The electricity plan Australian solar owners choose can make a big difference to the financial benefits they enjoy. On the wrong plan, the difference over a few years could translate to thousands of dollars in missed savings. That’s a significant amount of money much better off in the system owner’s pocket than that of their electricity retailer.
The offer of a high solar feed-in tariff can be very attractive, but it’s only one element of a plan – and for the most part, really high FiTs are a thing of the past. The best electricity plans for solar power system owners offer a good balance of feed-in-tariff rate, usage tariffs and daily charges.
Finding such a plan can be a time-consuming and confusing task, but SolarQuotes’ very easy to use electricity plan comparison tool can cut down on the frustration and quickly indicate plans that might be right for you. It serves as a good starting point for further research.
How much might you save by selecting the right plan? The table below indicates the cheapest and the most expensive plans in each capital, and the estimated cost difference between them over a year.
But first, a few important notes about the table and the comparison tool:
- The figures have been generated using the plan comparison tool’s default settings, which includes a 6.6kW solar power system and various other assumptions you can alter to better suit your situation.
- Each capital’s CBD postcode has been used to generate the estimated costs.
- The costs are for standard flat-rate tariff plans only (Time of Use plans will be included soon).
- The estimated totals are based on one year of billing.
- There may be additional eligibility criteria and hidden gotchas with some plans, for example cheaper usage rates or better feed in tariffs for only X period. When you use the comparison tool, plans highlighted in blue have extra eligibility conditions. Each plan has a link to further information.
- SolarQuotes strives to source accurate data, but the values generated by the tool can’t be guaranteed and plan details should be verified.
Cheapest Vs. Most Expensive Plans For Each Capital
So, with the above in mind and as at the time of writing ….
| Capital City | Cheapest Plan | Most Costly Plan | Difference |
| Brisbane | -$226 | $709 | $935 |
| Sydney | -$224 | $701 | $925 |
| Canberra | $27 | $807 | $780 |
| Melbourne | $69 | $731 | $662 |
| Hobart | $344 | $941 | $597 |
| Adelaide | $570 | $1,446 | $876 |
| Perth | $1,458 | $1,458 | $0 |
| Darwin | $61 | $179 | $118 |
A negative number in the table above indicates a credit. As for the situation in Perth, Synergy is the only show in town.
The old saying goes: “look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves”. But when it comes to electricity plans, there may be far more than just pennies to be saved.
As mentioned, your own mileage may vary depending on your circumstances. Time of Use tariffs that the tool doesn’t include (yet) could provide an even better deal. But this quick and dirty summary is just to provide some idea as to how much solar owners may be leaving on the table (or losing from their wallets), perhaps motivating some to compare electricity plans and make a switch that could be quite beneficial.
And if you’re planning to go solar, then checking out electricity retailers in the lead-up should be part of your related research.
Tips: Don’t change electricity retailers while your system is being installed as it can create complications – either make the switch well before or after the installation and meter changeover (if required) are done and dusted. Also, check out these tips on switching electricity plans.
About Michael Bloch
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Per Wattever:
ACT: Max FiT 12c (Max 10kW inverter)
NSW: Max FiT 15c (3 companies offer higher rates IF grid feed-in is less than 3.28\5 kWh per day!)
NT: Max FiT 11c
QLD: Max FiT 12c (Max 10kW PV system. Also companies offering higher rates for limited feed-in as in NSW)
SA: Max FiT 13c (Also 1 company with higher rate IF grid feed-in less than 3.28kWh per day)
TAS: Max FiT 10c
VIC: Max FiT 12c (Also one company offering 13c for 5kW or smaller systems)
WA: Max FiT 7.1c (But only for systems 5kW or smaller)
Doesn’t seem like solar is worthwhile in WA.
And the NSW value may be in question too. While the current figures appear okay I heard something about new contract prices plummeting to 10c, and crashing further in 9 months. I did not hear this first hand so am unclear on the details. The guy so complaining however is reportedly rethinking his grid connection. If all solar owners disconnect from the grid that will cause problems for those who remain.
My own plan’s FiT has crashed almost 30%, which will have significant implications for the time to pay off the system – assuming the system does indeed actually pay for itself.
It may not seem worthwhile in WA, but if you use our Solar & Battery calculator and use the default settings it shows a 6.6 kilowatt solar system in WA can pay for itself in under 6 years:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/solar-calculator/
In reality, because Perth has the lowest cost solar in Australia, you can get a system installed by someone who does quality work for considerably less than the default value. The simple payback period on a good system can be well under 5 years. If you happen to use more than the average amount of electricity during the day, say you work at home, the payback period can be even better.
NSW with 10kw system on Ausgrid and with AGL I get 17c/kwh as of 3 months ago
If that’s the AGL Solar Savers plan (that’s what I’m on), it looks like the plan has been updated for new customers/switchers. Daily supply charge $1.71, FIT 12c. I will enjoy the current plan while it lasts, then switch.
Is it possible to compare high FiT plans?
Can’t seem to find a way around setting up a wordpress acc to view comments, O well another one bits the dust.
I’m on the really old FIts of at least 40c but I might add this expires in 2028 and when I installed solar panels the cost was so high that I could not see any net recovery.
So please do not assume those of us with these high FIts are so lucky. Also the poor installation means pigeon problems which I have spent heaps on but the so-called fixers were also poor..how to pay for good work..VIP topic
I’m in Sydney and I might be missing something in that table but a difference of $925 seems very hard to swallow. Is it that some people have very large systems, or are they otherwise heavy consumers?
Jeff