Victoria’s feed-in tariff, and why it changes how you use solar
A feed-in tariff is what your retailer pays you for solar you export instead of using. In Victoria the minimum rate is set annually by the Essential Services Commission and has fallen dramatically over recent years, to a small fraction of what you pay to buy electricity back. The practical consequence is that using your own generation is now worth several times more than exporting it.
How the Victorian rate is set
The Essential Services Commission sets a minimum feed-in tariff that Victorian retailers must offer. Retailers may offer more, and some do as part of a bundled plan, but the minimum is the floor. It is reviewed every year, and the direction of travel has been consistently downward as the amount of daytime solar on the grid has grown.
Because the rate is reset annually, any specific figure written on a website ages quickly. The current determination is published by the Essential Services Commission, and it is worth checking there rather than trusting a number in an article, including this one.
What the gap means in practice
Think of every kilowatt-hour your panels make as having two possible values:
- You use it as it is generated. You avoid buying that unit, so it is worth your full retail rate.
- You export it. You are paid the feed-in rate.
When those two numbers were close, it barely mattered which happened. Now the first is worth many times the second, and three things follow.
Shift your heavy loads into the middle of the day
Dishwasher, washing machine, pool pump and electric hot water are the obvious candidates. Running them while the sun is up converts export into self-consumption, which is the single cheapest improvement available to any solar owner. It costs nothing but changing a timer.
Size for your usage, not for your roof
A very large array on a household that exports most of what it makes takes a long time to pay back, because the surplus is earning very little. Bigger is not automatically better once the feed-in rate is low.
Batteries get more attractive, but not automatically
A battery converts cheap exports into avoided purchases, so the lower the feed-in rate goes, the more each stored unit is worth. That genuinely improves the battery case. It does not make every battery worth buying: the storage still has to cost less over its life than the value of what it shifts.
A note on old premium tariffs
If you had solar installed many years ago you may be on a legacy premium tariff at a far higher rate. Those schemes are closed to new entrants, and in most cases adding to or replacing your system will move you off the old rate permanently. Check your position before changing anything: for a small number of households, the old tariff is worth more than any upgrade.
See what the current rate means for your home
The assessment uses each state’s own feed-in and retail figures, and shows how much of your generation you would actually use.
Check my home, freeCommon questions
What is the Victorian solar feed-in tariff right now?
The minimum is set annually by the Essential Services Commission and has fallen substantially in recent years. Because it resets each year, check the current determination on the ESC website rather than relying on a figure quoted in an article.
Why has the feed-in tariff dropped so much?
There is now a large amount of solar generating at the same time in the middle of the day, which reduces the wholesale value of energy at exactly the times rooftop solar exports it.
Is it still worth exporting solar?
Yes, exporting is better than wasting the generation. But it is worth far less than using the same unit yourself, which is why shifting loads to the middle of the day matters.
Do all Victorian retailers pay the same feed-in rate?
No. The ESC sets a minimum that retailers must at least match. Some offer higher rates, often bundled with a higher usage rate, so compare the whole plan rather than the feed-in number alone.
Will a battery fix a low feed-in tariff?
It helps, because stored energy offsets power you would otherwise buy at the full retail rate. Whether it pays depends on the cost of the battery against the value of what it shifts each day.
Last reviewed 27 August 2026. Rebate amounts, feed-in tariffs and retail prices change; figures here are checked against the calculator's own state data, which is published in the methodology.