After installing solar power in NSW, your new energy tariffs will then depend on which energy distribution area your house is in.
If you are in the Endeavour Energy distribution area- your regulated energy tariffs should not change when you go solar. You will still need a digital meter, however at the current time Endeavour Energy is not charging time of use billing – you will pay a flat rate for your power no matter what time of day it is.
In the Ausgrid distribution area, having a new digital meter will result in you being charged time of use pricing. This is a great opportunity to further reduce your energy bills, but you will need to manage your power usage to ensure you maximise the potential benefits. Energy prices in the shoulder and off-peak periods are much cheaper than a flat-rate tariff.
The peak billing period is from 2 pm to 8 pm on weekdays, which means you will pay less for your power 82% of the time. According to Ausgrid, an average Sydney household only uses 22% of their power during the peak period, when power prices are approximately 50 cents per kW/h. It is possible to reduce this even further with solar power.
If you have a roof facing between north and west, you can take advantage of time-of-use pricing to further minimise the amount of power you use during the peak period, as your house will be running off solar power for most of the afternoon and well into the evening. This results in both free solar power in the afternoon and low tariffs in the morning until 2 pm. Yes, you do need to be careful during the hours from when your solar system turns off in the evening up until 8 pm, which is why we strongly recommend you monitor your energy usage.
Please note that the actual tariffs you pay depend on which retailer you choose and the available packages. If you have any questions about this please call us on 1300 525 451.
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