Customers with certain types of meters have the option to select a time of use tariff or pricing plan. This means that their electricity usage is cheaper at some times of the day (‘off-peak’ periods) and more expensive at others (‘peak periods’).
This pricing structure encourages customers to save money by shifting their energy consumption from peak periods, when demand for electricity is high and there is greater pressure on the network, to off-peak periods, when demand for electricity is low.
Different retailers may offer different peak and off-peak prices. To find out what times and charges have been applied to your bill, contact your electricity retailer.
Ausgrid’s time of use peak periods
The peak and off-peak periods for Ausgrid’s network prices are summarised below. Your retailer may choose to apply different peak and off-peak times and charges, so these are not necessarily the peak and off-peak periods that will apply to you. The periods that apply to you will depend on your electricity retailer and whether your retailer has decided to adopt Ausgrid’s peak and off-peak periods. Retailers can offer different peak and off-peak times.
Peak pricing - applies from 3pm to 9pm all days in the June - August and November - March periods.
- For residential customers peak pricing will occur every day during these months.
- For small business customers peak pricing will occur working weekdays only.
Off-peak pricing - applies outside of the peak charging window in summer and winter, and at all times in spring and autumn.
- Since 2024, we combined the off-peak and shoulder charging windows to simplify our tariffs.
- There are no peak periods during April, May, September or October, reflecting the lower energy needs of our customers during this time and the decreased impact that has on the network.
- We have also removed the low season peak demand charge so that demand charges do not apply outside of summer and winter.
| Month | Peak period | Off-peak period |
|---|---|---|
| June - August |
Residential customers: 3pm – 9pm every day Small businesses: 3pm – 9pm working weekdays |
All other times |
| November - March | Residential customers: 3pm – 9pm all days Small businesses: 3pm-9pm working weekdays |
All other times |
| April, May, September, October | No peak periods | All times |
For more information about optimising your electricity usage through time of use pricing see 'Optimising your electricity usage'.
