Three Hours of Free Power? Read the Fine Print First
Three hours of free electricity every day.
Well, that certainly gets your attention, doesn't it?
From 1st October 2026, eligible Victorian households will be able to opt into the new Victorian Midday Power Saver, giving them electricity at zero cents per kilowatt-hour between 11am and 2pm every day, up to a fair-use limit of 24kWh a day.
And at first glance it sounds wonderful.
Run the washing machine. Put the dishwasher on. Bake the bread. Run the dehydrator. Heat the hot water. Charge the car.
All for free.
But Cheapskaters know there is one word that should always make us stop and look twice: FREE.
Because electricity companies haven't suddenly decided to give electricity away out of the goodness of their hearts.
The electricity used during those three hours still has a cost.
And under the Midday Power Saver, some of that cost is effectively recovered through the electricity prices charged during the other 21 hours of the day.
So before anyone rushes to sign up, we need to look at the whole tariff, not just the shiny three-hour headline.
So how does the Midday Power Saver work?For households without a controlled-load tariff, the day will be divided into four periods:
9pm–11am — Off peak
11am–2pm — Free power
2pm–4pm — Solar soak
4pm–9pm — Peak
The exact rates vary depending on which electricity distribution area you live in.
For example, in the United Energy area, the regulated Midday Power Saver maximum rates from 1st October 2026 are:
Now compare that with the 2026–27 Victorian Default Offer time-of-use tariff for United Energy:
See what has happened?
Yes, electricity between 11am and 2pm has fallen to zero.
But the prices outside the free window have gone up.
That is why this isn't simply a cheaper electricity tariff.
It's a tariff designed to encourage us to change when we use electricity.
Why do we have to opt in?
This is actually one of the most important things to understand.
The Midday Power Saver isn't being automatically applied to every Victorian household.
You have to choose it.
And retailers are required to warn customers that it may not suit everyone.
They must explain that if you cannot shift enough electricity use into the free period, your electricity costs could actually be higher. Where possible, they must also give you an estimate of the effect on your bill and tell you if they reasonably believe another offer might suit you better.
That should immediately tell us something.
If this tariff automatically made everyone's bill cheaper, there wouldn't be the same need to warn people that they could be worse off.
The savings depend largely on your household being able to move electricity use away from expensive periods — especially 4pm–9pm — and into 11am–2pm.
Let's look at two Cheapskates householdsFor a simple comparison, let's imagine two households.
They both use about 15kWh of electricity a day.
They are both in the United Energy distribution area.
They both currently pay the Victorian Default Offer time-of-use rates.
And neither has controlled-load electricity.
The daily supply charge is the same under both tariffs, so we'll leave it out of the comparison and concentrate on the part we can actually change — electricity usage.
These examples are illustrations rather than quotes for a particular household. Your own result will depend on your retailer, distribution area, current plan and actual smart-meter usage.
Household One — The Time Shifters
This household is willing and able to make the tariff work.
Before switching, their daily electricity use looks roughly like this:
Now they switch to the Midday Power Saver.
But — and this is the important part — they change their routine.
They move around 4kWh of electricity use into the free window.
Perhaps they:
Their new daily pattern becomes approximately:
That's a difference of around $1.11 a day or roughly $406 a year.
Now that is a saving worth chasing.
But notice where it came from.
It wasn't simply because the household signed up.
It came because they moved four kilowatt-hours of electricity into the free period.
That's the key.
Household Two — The Evening Household
Now let's look at a household that also uses 15kWh a day.
They're out during the day.
Perhaps everyone is at work or school.
They get home late afternoon.
Dinner goes on.
The heating or air-conditioning goes on.
The washing machine starts.
The dishwasher runs after dinner.
Televisions, computers, lights and appliances are all operating.
Their daily use is:
And because their lifestyle doesn't allow them to change much, that pattern stays almost exactly the same after switching.
Under the Victorian Default Offer their usage costs about $4.18 a day.
Under the Midday Power Saver it would cost about $4.40 a day.
That's around 22 cents more every day or roughly $81 more a year.
Same household electricity consumption.
Same 15kWh.
Same promise of three hours of free electricity.
Completely different result.
And this household would be paying more, because most of its electricity is being used outside the free window.
That's The Trap
The question isn't “Can I get three hours of free electricity?”
You can.
The question is “How much electricity can I genuinely move into those three hours?”
There's a big difference.
And I say move deliberately.
If you normally wouldn't run the clothes dryer but suddenly start running it because the electricity is free, you haven't saved anything.
You've simply used more electricity.
If you cook something you weren't going to cook, run extra appliances because they're free or find yourself looking for things to plug in between 11am and 2pm, that's not Cheapskating.
The aim is to take electricity you were already going to use and move it into a cheaper period.
Who Could Do Very Well From This?
I can see this tariff working extremely well for some households.
If you're home during the day, retired, working from home or have appliances that can be programmed with timers, you have plenty of opportunities.
Large electricity loads make the biggest difference.
Think:
The Victorian Government estimates households could save roughly $149 to $428 a year, depending on their circumstances and on shifting between about 5 and 30 per cent of electricity consumption into the free window.
But again, the words that matter are shifting electricity consumption.
Who Should Look Very Carefully Before Changing?
I'd be especially cautious if:
Solar households are particularly interesting.
If your solar panels are already supplying your house at midday, free grid electricity may not save you very much because you're already buying very little electricity then.
On the other hand, if you have a battery or an EV, the economics could look quite different because you may be able to charge them during the free period and use that stored energy later.
And Don't Forget Your Current Electricity Deal
This could be the biggest trap of all.
Don't compare the Midday Power Saver only with the Victorian Default Offer.
Compare it with the deal you already have.
There are competitive electricity market plans that may already be cheaper overall.
You could move a heap of electricity into the free three-hour window and feel very pleased with yourself, only to discover that the higher rates outside those hours have wiped out the saving compared with another available plan.
That's why I'd be checking Victorian Energy Compare before changing anything.
The Victorian Government itself recommends comparing offers before switching and says customers can leave the Midday Power Saver without an exit fee if it doesn't suit them.
There's Another Reason Victoria Wants Us Using Power at Lunchtime
This tariff isn't only about lowering household bills.
It also solves a problem for the electricity system.
Victoria increasingly has plenty of electricity being generated during sunny parts of the day, while electricity demand rises sharply later when everyone comes home, cooks dinner, heats or cools the house and turns everything on.
Encouraging households to shift electricity consumption into the middle of the day helps soak up daytime generation and reduces pressure on the grid during the evening peak.
That's good for the electricity system.
And there's nothing wrong with that if it saves households money too.
But we need to understand that the three free hours aren't simply a present being handed to consumers.
We're being offered a financial incentive to change when we use electricity.
For households that can respond to that incentive, it could be a very good deal.
For households that can't, it may not be.
My Cheapskates Approach
Before signing anything, I'd pull out my electricity bill and smart-meter usage and do a little homework.
Look at your household between 11am and 2pm. What are you already using?
Then look at 4pm–9pm.
That's the interesting bit.
Ask yourself: What can I move?
If you can move several kilowatt-hours every day, this tariff becomes much more interesting.
If the answer is, “Nothing — nobody is home and everything happens after 5pm,” then don't be dazzled by the word FREE.
Run the numbers first.
That's what Cheapskating is all about.
Not automatically choosing the cheapest-looking option.
Not believing the headline.
And certainly not changing household habits just because someone tells us something is free.
We look at the true annual cost.
Because the best electricity plan isn't the one with the most exciting advertisement.
It's the one that leaves the most money in your bank account at the end of the year.
Three free hours could be a terrific saving.
But only if those are three hours when you can actually put your electricity use to work.
One useful follow-up for the Member Hub would be a one-page “Is the Midday Power Saver Right for Us?” worksheet where members enter their 11am–2pm and 4pm–9pm usage, list the appliances they could move, and calculate their likely annual saving before they opt in.
Well, that certainly gets your attention, doesn't it?
From 1st October 2026, eligible Victorian households will be able to opt into the new Victorian Midday Power Saver, giving them electricity at zero cents per kilowatt-hour between 11am and 2pm every day, up to a fair-use limit of 24kWh a day.
And at first glance it sounds wonderful.
Run the washing machine. Put the dishwasher on. Bake the bread. Run the dehydrator. Heat the hot water. Charge the car.
All for free.
But Cheapskaters know there is one word that should always make us stop and look twice: FREE.
Because electricity companies haven't suddenly decided to give electricity away out of the goodness of their hearts.
The electricity used during those three hours still has a cost.
And under the Midday Power Saver, some of that cost is effectively recovered through the electricity prices charged during the other 21 hours of the day.
So before anyone rushes to sign up, we need to look at the whole tariff, not just the shiny three-hour headline.
So how does the Midday Power Saver work?For households without a controlled-load tariff, the day will be divided into four periods:
9pm–11am — Off peak
11am–2pm — Free power
2pm–4pm — Solar soak
4pm–9pm — Peak
The exact rates vary depending on which electricity distribution area you live in.
For example, in the United Energy area, the regulated Midday Power Saver maximum rates from 1st October 2026 are:
- 9pm–11am — 24.27 cents/kWh
- 11am–2pm — 0 cents/kWh
- 2pm–4pm — 19.39 cents/kWh
- 4pm–9pm — 42.45 cents/kWh
- daily supply charge — $1.1912.
Now compare that with the 2026–27 Victorian Default Offer time-of-use tariff for United Energy:
- off peak — 22.14 cents/kWh
- solar soak, 11am–4pm — 17.26 cents/kWh
- peak, 4pm–9pm — 40.32 cents/kWh
- daily supply charge — $1.1912.
See what has happened?
Yes, electricity between 11am and 2pm has fallen to zero.
But the prices outside the free window have gone up.
That is why this isn't simply a cheaper electricity tariff.
It's a tariff designed to encourage us to change when we use electricity.
Why do we have to opt in?
This is actually one of the most important things to understand.
The Midday Power Saver isn't being automatically applied to every Victorian household.
You have to choose it.
And retailers are required to warn customers that it may not suit everyone.
They must explain that if you cannot shift enough electricity use into the free period, your electricity costs could actually be higher. Where possible, they must also give you an estimate of the effect on your bill and tell you if they reasonably believe another offer might suit you better.
That should immediately tell us something.
If this tariff automatically made everyone's bill cheaper, there wouldn't be the same need to warn people that they could be worse off.
The savings depend largely on your household being able to move electricity use away from expensive periods — especially 4pm–9pm — and into 11am–2pm.
Let's look at two Cheapskates householdsFor a simple comparison, let's imagine two households.
They both use about 15kWh of electricity a day.
They are both in the United Energy distribution area.
They both currently pay the Victorian Default Offer time-of-use rates.
And neither has controlled-load electricity.
The daily supply charge is the same under both tariffs, so we'll leave it out of the comparison and concentrate on the part we can actually change — electricity usage.
These examples are illustrations rather than quotes for a particular household. Your own result will depend on your retailer, distribution area, current plan and actual smart-meter usage.
Household One — The Time Shifters
This household is willing and able to make the tariff work.
Before switching, their daily electricity use looks roughly like this:
- 9kWh overnight/off peak
- 0.5kWh between 11am–2pm
- 0.5kWh between 2pm–4pm
- 5kWh during the 4pm–9pm peak.
Now they switch to the Midday Power Saver.
But — and this is the important part — they change their routine.
They move around 4kWh of electricity use into the free window.
Perhaps they:
- heat their hot water
- run the washing machine
- use the dishwasher
- run the dryer
- bake
- run the dehydrator
- charge a battery
- charge an electric car
- pre-heat or pre-cool the house.
Their new daily pattern becomes approximately:
- 7kWh off peak
- 4.5kWh during the free period
- 0.5kWh solar soak
- 3kWh peak.
That's a difference of around $1.11 a day or roughly $406 a year.
Now that is a saving worth chasing.
But notice where it came from.
It wasn't simply because the household signed up.
It came because they moved four kilowatt-hours of electricity into the free period.
That's the key.
Household Two — The Evening Household
Now let's look at a household that also uses 15kWh a day.
They're out during the day.
Perhaps everyone is at work or school.
They get home late afternoon.
Dinner goes on.
The heating or air-conditioning goes on.
The washing machine starts.
The dishwasher runs after dinner.
Televisions, computers, lights and appliances are all operating.
Their daily use is:
- 9kWh off peak
- 0.5kWh during 11am–2pm
- 0.5kWh during 2pm–4pm
- 5kWh between 4pm–9pm.
And because their lifestyle doesn't allow them to change much, that pattern stays almost exactly the same after switching.
Under the Victorian Default Offer their usage costs about $4.18 a day.
Under the Midday Power Saver it would cost about $4.40 a day.
That's around 22 cents more every day or roughly $81 more a year.
Same household electricity consumption.
Same 15kWh.
Same promise of three hours of free electricity.
Completely different result.
And this household would be paying more, because most of its electricity is being used outside the free window.
That's The Trap
The question isn't “Can I get three hours of free electricity?”
You can.
The question is “How much electricity can I genuinely move into those three hours?”
There's a big difference.
And I say move deliberately.
If you normally wouldn't run the clothes dryer but suddenly start running it because the electricity is free, you haven't saved anything.
You've simply used more electricity.
If you cook something you weren't going to cook, run extra appliances because they're free or find yourself looking for things to plug in between 11am and 2pm, that's not Cheapskating.
The aim is to take electricity you were already going to use and move it into a cheaper period.
Who Could Do Very Well From This?
I can see this tariff working extremely well for some households.
If you're home during the day, retired, working from home or have appliances that can be programmed with timers, you have plenty of opportunities.
Large electricity loads make the biggest difference.
Think:
- electric hot-water systems
- washing machines
- dryers
- dishwashers
- heat-pump hot water
- air-conditioners
- electric heating
- pool pumps
- home batteries
- electric vehicle charging.
The Victorian Government estimates households could save roughly $149 to $428 a year, depending on their circumstances and on shifting between about 5 and 30 per cent of electricity consumption into the free window.
But again, the words that matter are shifting electricity consumption.
Who Should Look Very Carefully Before Changing?
I'd be especially cautious if:
- your house is empty between 11am and 2pm
- most of your electricity use happens between 4pm and 9pm
- you already use very little electricity
- you cannot easily change when appliances operate
- your existing electricity market plan is already very competitive
Solar households are particularly interesting.
If your solar panels are already supplying your house at midday, free grid electricity may not save you very much because you're already buying very little electricity then.
On the other hand, if you have a battery or an EV, the economics could look quite different because you may be able to charge them during the free period and use that stored energy later.
And Don't Forget Your Current Electricity Deal
This could be the biggest trap of all.
Don't compare the Midday Power Saver only with the Victorian Default Offer.
Compare it with the deal you already have.
There are competitive electricity market plans that may already be cheaper overall.
You could move a heap of electricity into the free three-hour window and feel very pleased with yourself, only to discover that the higher rates outside those hours have wiped out the saving compared with another available plan.
That's why I'd be checking Victorian Energy Compare before changing anything.
The Victorian Government itself recommends comparing offers before switching and says customers can leave the Midday Power Saver without an exit fee if it doesn't suit them.
There's Another Reason Victoria Wants Us Using Power at Lunchtime
This tariff isn't only about lowering household bills.
It also solves a problem for the electricity system.
Victoria increasingly has plenty of electricity being generated during sunny parts of the day, while electricity demand rises sharply later when everyone comes home, cooks dinner, heats or cools the house and turns everything on.
Encouraging households to shift electricity consumption into the middle of the day helps soak up daytime generation and reduces pressure on the grid during the evening peak.
That's good for the electricity system.
And there's nothing wrong with that if it saves households money too.
But we need to understand that the three free hours aren't simply a present being handed to consumers.
We're being offered a financial incentive to change when we use electricity.
For households that can respond to that incentive, it could be a very good deal.
For households that can't, it may not be.
My Cheapskates Approach
Before signing anything, I'd pull out my electricity bill and smart-meter usage and do a little homework.
Look at your household between 11am and 2pm. What are you already using?
Then look at 4pm–9pm.
That's the interesting bit.
Ask yourself: What can I move?
- Could the dishwasher run at lunchtime instead of 8pm?
- Could the washing machine be put on a timer?
- Could hot water heat during the free period?
- Could bread bake then?
- Could the slow cooker, dehydrator or preserving equipment run during those hours?
- Could you pre-cool the house before the expensive evening period?
If you can move several kilowatt-hours every day, this tariff becomes much more interesting.
If the answer is, “Nothing — nobody is home and everything happens after 5pm,” then don't be dazzled by the word FREE.
Run the numbers first.
That's what Cheapskating is all about.
Not automatically choosing the cheapest-looking option.
Not believing the headline.
And certainly not changing household habits just because someone tells us something is free.
We look at the true annual cost.
Because the best electricity plan isn't the one with the most exciting advertisement.
It's the one that leaves the most money in your bank account at the end of the year.
Three free hours could be a terrific saving.
But only if those are three hours when you can actually put your electricity use to work.
One useful follow-up for the Member Hub would be a one-page “Is the Midday Power Saver Right for Us?” worksheet where members enter their 11am–2pm and 4pm–9pm usage, list the appliances they could move, and calculate their likely annual saving before they opt in.
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