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
Expand each section to learn more about the different types of tariffs.
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.
Your total retail bill includes several parts, and network charges are one of them. The table below explains the different parts of your network charges:
- Distribution: This is the cost for SA Power Networks to deliver electricity to your home.
- Metering: This is the cost for SA Power Networks to provide and manage your electricity meter, including manually read meters and the transition to interval meters.
- Transmission: This covers the cost for ElectraNet to transport electricity from the power generators to SA Power Networks.
- Jurisdictional Schemes: These are charges set by the South Australian Government.
| Single Rate |
SA Power Networks Distribution |
SA Power Networks Metering |
ElectraNet Transmission |
SA Government Jurisdictional Schemes |
Total Network Charges Billed to Retailer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Supply Charge $/day |
$0.5616 |
$0.0255 |
$- |
$0.0569 |
$0.6440 |
|
Usage | Anytime $/kWh |
$0.0896 |
$- |
$0.0441 |
$0.0114 |
$0.1451 |
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.
*Time windows below apply from 1 July 2025.
| Peak | Off-peak | Solar sponge |
|---|---|---|
|
6:00am – 10:00am and 4:00pm – 12:00am These are traditionally the times of highest demand and when electricity costs the most. |
12:00am – 6:00am Pricing applied for a six-hour off-peak block every day, usually overnight. |
10:00am – 4:00pm 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 time windows that apply for Time of Use.
Your total retail bill includes several parts, and network charges are one of them. The table below explains the different parts of your network charges:
- Distribution: This is the cost for SA Power Networks to deliver electricity to your home.
- Metering: This is the cost for SA Power Networks to provide and manage your electricity meter, including manually read meters and the transition to interval meters.
- Transmission: This covers the cost for ElectraNet to transport electricity from the power generators to SA Power Networks.
- Jurisdictional Schemes: These are charges set by the South Australian Government.
| Time of Use |
SA Power Networks Distribution |
SA Power Networks Metering |
ElectraNet Transmission |
SA Government Jurisdictional Schemes |
Total Network Charges Billed to Retailer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supply Charge $/day |
$0.5616 |
$0.0255 |
$- |
$0.0569 |
$0.6440 |
| Usage | Peak $/kWh |
$0.1170 |
$- |
$0.0576 |
$0.0149 |
$0.1895 |
| Usage | Off Peak $/kWh |
$0.0585 |
$- |
$0.0288 |
$0.0074 |
$0.0947 |
| Usage | Solar Sponge $/kWh |
$0.0293 |
$- |
$0.0144 |
$0.0037 |
$0.0474 |
Controlled load is a term used to describe any appliance load which is connected to the Controlled Load circuit on your electricity meter. Examples of controlled load include hot water and underfloor heating. This secondary circuit on your meter supplies electricity for a limited number of hours each day, typically in the Solar Sponge or Off Peak times. The hours of operation are determined by your retailer if you have an interval meter, or the manual clock is set on your accumulation meter and does not change. The applicable Controlled Load tariff is dependent on the customer’s meter type: accumulation or interval.
*Time windows below apply from 1 July 2025.
|
Peak |
Off-peak |
Solar sponge |
|---|---|---|
|
6:30am – 9:30am and 4:30pm – 11:30pm These are traditionally the times of highest demand and when electricity costs the most. |
11:30pm – 6:30am Pricing applied for a seven-hour off-peak block every day, usually overnight. |
9:30am – 4:30pm 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 time windows that apply for controlled load.
Your total retail bill includes several parts, and network charges are one of them. The table below explains the different parts of your network charges:
- Distribution: This is the cost for SA Power Networks to deliver electricity to your home.
- Metering: This is the cost for SA Power Networks to provide and manage your electricity meter, including manually read meters and the transition to interval meters.
- Transmission: This covers the cost for ElectraNet to transport electricity from the power generators to SA Power Networks.
- Jurisdictional Schemes: These are charges set by the South Australian Government.
| Single Rate Controlled Load |
SA Power Networks Distribution |
SA Power Networks Metering |
ElectraNet Transmission |
SA Government Jurisdictional Schemes |
Total Network Charges Billed to Retailer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usage | Anytime $/kWh |
$0.0448 |
$- |
$0.0221 |
$0.0057 |
$0.0726 |
| Controlled Load Time of Use |
SA Power Networks Distribution |
SA Power Networks Metering |
ElectraNet Transmission |
SA Government Jurisdictional Schemes |
Total Network Charges Billed to Retailer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Usage | Peak $/kWh |
$0.1170 |
$- |
$0.0576 |
$0.0149 |
$0.1895 |
|
Usage | Off Peak $/kWh |
$0.0585 |
$- |
$0.0288 |
$0.0074 |
$0.0947 |
|
Usage | Solar Sponge $/kWh |
$0.0293 |
$- |
$0.0144 |
$0.0037 |
$0.0474 |
The Electrify tariff is a customer choice tariff for customers who predominantly or solely meet their energy needs through electricity, but have sufficient flexibility in their appliances, e.g. electric vehicles (EVs), heat pumps, energy storage etc, to optimise their usage outside peak demand periods. These customers are expected to have an above average energy consumption, so the tariff is structured to provide more opportunities throughout the day to access lower cost electricity outside of distribution network peak periods. The customer choice tariff provides stronger pricing signals than Residential Time of Use because of the shorter four hour Peak window.
*Time windows below apply from 1 July 2025.
| Peak | Shoulder | Solar Sponge |
|---|---|---|
|
5:00pm – 9:00pm These are traditionally the times of highest demand and when electricity costs the most. |
9:00pm – 10:00am and 4:00pm – 5:00pm |
10:00am – 4:00pm 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 time windows that apply for the Residential Electrify tariff.
Your total retail bill includes several parts, and network charges are one of them. The table below explains the different parts of your network charges:
- Distribution: This is the cost for SA Power Networks to deliver electricity to your home.
- Metering: This is the cost for SA Power Networks to provide and manage your electricity meter, including manually read meters and the transition to interval meters.
- Transmission: This covers the cost for ElectraNet to transport electricity from the power generators to SA Power Networks.
- Jurisdictional Schemes: These are charges set by the South Australian Government.
|
Electrify |
SA Power Networks Distribution |
SA Power Networks Metering |
ElectraNet Transmission |
SA Government Jurisdictional Schemes |
Total Network Charges Billed to Retailer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Supply Charge $/day |
$0.5616 |
$0.0255 |
$- |
$0.0569 |
$0.6440 |
|
Usage | Peak $/kWh |
$0.1975 |
$- |
$0.0972 |
$0.0251 |
$0.3198 |
|
Usage | Shoulder $/kWh |
$0.0586 |
$- |
$0.0288 |
$0.0075 |
$0.0949 |
|
Usage | Solar Sponge $/kWh |
$0.0176 |
$- |
$0.0086 |
$0.0022 |
$0.0284 |
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.