.
What it means for your home
For homeowners, the practical question is less about the free window itself and more about whether your home can actually use it. Three hours of free power in the middle of the day is only worth something if you have appliances running, or can be running, during that time — which puts a few renovation and install decisions back on the table.
EV charging. If you already have an EV, or are thinking about getting one, having a charger that lets you schedule or delay charging to land inside 11am–2pm is where the biggest saving in the source's figures shows up. A home charger install typically runs to $2,500, with the full range between $1,950 – $3,250. EV charger
Hot water. Heat pump hot water systems can usually be set to heat on a timer, which makes them a natural fit for a midday free-power window — you heat the tank while power is free rather than overnight. A typical heat pump hot water installation costs around $4,500, against $3,600 for a basic unit. For households not ready for a heat pump, a straight hot water system swap is Hot water system replacement.
Air conditioning. Running the air conditioner to pre-cool the house in the early afternoon, rather than in the evening peak, is another simple way to use a free window. A split-system install for a few rooms typically costs $9,000, ranging up to $17,400 for a premium setup. Split system air conditioning
Solar and batteries. The scheme is explicitly pitched at households without their own solar, but it's a reminder of how much the midday period is worth. For homeowners who do have — or are considering — rooftop solar, pairing it with a battery lets you store free or cheap midday power for use in the evening instead of exporting it. A 6 kWp solar system typically costs $8,950, and the battery options range from $8,950 for a 5 kWh unit up to $11,400 for a 13.5 kWh unit. Solar panels
Our take
None of this changes what a renovation or installation actually costs — our figures are built the same way regardless of what tariff you're on: labour hours multiplied by local trade rates, plus materials, checked against current market prices and real quotes. But a free midday window does change the payback calculation for anything that uses a meaningful amount of electricity and can be timed, which is exactly the appliances listed above.
Before committing to any of these upgrades, it's worth checking with your own retailer whether the Midday Power Saver (or an equivalent plan) is actually available to you, since eligibility depends on having a smart meter and your retailer's size. And if you're getting quotes for an EV charger, heat pump or solar-plus-battery system, it's worth running them through our "is my quote fair" tool before signing, since installer pricing for the same job can vary significantly across Victoria.