Peak and Off-Peak Electricity Times in Tasmania and How Solar Fits

In Tasmania, if you’re on a ‘time-of-use’ tariff like Aurora Energy’s Tariff 93, your electricity costs more during peak demand hours and less at other times. Peak times are typically on weekdays from 7am to 10am and again from 4pm to 9pm. All other times, including the entire weekend, are considered off-peak, offering cheaper electricity. This tariff structure is designed to encourage shifting power use away from the busiest periods on the grid.

How does solar save me money with these tariffs?

Solar saves you the most money when you use the power you generate yourself, directly in your home. This is called self-consumption. When your panels are producing electricity during the day, you’re avoiding the need to buy that same power from the grid, which can cost roughly 28-30 cents per kilowatt-hour (c/kWh). Any excess power you don’t use is exported to the grid for a modest feed-in tariff, which from 1 July 2026 is regulated at 9.276 c/kWh. Because the price you pay for power is about three times higher than the credit you get for selling it, the real value is in using your own solar power whenever you can.

The key is to align your energy usage with the sun. For households on a time-of-use tariff, solar generation (typically 10am to 4pm) conveniently falls within the cheaper off-peak window. This means you can run high-energy appliances like your dishwasher, washing machine, or hot water heat pump during the day using your own free solar power, avoiding higher grid prices altogether.

What size solar system is right for a Tasmanian home?

For Tasmanian households looking to future-proof their homes for things like an electric vehicle (EV), a heat pump for hot water, or induction cooking, a larger system is often the smartest choice. A system with around 13kW of solar panels paired with a 10kW inverter is becoming a popular and practical default. This takes advantage of the rule allowing solar arrays to be up to 133% of the inverter’s capacity, which helps generate more power on overcast days and during the winter months.

Happily, Tasmania’s network distributor, TasNetworks, allows a 10kW inverter to be connected to a standard single-phase property, which covers the vast majority of homes. This means most Tasmanians can install a large, future-ready system without needing an expensive three-phase power upgrade. Of course, for a household with very low electricity needs and no plans for major electrification, a smaller system might be more suitable.

How do government solar rebates work in Tasmania?

When you buy a solar system, the main financial help comes from the federal government’s Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES). This isn’t a cash rebate but an upfront discount on the system’s cost. It works by creating Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) based on your system’s size and location. Tasmania is in STC Zone 4. Your installer handles the trading of these certificates and simply takes their value off your final invoice. The value can be significant, but it does decrease each year as the scheme is being phased out by 2030.

How it works: Your system’s size and postcode determine the number of STCs it’s eligible for.
What you do: Nothing. Your installer claims the STCs on your behalf and the discount is applied directly to your quote.
Important: The total discount depends on the market price of STCs at the time of installation.

Is a home battery worth it in Tasmania?

A home battery can be a great addition, but it’s important to be realistic about the financial payback in Tasmania. The main value of a battery here is to store your excess solar power generated during the day for you to use during the evening peak period (4pm-9pm), when electricity from the grid is most expensive. This maximises your self-consumption and provides valuable backup power during an outage.

However, Tasmania’s relatively low electricity prices and fair feed-in tariff mean the payback period for a battery is generally longer than on the mainland, often around 7-12 years. Unlike in other states, opportunities to earn extra income by joining a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) are effectively unavailable for residential batteries on Tasmania’s hydro-dominated grid.

The federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program, which started on 1 July 2025, can help with the upfront cost. If eligible, you could receive a discount of roughly 30% on a new battery that is paired with a solar system. The program provides a set incentive per kilowatt-hour of battery capacity, which tapers for larger batteries and reduces over time. There are no separate Tasmanian state government battery rebates.

Battery Value Proposition	In Tasmania
Primary Financial Benefit	Storing daytime solar to use in the evening, avoiding peak grid prices.
Secondary Benefit	Backup power during blackouts.
Payback Period (with solar)	Generally longer than mainland Australia (approx. 7-12 years).
Government Rebates	Federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program may apply; no state rebate.
VPP Income	Not a significant factor for residential systems in Tasmania.

What’s the key takeaway for getting solar in Tasmania?

The smartest way to get value from solar in Tasmania is to use as much of the power you generate, when you generate it. Shifting your discretionary energy use—like running the dishwasher, washing machine, and hot water system—to the middle of the day will deliver the biggest savings on your power bills. While selling power back to the grid provides a small credit, avoiding buying it in the first place saves you about three times as much. A well-sized solar system is a solid investment with a typical payback of around 4-6 years, setting your home up for a cheaper, cleaner energy future.

This guide was written by the team at Solar Generation Tasmania to help our fellow Tasmanians make informed decisions about their energy future.

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Published by Solar Generation Tasmania. General information current as at publication — rebates, tariffs and prices change, so confirm current figures before deciding.