Victoria’s Midday Power Saver started on 1 October 2026, giving residential households with a smart meter the option of a regulated electricity plan with free power between 11am and 2pm every day. It is opt-in, capped at 24 kilowatt hours a day, and it only saves you money if you can move a meaningful share of your usage into the middle of the day.
The plan is Victoria’s version of the federal Solar Sharer Offer that began in New South Wales, south-east Queensland and South Australia on 1 July, which we explained in our guide to Solar Sharer and its three free hours. The idea is the same: Victoria’s rooftop solar floods the grid with cheap energy in the middle of the day, and the plan lets households use more of it.
How the Midday Power Saver works
According to the Victorian Government and retailer offer pages, the key features are:
- Free window. Primary load electricity used between 11am and 2pm is free every day, including weekends.
- Daily cap. Free usage applies up to 24 kWh per day. Usage above that inside the window is charged.
- Other charges still apply. The daily supply charge and any controlled load charges, such as for an off-peak hot water circuit, are still billed as normal.
- Opt-in only. Households are not moved onto the plan automatically. You need to ask your retailer.
- No lock-in. Retailers describe it as a standing offer with no exit fees, and the RACV reports customers keep normal consumer protections, including a cooling-off period.
Eligibility is limited to residential customers with a smart meter who are supplied by an eligible retailer. Businesses are not included. Most Victorian homes already have a smart meter after the state-wide rollout, but if you are unsure, your retailer or distributor can confirm it.
The catch: prices outside the window
The free hours have to be paid for somewhere. The RACV notes that electricity used outside the 11am to 2pm window may cost slightly more under the Midday Power Saver than under some other plans, because retailers recover the cost of the free period through their rates at other times of day.
That makes this a genuine trade-off. A household that uses most of its power before work and after dinner could end up paying more overall, even with three free hours a day.
How much could you save?
Victorian Government modelling, as quoted by retailers and the RACV, suggests households could save roughly $149 to $428 a year, depending on how much electricity they can move into the free period. Retailers citing the same modelling say households with an electric vehicle could save up to around $1,102 a year by charging during the free hours.
Treat these as indicative figures, not a promise. They depend on your usage pattern, your current plan and the rates your retailer sets for the rest of the day. The only way to know your own number is to compare your actual bill against the Midday Power Saver offer from your retailer.
Who it suits, and who it may not
The plan tends to suit households that:
- Are home during the day. Retirees, shift workers, people working from home and families with young children can more easily run appliances at midday.
- Own an electric vehicle. A car plugged in from 11am to 2pm can soak up a large share of the 24 kWh cap.
- Can use timers. Dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, pool pumps and many air conditioners can be scheduled to start in the free window.
- Have a home battery. A battery can charge from the grid at midday and power the home in the evening peak, although whether that works on your setup depends on the battery, the inverter settings and your retailer’s terms.
It may suit you less if the house is empty all day, if most of your usage is in the evening, or if you already have rooftop solar covering your daytime use. Solar owners already get free midday energy from their own panels, so the extra benefit can be smaller, and switching could change the feed-in tariff you receive. Check that detail in the offer before you move.
Free hours only save you money if you move real usage into them. Look at when you use power before you look at the headline.
How to check whether to switch
This is general information only, not personal financial advice. A few practical steps are worth considering:
- Download your interval data. With a smart meter, your retailer or distributor can provide half-hourly usage data. It shows how much power you use between 11am and 2pm today.
- Ask your retailer for the full offer. Get the plan’s rates outside the free window, the supply charge and the feed-in tariff, not just the headline.
- Compare on Victorian Energy Compare. The government’s free comparison site lets you upload your usage data and test plans side by side.
- Work out what you can realistically shift. Be honest about routines. A timer on the dishwasher is easy, but moving a family’s cooking and showers to midday is not.
- Review after a bill or two. With no exit fees, you can move back if the numbers do not work in practice.
If you are weighing longer-term changes to cut your bills, it is worth reading about how solar and smarter energy use can lower your power bills before deciding, and our guide on how to lower your electricity bill covers simpler steps that work on any plan.
The bottom line
Victoria’s Midday Power Saver has been available since 1 October 2026 to households with a smart meter, offering free electricity from 11am to 2pm up to 24 kWh a day. Government modelling points to savings of around $149 to $428 a year, more for electric vehicle owners, but prices outside the free window may be higher, so the plan rewards households that can genuinely move usage into the middle of the day. Compare your own usage data before switching, ask your retailer for the full rates, and confirm the details with the Victorian Government’s energy website. Figures were reported as at 7 October 2026 and may change.