VICTORIAN MIDDAY POWER SAVER · STARTS 1 OCTOBER 2026
Free Power, 11am–2pm.
Every Day.
A home battery is what turns 3 free hours into savings all evening.
From 1 October 2026, eligible Victorian households can opt in to three hours of free electricity every day, 11am–2pm. Used live, it’s a modest saving. Stored in a battery and released during the evening peak, it’s a genuinely different bill. We help Peninsula homeowners work out which category they’re in — and size a battery that actually earns its keep.
THE SCHEME, PLAIN AND SIMPLE
What is the Midday Power Saver?
It’s a Victorian Government initiative giving eligible households three hours of free electricity every day — including weekends — starting 1 October 2026. No solar or battery is required to take part, but homes with one get a lot more out of it.
Who’s eligible
Households with a smart meter, on a retailer with 1,000+ customers. You need to actively opt in from 1 October 2026 — it isn’t automatic.
Who isn’t
Small businesses and commercial properties aren’t eligible — this scheme is residential only. See below if you’re enquiring for a business.
Source: Victorian Government — energy.vic.gov.au / premier.vic.gov.au.
LIVE USE VS STORED USE
Do I need a battery to benefit from it?
No. Anything you run between 11am and 2pm — the dishwasher, the pool pump, an EV charger — is free either way. The difference is what happens to the power you don’t use on the spot.
Without a battery
~$300/yrYou benefit only for whatever you can actually run, live, during the 3-hour window. Once 2pm passes, the free power is gone — the evening peak is paid at normal rates.
With a battery
up to ~$1,070/yrThe battery fills during the free window whether you’re home or not, then discharges through the evening peak — turning 3 free hours into savings across the whole night.
THE MECHANIC
How does a battery actually use the free hours?
11am — the window opens
Your battery starts charging from the grid, free, regardless of what the household is doing. If you’ve got solar, it tops up from that too.
2pm — the window closes
Charging stops. The battery is sitting on a full (or near-full) charge of power that cost nothing, ready to be used whenever it’s needed.
Evening peak — the battery discharges
Dinner-time cooking, heating or cooling, EV charging — the most expensive hours of the day — are covered from the battery instead of the grid.
The result
Three free hours you’d otherwise only benefit from in real time become savings spread across the entire evening, every day of the year.
THREE STARTING POINTS
Every Peninsula home starts from a different switchboard.
Tell us honestly where you’re at — there’s a right-sized path for each.
No solar, no battery.
You can still opt in to the free window and use what you can live — but a battery is what makes the scheme worth real money. We’ll size one against your household’s evening usage.
- Free household energy assessment
- Battery sized to your actual evening peak load
- Federal rebate applied as an upfront install discount
You’re already generating — you’re just not storing it.
Solar covers your daytime load, but most Peninsula homes still pay peak rates every evening. A battery charged from midday solar and the free window changes that.
- Battery sized against your existing solar system
- Charge/discharge schedule set to the 11am–2pm window
- Federal rebate applied as an upfront install discount
You’re set up — let’s make sure the settings match the scheme.
This isn’t a sales pitch. If you’re already running solar and a battery, we check your inverter and battery schedule are actually charging in the free window and discharging through peak, and retune them if they’re not.
- Settings and schedule check-up against the new free window
- Retailer opt-in guidance for Victorian Energy Compare
- No new hardware unless you actually need it
THE FEDERAL REBATE
What about the battery rebate?
Victoria’s own state battery loan scheme has closed, so there’s currently no separate Victorian state battery rebate. The rebate that applies today is federal: the Cheaper Home Batteries Program, run through Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs).
Now, until 31 Dec 2026
~$252 / usable kWhPaid as an upfront discount off your install price, not a cheque in the mail. Applies to the first 50kWh of usable capacity — most home batteries (roughly 10–14kWh) get the rebate on their full capacity.
From 1 Jan 2027
~$211 / usable kWhThe rate is scheduled to step down from the new year. Nothing to panic about — but if you’re already considering a battery for the free window, it’s a genuine reason to get quoted sooner rather than later.
HOUSEHOLDS ONLY
Is this available for my business?
No — the Midday Power Saver is a residential scheme. Small businesses and commercial properties are explicitly excluded from eligibility under the scheme’s own rules.
If you’re enquiring on behalf of a business, Protec’s commercial battery systems team handles that separately, with its own rebate and payback framework — get in touch and we’ll point you the right way.
GETTING STARTED
How do I sign up?
Two separate things need to happen, and they’re not the same job.
You opt in to the scheme
From 1 October 2026, you opt in yourself through your electricity retailer or the Victorian Energy Compare website. This is a retailer-side election Protec can’t do on your behalf.
We size and install the battery
We handle the battery: sizing it to your evening load, installing it, applying the federal rebate, and setting its schedule to charge in the free window and discharge through peak.
WHERE WE WORK
On the Peninsula, from the bay to the tip of Point Nepean.
GET A QUOTE
Tell us where you’re starting from.
Three details and we’ll come back with a straight quote — a new battery sized for the free window, or a settings check-up if you’re already set up.
Information current as of September 2026, based on published Victorian Government and Clean Energy Regulator figures. Confirm final scheme terms and rebate rates with your retailer/installer before purchasing.