If you have solar in NSW, the electricity you send to the grid is worth less on the state’s latest benchmark.
The NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has set its benchmark for flat-rate solar feed-in tariffs at 3.4 to 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for 2026–27. Last financial year, the range was 4.8 to 7.3 cents/kWh.
The new benchmark applies from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.
That does not mean your electricity retailer has to pay you 3.4 to 6.5 cents for every unit you export. IPART’s figures are benchmarks rather than mandatory feed-in tariff rates, so retailers remain free to set their own offers.
The change is still important because the benchmark reflects the wholesale value of electricity during the periods when solar households tend to export the most. That value has been falling as more solar generation enters the grid.
Why The Benchmark Has Fallen
The change starts with what happens during the middle of a sunny day.
Rooftop solar systems produce most of their electricity during daylight hours. At the same time, large solar farms and other renewable generators are supplying electricity to the grid.
There is therefore more generation arriving during the same part of the day. When supply rises faster than demand, wholesale prices can fall.
IPART says this is the main reason for the lower 2026–27 benchmark. Increasing generation from grid-wide renewables and rooftop solar is adding supply and putting downward pressure on wholesale prices.
That matters to solar households because the feed-in tariff reflects the value of the electricity they send into that market.
The change has been building for several years. IPART’s all-day benchmark was 7.7 to 9.4 cents/kWh in 2023–24. It then fell to 4.9 to 6.3 cents in 2024–25, before sitting at 4.8 to 7.3 cents in 2025–26.
It is now down to 3.4 to 6.5 cents/kWh.
Those figures do not tell you exactly what your retailer will pay. A retailer can offer a rate above the benchmark, just as another can offer one below it. What the figures do show is that the wholesale value of daytime solar exports has come under increasing pressure.
What Happens To The Solar You Don’t Use?
This becomes easier to understand when you follow the electricity from your roof into your home.
Your solar panels generate electricity whenever there is enough sunlight. Your home takes whatever electricity it needs at that moment, and any surplus can flow into the grid.
You then receive a feed-in payment for that exported electricity according to your retail plan.
The amount can be quite small compared with the cost of buying electricity from the grid.
If your panels produce 10 kWh that your home does not need and your retailer pays 5 cents for each exported kWh, those exports earn 50 cents.
If you had used that electricity in your home instead, you would have avoided buying 10 kWh from the grid. The value of that avoided electricity purchase can be much higher.
That difference is why the falling feed-in benchmark matters even when your solar system itself is working exactly as it should.
A household that produces plenty of excess electricity during the day may now get more value from finding ways to use some of it at home.
Running appliances while the panels are producing is one option. Heating water during the day can be another, depending on the system. Other flexible loads can also be shifted into periods when solar generation is high.
The aim is not to prevent every export. Some surplus will still go to the grid. The point is to understand what you are being paid for that surplus and whether some of it could have been more valuable inside your home.
The Hour You Export Can Make A Difference
IPART’s latest figures also show why the middle of the day is becoming a difficult time to get a high value for exported solar.
On the Ausgrid network, the 2026–27 benchmark for exports between 10am and 3pm is around 3.9 to 4 cents/kWh.
Later in the day, the benchmark rises. Between 4pm and 9pm, it reaches 17.2 to 18.7 cents/kWh for the relevant periods.
The figures on the Essential Energy network are higher again during part of the evening, reaching 26.6 to 33.3 cents/kWh between 5pm and 8pm.
The reason comes back to supply and demand.
Solar generation is strongest around the middle of the day, when the grid is already receiving large amounts of solar electricity. Later, solar production drops as the sun moves lower, while household demand can remain high.
People are getting home, cooking, heating or cooling their homes and using appliances. At that point, electricity can be worth more because there is less solar generation available to meet that demand.
These figures should not be confused with the feed-in tariff on your electricity bill. They are IPART benchmarks, and retailers do not have to match them.
They do, however, show why the timing of solar generation and electricity use is becoming more relevant.
Where A Battery Fits In
This is also why battery storage deserves a closer look for some households.
A battery gives you somewhere to put excess solar when your home does not need it immediately. Instead of exporting all of that electricity around lunchtime, you can store some and use it later.
For a household that regularly exports during the day and then buys electricity from the grid in the evening, that can change how much of its solar generation it actually uses.
Whether the numbers work depends on the household.
Someone who already consumes most of their solar during the day may have relatively little surplus to store. A household that exports a large amount every day and has substantial evening electricity use has more to work with.
The battery itself also has a cost, so the calculation needs to include the purchase and installation price, the amount of surplus solar available, household consumption and the electricity plan.
That makes your own energy data more useful than a general rule about whether batteries are “worth it”.
The Feed-In Tariff Is Only Part Of The Electricity Bill
The same principle applies when you compare electricity retailers.
A high feed-in tariff can look attractive because it puts a bigger number beside the solar export rate. But that payment is only one part of what you pay your retailer.
The usage rate matters whenever you buy electricity from the grid. So does the daily supply charge.
Some plans also have conditions around solar exports, including limits that can affect how much electricity qualifies for the advertised rate.
Imagine two households looking at the same electricity plans. One exports several thousand kilowatt-hours a year. The other uses most of its solar at home and still buys a lot of electricity from the grid.
The first household has more reason to care about its feed-in rate. For the second, the usage and supply charges may have a much bigger effect on the final bill.
That is why the advertised feed-in tariff cannot tell you which plan will work best for your household.
What To Check If You Already Have Solar
The change in IPART’s benchmark does not require you to replace your solar system or make an immediate change.
Start by looking at what your system is actually doing.
Your inverter or monitoring app may show how much electricity your panels generate and how much goes to the grid. Your electricity bills can also show how much power you export and how much you buy.
If you find that a large share of your solar leaves the property during the middle of the day, look at your household routine.
Could some appliances run while the panels are producing? Could water heating happen during daylight hours? Are there other electricity loads that can move without affecting how you use the home?
Those changes can increase the amount of solar you consume yourself.
Then look at your electricity plan. Check the feed-in tariff alongside the usage rates, daily supply charge and any export conditions.
If you are considering a battery, use the same information to work out how much excess solar you actually have and when you export it. A battery that is too large for the amount of surplus energy available will have a different financial result from one that is regularly charged by excess solar.
The Market Is Changing Around Rooftop Solar
The latest IPART benchmark is another step in a change that has been taking place across the electricity market.
More rooftop solar means more households producing electricity during the day. Large-scale renewable generation adds even more supply at those times.
That has made daytime electricity less valuable in periods when generation is high.
For solar households, the effect is showing up in the falling value of exported electricity. The electricity your panels produce can still reduce the amount you buy from the grid, while surplus generation can still earn a feed-in payment.
What has changed is the balance between those two uses.
If your home can use more of its solar while it is being generated, that can reduce the amount of electricity you need to buy later. If you have enough surplus to make storage worthwhile, a battery can move some of that daytime generation into the evening.
And if you continue exporting, your electricity plan determines how much you receive for it.
So the lower IPART benchmark is less about rooftop solar becoming obsolete and more about how solar households use the electricity they generate.
The more solar enters the grid, the more that timing matters.
