Residential customers tariff information
We don’t bill residential customers directly for our services, we bill your retailer for delivering your electricity. Our distribution charges make up less than a third of the total bill for a typical residential customer.
Your retailer charges you for the electricity used in your home based on a specific tariff (an amount per kilowatt hour of energy consumed). Retailers offer a range of retail offers. By selecting the right tariff for your electricity consumption, you can make significant savings on your energy bill.
As with most markets around the world, when something is in high demand, you generally pay more for it. That is why it is more expensive to buy electricity during peak times of the day (morning and evening) when demand is strongest.
At other times of the day, when demand is lower (like in the middle of the night), or when there is a lot of available energy (during the middle of the day due to an abundance of rooftop solar), electricity is cheaper.
In some cases, you can improve savings by changing when you use electricity to take advantage, for example, of low daytime energy costs.
We recommend you speak to your electricity retailer for more information about their various retail offers and what might be best for you. Make sure you also read your electricity bill – retailers are required every 100 days, through a statement on their bill, to inform you if a better deal is available.
Types of tariffs
Retailers offer a number of tariffs to residential customers. Check your bill or speak to your retailer to find out which one you are currently on. The following are the main types of tariffs available to residential customers.
Single Rate tariff
If you are on a single rate tariff, it means that you are charged a flat rate for your electricity usage, no matter what time of day or night you are using it. If you have an older style electricity meter (called an accumulation meter), you are most likely on this tariff.
Time of Use tariff
If you are on a Time of Use tariff, it means that the price of electricity (or the tariff you are charged per kilowatt hour of energy used) fluctuates, depending on the time of day. It is more expensive to use electricity at peak times, and there are significant discounts for using electricity at other times (known as ‘off-peak’ or ‘solar sponge’).
If you have a newer, digital “smart” meter (called an interval meter), SA Power Networks is required to charge your retailer a Time of Use tariff. Your retailer can choose to place you on a Time of Use or a Single Rate tariff, and is required to communicate with you on any retail tariff change.
The following information is how SA Power Networks charges retailers. Your retailer may have different time periods, depending on your retail offer.
Peak
- 6:00am – 10:00am and 3:00pm – 1:00am
These are traditionally the times of highest demand and when electricity costs the most.
Off-peak
- 1:00am – 6:00am
Pricing applied for a five-hour off-peak block every day, usually overnight.
Solar sponge
- 10:00am – 3:00pm
Also sometimes known as 'shoulder': This is usually the cheapest time to use energy - in the middle of the day when solar generation is typically at its highest.
Image: An indication of which tariffs apply at different times of the day.
PLEASE NOTE
SA Power Networks does not charge fees or tariffs directly to households or businesses. SA Power Networks charges your retailer fees called distribution network charges. You should discuss your tariff with your electricity retailer.
Adjust the way you use electricity for a Time of Use tariff
The peak time is the most expensive time to use electricity. The higher the demand for energy, the higher the price. On the other hand, the cheapest time of day to use electricity is during the middle of the day when the sun is shining and there is plenty of available electricity being generated by rooftop solar.
The Time of Use tariff offers customers an incentive to shift controlled load (such as electric hot water heating) to the middle of the day, encouraging residential electricity consumers to use more energy when we have a surplus of cheap solar energy being generated on rooftops across the South Australia.
If you can change the way you use electricity, you could make significant savings on a Time of Use tariff and using appliances like washing machines, dishwashers and pool pumps to work during the period when energy is cheapest. If you are unable to shift your energy use to cheaper times of the day, the retail Time of Use tariff might not be right for you, and you should contact your retailer to discuss this.
Export Tariff
From 1 July 2025, an export tariff will apply to excess energy exported to the energy grid at certain times. Read more about the export tariff.
Get independent advice
The Energy Made Easy website is a free Australian Government energy price comparison service which allows you to enter your consumption data and compare retail tariffs to find a product suitable for you.