Summer Electricity Bills Australia 2026: Your 4-Week Plan

November 10, 2026

Summer electricity bills Australia 2026: 4-week plan with Solar Sharer free hours

The 4-week plan · Electricity · Australia · 10 Nov – 7 Dec 2026

Why will your summer electricity bill be higher this year when prices went down? Because the regulated Default Market Offer fell up to 7.2% from 1 July 2026, but the $150 federal power bill rebate ended on 31 December 2025, so electricity costs were still up 12.8% in the year to September 2026, according to the ABS.

You have about four weeks before the heat, the air conditioner and the Christmas houseguests all land on the same quarterly bill. Here is a week-by-week plan with a small job for every day, the numbers for your region and a tracker you can print. It's built for households on the DMO network areas of NSW, south-east Queensland and South Australia, and most of it works anywhere in Australia.

+12.8%

electricity costs, year to September 2026 (ABS)

federal rebate on bills this summer, after $150 last half-year

3 hours

of free power a day on a Solar Sharer plan, if you opt in

The numbers first: your region's summer bill, recalculated

The Australian Energy Regulator sets the Default Market Offer (DMO), a price cap for standing offers and the reference price every retailer must quote against. For 2026–27 it fell in four of five network areas. But the Energy Bill Relief Fund concluded after its final $75 credit for the quarter ending 31 December 2025, and nothing federal has replaced it. We netted the two together:

Network area	DMO 2026–27 (year)	Change vs 2025–26	Net change incl. lost $150 rebate	Per quarter	All-in average per kWh
Ausgrid (NSW), 3,900 kWh	$1,899	−$66	+$84	$475	48.7c
Endeavour (NSW), 4,900 kWh	$2,328	−$83	+$67	$582	47.5c
Essential (NSW), 4,600 kWh	$2,604	−$137	+$13	$651	56.6c
Energex (SE Qld), 4,600 kWh	$1,988	−$155	−$5	$497	43.2c
SA Power Networks (SA), 4,000 kWh	$2,334	+$33	+$183	$584	58.4c

DMO residential flat-rate prices incl. GST, from the AER final determination (May 2026). "Net change" assumes a household that received the $150 federal rebate in July–December 2025 (our calculation). "All-in average" = annual DMO ÷ the AER's usage assumption, so it includes the daily supply charge; the usage rate on your bill will be lower. Summer quarters with air conditioning usually run above the "per quarter" average.

In South Australia, a household on the DMO is paying about $183 more this year than last. In south-east Queensland it's roughly a wash. Same headlines, very different kitchens.

The ABS September 2026 CPI puts it plainly: the 12.8% annual rise in electricity costs "is largely due to the ending of Commonwealth electricity rebates over the year". Prices themselves are not the main villain this summer. The missing credit is, and the only way to replace it is by changing what you pay per kWh and when you use it. That's what the next four weeks are for. (For the broader picture of how this feeds into household costs, see our breakdown of the September Living Cost Index.)

Week 1 (10–16 November): Know your real rate

Goal: by Sunday you know your plan name, usage rate, daily supply charge and whether you're paying more than the DMO.

Day 1	Find your last two bills (app or email). Write down: plan name, usage rate(s) in c/kWh, supply charge per day, total kWh.
Day 2	Check your meter type on the bill. Smart meter = you can use time-of-use and Solar Sharer plans.
Day 3	Divide last summer's bill by its days. That's your "heat-season daily cost"; multiply by 90 for a summer quarter estimate.
Day 4	Enter your postcode and usage at Energy Made Easy, the AER's free comparison site. Screenshot the three cheapest plans.
Day 5	Compare: is your plan dearer than the DMO for your area (table above)? If yes, you're on a plan worse than the regulated reference price.
Day 6	Call your current retailer and ask for their cheapest plan for your usage. Our 8 scripts to cut your electricity bill give you the exact words.
Day 7	Decide: stay, switch, or wait until Week 2's Solar Sharer check. Don't switch yet if you have a smart meter.

Checkpoint 1: one number written on paper: "My usage rate is ___c/kWh and my supply charge is ___c/day."

Week 2 (17–23 November): The free-hours decision

Since 1 July 2026, retailers with more than 1,000 residential customers in the DMO areas must offer an opt-in Solar Sharer Offer: three free hours of electricity every day, 11am–2pm in NSW and south-east Queensland and 12pm–3pm in South Australia, according to the AER. Free usage is capped at 24 kWh a day, and everything outside the window is charged at time-of-use rates. You need a smart meter, and you have to sign up; it isn't automatic. ABC News reported that Victoria has a similar scheme from 1 October.

The AER's own reference prices show the trade-off clearly. A Solar Sharer household with typical usage pays exactly the same annual price as on the time-of-use DMO, which is lower than flat rate in every area: $6 less in Ausgrid, $74 less in Essential and Energex, $58 less in SA. The real saving comes from moving load into the free window.

Your situation	Solar Sharer likely…
Someone is home midday (works from home, young kids, retired)	Worth testing: pre-cool, wash, dry and cook in the window
House empty 8am–6pm, but appliances have timers	Can work: set dishwasher, washing machine, pool pump and aircon timers
House empty all day, most use 5–9pm, no timers	Probably not: you'd pay peak time-of-use rates for evening use
No smart meter yet	Not available until one is installed; ask your retailer about timing and cost

Day by day: Day 8 list every appliance with a timer. Day 9 ask your retailer for its Solar Sharer peak, shoulder and off-peak rates. Day 10 check how much of your current use is between 5pm and 9pm (smart meter data in your retailer app). Day 11 estimate what could move to the free window. Day 12 compare the Solar Sharer plan with your Week 1 cheapest flat plan on Energy Made Easy. Days 13–14 switch, or decide to stay, and diarise a review in March.

Checkpoint 2: plan chosen, and a list of what runs during the free hours.

Make the bill visible every month

A quarterly bill hides three months of decisions. If you want to see power, groceries and every other essential side by side as they happen, The Matriarch Money Dashboard (Google Sheets & Excel) has bill lines you can split monthly, so a summer spike shows up in December, not in a February envelope.

Week 3 (24–30 November): Price your cooling, then cut it

Air-conditioner running cost is easy to work out once you know one number: the unit's power input in kW (on the Energy Rating label or product sheet). Don't confuse it with cooling capacity, which is several times larger. The formula: input kW × hours × your usage rate = cost.

Power input	Per hour at 30c	Per hour at 40c	Per hour at 50c	6 hrs/day for 90 days at 40c
0.8 kW (small split system)	$0.24	$0.32	$0.40	$173
1.5 kW (living-area split)	$0.45	$0.60	$0.75	$324
2.5 kW (large unit)	$0.75	$1.00	$1.25	$540

Our calculations. The 30c, 40c and 50c rates are example usage rates for illustration only; use the rate from your own bill (Week 1). Real power draw varies with outdoor temperature and thermostat setting.

The free-window move: a 1.5 kW unit pre-cooling the house for the full three free hours uses 4.5 kWh a day. Over a 90-day summer that is 405 kWh you're not paying for: worth about $122 at 30c, $162 at 40c or $202 at 50c (our calculation), as long as that cooling genuinely replaces paid hours later in the day and your other rates don't eat the saving.

Day by day: Day 15 find the power input of each unit. Day 16 clean the filters. Day 17 pick a thermostat setting and stick to it; every degree cooler makes the unit work harder. Day 18 cool only the rooms you use and close doors. Day 19 close blinds and curtains on sun-facing windows before the heat hits. Day 20 use ceiling or pedestal fans where they're enough on their own. Day 21 set the aircon timer for the free window if you chose Solar Sharer.

Checkpoint 3: a written "cooling cost per hour" for each unit, stuck on the fridge.

Week 4 (1–7 December): Build the safety net before the bill

This week is about what happens if the summer bill still lands badly, especially with school holidays doubling the hours everyone is home. (Juggling holiday care too? Our vacation care cost breakdown runs the numbers for three families.)

Day 22 – Concessions. Most state and territory energy concessions need a concession card or a government payment. Check your state's scheme and whether it's on your account; a concession that was never applied won't appear on your bill by itself.
Day 23 – Bill smoothing. Ask your retailer about fortnightly or monthly payments based on your yearly estimate. It doesn't lower the bill, but it stops the February shock.
Day 24 – Know the hardship rules. Retailers must have hardship programs, and a new rule from the Australian Energy Market Commission takes effect on 30 December 2026: hardship customers must be no worse off than they would be on the retailer's "deemed better offer", and retailers must offer it when you join and at least every 100 days when a cheaper offer exists.
Day 25 – Ask early. If you already know you'll struggle, call before the bill is due, not after. Ask for a payment plan in writing.
Day 26 – Know where to escalate. If a retailer won't help, your state's energy and water ombudsman is free to use.
Day 27 – Put the money aside. Divide your summer-quarter estimate (Week 1) by the weeks left until the bill arrives, and move that much each payday into a separate account.
Day 28 – Review. Fill in the tracker below. Note one thing to repeat in autumn, before winter heating starts.

If the electricity bill is one pressure among several, especially a mortgage after this month's rate rise, our mortgage hardship scripts published this morning use the same approach with lenders. And if all of this makes you want to avoid the bills entirely, start smaller: the free 7-Day Money Anxiety Reset journal takes ten minutes a day.

Your printable 4-week tracker

Week	Done when…	My number	✓
1 · 10–16 Nov	I know my usage rate, supply charge and how I compare with the DMO	____c/kWh · ____c/day	☐
2 · 17–23 Nov	Plan chosen; free-window list written	Saving/yr: $____	☐
3 · 24–30 Nov	Cooling cost per hour known for each unit	$____/hr	☐
4 · 1–7 Dec	Concession checked, set-aside running	$____/payday	☐

Print this section or screenshot it. Fill it in with a pen; you'll remember the numbers better.

Questions Australians are asking about summer power bills

Will electricity prices go down in 2026? They already did, from 1 July 2026, in most DMO areas: down 3.4% to 7.2% in NSW and south-east Queensland, and up 1.4% in South Australia. Because the federal rebate ended, many bills are still higher than a year ago.

Is the $150 energy rebate coming back? Not federally, so far. The Energy Bill Relief Fund ended after the December 2025 quarter, and no new round has been announced.

How much does it cost to run an air conditioner per hour in Australia? Multiply the unit's power input by your usage rate. A unit drawing 1.5 kW costs about 60c an hour at a 40c/kWh rate. Check your own bill for the rate.

Comparing Australia with the rest of the English-speaking world? Our five-country electricity price showdown puts the numbers side by side.

Admit one

Week 5:
keep it going

Four weeks gets the bill under control. A system keeps it there. The Matriarch Money Dashboard tracks every essential bill month by month, and Step III: Own the System helps you design the household money routines behind it.

100% digital: a Google Sheets & Excel file or PDF, no physical item is shipped. Download straight after purchase, then use it on your phone, tablet or computer, or print it. One-time purchase, no shipping fees.