State says households should get paid up to 33c/kWh for rooftop solar exported into evening peak

New South Wales solar households with battery storage should be able to earn between at least 17 cents per kilowatt-hour, all the way up to 33c/kWh, for energy they export to the grid during the evening peak, a new state pricing update has revealed.

The trick will be finding retailers that are playing along.

The New South Wales pricing Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has trimmed the benchmark range of prices it recommends retailers pay solar households for their rooftop PV exports, taking them back to levels similar to 2024-25.

IPART says consumers in NSW can expect to receive a flat rate solar feed-in tariff (FiT) between 3.4 to 6.5 c/kWh from their retailer for the solar energy they export to the grid over the course of the day, down from 4.8 to 7.3 c/kWh in 2025-26, when the benchmark FiT got a rare boost.

IPART tribunal member Jonathan Coppel said on Monday that the FiT reduction reflects the regulator’s estimate of the wholesale price of electricity, when solar is exported to the grid, has fallen.

“The decrease is mainly due to increasing electricity generation from grid-wide renewables and rooftop solar increasing the supply of electricity and putting downward pressure on prices,” Coppel said.

The plunging value of solar feed-in tariffs is a direct outcome of Australia’s rooftop solar success, as electricity generated by more than 4 million households floods the grid during the day and regularly pushes prices close to – or well below – zero in and around the middle of the day.

But this “solar duck” phenomenon can also deliver a hefty spike in electricity prices in the late afternoon and evening peak, as the sun goes down and demand jumps. And it is in this part of the day that households can get bang for their solar buck – particularly if they have a battery.

To this end, IPART has also published benchmarks that show the value of solar exports at different times of the day that, while also reduced a little from the levels set for the 2025-26 period, have much higher values in the late afternoon and evening, often more than 17 c/kWh.

For time-of-use tariffs, IPART sets a benchmark for four different solar export periods throughout the day – these vary slightly between the state’s different distribution network service providers (DNSPs) – including a morning to mid-afternoon period, a mid-afternoon period, a late afternoon to mid-evening period and an overnight period.

For the 2026-27 year, IPART says Ausgrid customers can expect to be paid between 17.2c/kWh – 18.7c/KWh from 4pm to 9pm. Endeavour Energy could get as much as 16.9c/kWh and 19.9c/kWh between 4pm-8pm. Essential Energy customers, meanwhile, might get returns ranging from 26.6c/kWh to 33.3c/kWh between 5pm and 8pm.

These time-of-use (ToU) prices – albeit over short windows that are not likely to suit solar households without battery storage – are much higher than regular flat-rate solar feed-in tariffs have been for a very long time.

But as IPART pointed out last year, the difficulty for NSW consumers has been finding retailers that offer them.

“Retailers can offer different feed-in tariffs throughout the day in line with our benchmarks to reflect the variation in wholesale prices, however, they are not required to,” the regulator says. 

This time last year, the number of retailers choosing to offer time-varied tariffs was tiny.

“Currently, only one retailer has a feed-in tariff that varies by the time of the day,” the regulator wrote in its 2025 fact sheet on time-of-use tariffs – that retailer being Red Energy.

“Most retailers offer all-day (or flat-rate) feed-in tariffs. Some virtual power plant (VPP) programs include feed-in tariffs or other payments that vary by the time of the day. To be eligible to join a VPP, a consumer will typically need a specific type of home battery,” the 2025 fact sheet said.

This year, there is no update on the fact sheet of how many retailers in the state offer ToU solar tariffs, but IPART’s website says “a small number” now offer them. According to Wattever.com.au, this number is four: Red Energy, CovAu, Energy Locals and Globird energy.

Flow Power’s Flow Home FiT structure also offers NSW customers $0.0c/kWh during off-peak hours, balanced out by a 45c/kWh FiT from 5:30-7:30pm, daily.

Amber’s FiT is tethered to the 30 minute prices of the real-time wholesale electricity market, but its website notes that it sees “many customers with solar briefly earning a feed-in tariff in excess of $1 per kWh during periods of peak demand.”

As home battery uptake continues to boom under the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries rebate, there are bound to be more and more retail offers that incentivise solar households to export into the evening peak, or to respond to changing market conditions.

Please let us know in the comments below of any other retail offers that are embracing time-of-use tariffs.

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