Solar feed-in tariffs (FIT) are the payment made to solar owners for the energy they generate and send back into the grid. Like a tiny power station, any extra energy generated through the solar panels that you don’t use can be sold back into the grid at the feed-in tariff rate. The retailer-provided solar FITs listed here do not include any bonus feed-in tariff that may be provided by state or territory governments.
Current solar feed-in tariffs in NSW are offered under what is called a Voluntary Retailer Contribution. This means New South Wales electricity retailers don’t have to pay anything for solar electricity exported to the grid, but most do make payment for the energy you export – and so they should, solar energy is valuable stuff!
The FiT is a rate that is set per kilowatt hour (kWh) and the amount paid varies between retailers.
The government has called on NSW energy retailers to offer solar customers feed-in tariffs that meet a benchmark set by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART). The benchmark range for the 2019/20 financial year is 8.5 to 10.4 cents per kilowatt-hour. You can read more about IPART’s Review of Solar feed-in tariffs 2018/19.
Any variation will by then move out through your meter into the grid and that is exported power, you will get paid for that electricity at the feed-in tariff rates(current). The Solar feed-in tariff is fixed by the state government.
You can use the NSW Energy Switch service to compare plans from all providers, including feed-in tariff offers. This is a free price comparison website run by the NSW Government.
If you receive your bill directly from your electricity provider and you meet the eligibility requirements, you can use the Energy Switch tool to compare your plan with other available plans. If you decide to switch providers, they will initiate the switching process for you.
When shopping around for an energy provider, it’s worth considering things like:
- usage charges (i.e. consumption charges)
- network charges
- feed-in tariffs
- Any other terms and conditions including ‘paid-on-time’ discounts or late payment fees.
NSW solar feed-in tariffs for households by electricity retailer (cents per kWh exported)
Retailer | Min Solar FIT | Max Solar FIT |
1st Energy (FIT) | 6.0c | 6.0c |
AGL (FIT) | 10.2c | 21.0c |
Alinta Energy (FIT) | 7.5c | 7.5c |
Amaysim (FIT) | 0.0c | 15.0c |
Click Energy (FIT) | 10.0c | 14.0c |
Commander (FIT) | 11.6c | 11.6c |
CovaU Energy (FIT) | 0.0c | 8.5c |
Diamond Energy (FIT) | 0.0c | 12.0c |
Dodo (FIT) | 11.6c | 11.6c |
Energy Australia (FIT) | 10.5c | 10.5c |
Energy Locals (FIT) | 11.0c | 16.0c |
GloBird Energy (FIT) | 8.0c | 8.0c |
Kogan Energy (FIT) | 6.7c | 6.7c |
Mojo Power (FIT) | 10.0c | 10.0c |
Momentum Energy (FIT) | 0.0c | 7.0c |
Origin Energy (FIT) | 7.8c | 21.0c |
Powerdirect (FIT) | 10.2c | 10.2c |
Powershop (FIT) | 10.2c | 10.2c |
QEnergy (FIT) | 8.0c | 8.0c |
Red Energy (FIT) | 10.2c | 11.1c |
Simply Energy (FIT) | 0.0c | 8.0c |
Sumo FIT | 11.1c | 11.1c |