TL;DR: A smart meter measures when you use power, which is what makes time-of-use pricing possible. It does not choose a tariff for you, and the wrong tariff can cost a solar household more than the meter ever saves. Which one suits you comes down to a single question: can you move your consumption?
What the Meter Changed
An old accumulation meter records one number: total consumption since the last reading. It cannot tell anyone when you used the power, which is why a flat rate was the only structure it could support.
A smart meter records in 30-minute intervals and reports import and export separately. That gives your retailer the data to bill you differently by time of day, and gives you the data to see exactly when you are buying grid power despite having solar.
Most solar households in Australia end up with one, because a meter change is usually part of the solar connection. Many are moved onto a time-of-use tariff at the same time and find out from a bill rather than a phone call.
Check which tariff you are on before doing anything else. If your bill shows separate peak, shoulder and off-peak line items, you are on time-of-use. One usage rate for the quarter means you are still on a flat tariff.
The Tariff Types
Flat Rate
One price per kilowatt-hour, all day, every day.
Predictable and simple. It rewards nothing, which cuts both ways: you gain nothing by shifting load to the middle of the day, and you lose nothing by running the oven at 6pm.
Better than it looks for a household that cannot shift consumption. If everyone is out until six and the cooking, laundry and heating all happen in the evening, a flat rate can cost less than a time-of-use plan where every one of those loads lands in peak.
Time-of-Use
Different prices by time of day, and sometimes by season.
Peak is usually late afternoon and evening, roughly 4pm to 8pm on many plans, at the highest rate. Shoulder covers weekday mornings and late evenings. Off-peak is overnight, typically 10pm to 7am, at the lowest rate. Weekends are often shoulder or off-peak throughout.
The spread between peak and off-peak is commonly three to four times. That is the opportunity and the risk in one number: shift a load out of peak and you save three quarters of what it cost; leave it there and you pay the multiple.
Controlled Load
A separate circuit for a specific appliance, usually electric hot water, billed at a low flat rate and switched on overnight by the network.
If your hot water is on controlled load, leave it there. Moving it onto the main circuit so it heats during the day only pays if your solar reliably covers the whole heating cycle, and in winter it will not.
Demand Tariffs
Less common but growing, and easy to miss. A demand tariff bills you on your single highest half-hour of consumption during the month, on top of your usage charges.
One evening where the air conditioner, oven and dryer run together can set the charge for the entire billing period. If your bill carries a line measured in kW rather than kWh, you are on one.
Feed-in Tariffs
What your retailer pays for exported surplus, typically $0.05 to $0.15 per kilowatt-hour depending on state and plan.
Some retailers offer a higher rate capped at a daily export volume, then drop to a low rate above it. Check the cap against what your array actually exports, because a good rate on the first few kilowatt-hours is worth much less than it sounds.
The important point: a self-consumed kilowatt-hour saves you your import rate, which is three to six times the feed-in rate. Shifting the dishwasher to noon is worth far more than any feed-in tariff you could negotiate.
Which Tariff Suits Your Household
Someone home during the day. Time-of-use, almost always. Your consumption already sits in the cheaper windows and your solar covers much of it.
Battery installed. Time-of-use, without much argument. The battery converts cheap or free midday power into expensive evening power, and the wider the peak-to-off-peak spread, the faster it pays back.
Everyone out until six, no battery. Check carefully. If every major load lands between 5pm and 8pm and you cannot move any of it, a flat rate may cost less. Run both against your actual usage before switching.
Pool pump or electric hot water. Get these onto solar generation hours or off-peak. Between them they can be a third of a household's consumption, and they are the easiest loads to move because nobody notices when they run.
Comparing Properly
Look past the feed-in rate at four numbers.
- Daily supply charge. A fixed fee regardless of usage. For a low-import solar household it can be the largest line on the bill, and it varies meaningfully between retailers.
- Usage rates. All of them on a time-of-use plan, not just peak. And check the peak window itself: a plan starting peak at 2pm costs an afternoon household far more than one starting at 5pm at the same rate.
- Feed-in tariff. Including any daily export cap.
- Discounts. Whether they are conditional on paying on time or by direct debit, and when the benefit period ends. Many revert to a much worse rate after 12 months.
Use the Government Sites
Energy Made Easy is the federal government's free comparison service, covering every state except Victoria. Victorians use Victorian Energy Compare.
Enter your actual usage and export figures from a recent bill rather than a default household profile. The tools rank plans by estimated annual cost with supply charge, usage rates and feed-in tariff all counted. Commercial comparison sites do the same thing but are paid by the retailers they list.
Getting Value From the Data
Your retailer's portal shows interval data. Two things are worth looking for.
First, when you are importing despite having solar. Heavy imports between 4pm and 7pm point at either load shifting or a battery, and the data tells you which loads to target.
Second, check it in the first month after installation. A meter wired so that export is recorded as import is uncommon and it does happen, and it is far easier to correct while the numbers are fresh than a year later.
Then set timers on the dishwasher, washing machine and pool pump, pre-cool the house before the peak window rather than during it, and review the plan annually. Rates and peak windows both move.
Key Takeaways
- A smart meter enables time-of-use pricing but does not choose your tariff. Check which one you were moved onto.
- Time-of-use pays if you can shift load. If your consumption is locked into the evening peak, a flat rate may cost less.
- Self-consumption is worth three to six times export, so shifting appliances into daylight beats chasing a feed-in rate.
- Compare on daily supply charge, every usage rate, the feed-in cap and the benefit period, not on the headline number.
- Check your interval data in the first month after installation to confirm export is being recorded correctly.
Read More
For an overview, check out our master guide: Read the Full Guide Here.