How to Read Your Solar Feed-in Tariff on an Ausgrid Bill

If you've got solar on the roof and you're staring at your bill wondering why the credit looks smaller than you expected, you're not alone. The short answer is your feed-in tariff has probably dropped, and there's a good chance your bill isn't even showing you the full picture.

We install and troubleshoot systems across the Northern Beaches, Sydney and Newcastle every week, and reading a bill correctly is the first step to knowing whether your solar is actually earning what it should. Here's how to find the numbers that matter.

Where the feed-in tariff sits on the bill

Ausgrid is the network (the poles and wires) for most of Sydney's north, the Northern Beaches and the Newcastle/Charlestown area. But your bill comes from your retailer, not Ausgrid, so the layout depends on who you're with, AGL, Origin, Red Energy and so on.

Look for a line on the usage or charges section that says "Solar feed-in", "Feed-in tariff" or "Solar export". It'll show a number of kilowatt-hours (kWh) exported and a rate in cents per kWh. That rate is your feed-in tariff, and right now across NSW it's typically sitting between 4c and 7c/kWh.

The credit is calculated simply: kWh exported multiplied by the rate. So 300 kWh exported at 5c is a $15 credit for that period. If that feels low, it's because feed-in rates have fallen hard over the last few years, some retailers are down near 3c, and a couple have dropped it entirely.

The number that actually matters

Here's the bit most homeowners miss: the feed-in credit is not where solar saves you the most money. The real value is in what you don't buy from the grid. Grid electricity in NSW is running around 30 to 45c/kWh, while your export earns you maybe 5c.

That's a six-to-nine-times difference. Every kWh you use straight off your own roof is worth far more than one you export. So the money-saving move is to compare two lines on your bill, your total consumption charge and your feed-in credit, and notice which one dwarfs the other.

If you're exporting a huge amount and still paying a big grid bill, your system is producing well but you're using power at the wrong times. Running the dishwasher, washing machine and pool pump during the middle of the day, rather than at night, quietly shifts money back into your pocket.

A metering gotcha we see all the time

When we do a quote visit, one of the first things we check is the meter, and this is where money goes missing. If your bill shows zero solar export, or no feed-in line at all, your meter may not be configured for solar.

We've been to homes in Dee Why and Mona Vale where the solar was installed and working, but the old meter was never swapped for a bi-directional (smart) meter, or the retailer never switched the meter to import/export mode after install. The panels feed the grid for free and the owner sees nothing back. On a 6.6kW system that can be $200 to $400 a year gone.

A related install mistake: solar wired so that export isn't correctly measured at the switchboard, usually a phasing or CT clamp issue on multi-phase homes in places like Frenchs Forest. If your generation looks healthy on the inverter app but the bill shows barely any export, get the metering and wiring checked.

How to squeeze more out of the same system

Since feed-in rates are low and heading lower, the smart play is to self-consume more of what you generate. Shifting big loads into daylight hours is the free option. Setting a hot water timer to heat during the middle of the day is one of the cheapest wins going.

The next step up is a battery. Instead of exporting excess at 5c and buying it back at 40c that evening, you store it and use your own power at night. With the federal STC rebate still discounting the upfront cost and the NSW battery incentive available, payback timeframes have shortened considerably compared to a couple of years ago.

A typical quality 6.6kW to 10kW system in NSW lands somewhere in the $5,000 to $11,000 range after the STC rebate, depending on panels, inverter and roof complexity. Batteries add to that, but the NSW incentive takes a meaningful chunk off. The lower your feed-in tariff gets, the better a battery stacks up.

It's also worth ringing your retailer once a year. Feed-in rates and plans change constantly, and a five-minute phone call to move plans can be worth more than any clever appliance scheduling.

Get a second set of eyes on it

Reading the bill tells you whether your solar is pulling its weight. If the export credit looks off, or you're still paying big grid charges despite a decent system, it usually comes down to metering, usage timing or an ageing setup.

We're happy to take a look at your bill and your switchboard and tell you straight where the money's leaking. Book a free assessment with Impressive Electrical & Solar and we'll check your metering, generation and whether a battery actually makes sense for your household.