Solar Sharer Offer Goes Live 1 July for Smart Metre Households

Solar Sharer Offer July 2026 is live for households in NSW, South East Queensland and South Australia with smart metres: up to three free electricity hours daily and a 24 kWh per day cap when usage shifts to the midday window. Updated 1 July 2026.

Finder explained renters and owners need retailer opt-in and smart metering. AER chair comments tied the offer to shifting washing machines, air conditioning and EV charging into middle-of-day solar peaks.

Laundromat owners watching household behaviour should expect more midday residential machine use, not automatic commercial bill cuts.

Free window times by state

Finder listed 11am to 2pm in NSW and South East Queensland, and 12pm to 3pm in South Australia. Outside those hours SSO tariffs can exceed standard flat rates, so benefit depends on load shifting discipline.

Small businesses and embedded network tenants are excluded. Commercial laundries stay on business tariffs unless separately renegotiated.

What laundromat operators should note

Residential SSO uptake can smooth evening peak demand but won’t lower your commercial contract automatically. Track whether competitors market “wash at lunch” to apartment tenants near your site.

Our June SSO preview and DMO small business summary cover owner-facing maths. Browse the directory for regional operators.

Smart metre and retailer steps

Retailers with more than 1,000 customers in eligible regions must offer SSO, but households aren’t switched automatically. Contact your retailer, confirm smart metre installation if missing, and model shoulder and peak rates before celebrating free kilowatt-hours.

Interval data from your retailer portal shows whether lunch-time washing actually lands inside the free window. A household running two warm washes and a dryer cycle can still exceed the 24 kWh daily cap if machines are older or loads are heavy.

Victoria note

Victoria’s Midday Saver variant launches 1 October 2026. NSW, SEQ and SA lead the July 2026 national experiment. See our Victoria Midday Saver guide.

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