The Jacinta Allan government has unveiled a new “Midday Power Saver” offer promising Victorians three hours of free electricity in the middle of the day, every day of the week, but the scheme will not begin until 1 October 2026, with key details still not due until May.
Under the announcement, about 2.6 million households will be eligible to opt in through their energy retailer, with the government claiming families could save up to $300 a year, or up to $1,070 for homes with solar panels and batteries.
That headline figure sounds substantial, but the timing is politically awkward. Victorians grappling with power bills, rent, groceries and rising fuel costs need relief now, not in more than six months. Even the government’s own “up to $300 a year” figure works out to about $5.77 a week, welcome, certainly, but hardly transformative for households already falling behind.
On the government’s own description, this is a scheme that rewards flexibility, not one that directly helps every household under pressure.
Premier Jacinta Allan said, “This could save families up to $300 per year off their energy bills, more if they have solar and batteries.”
“It’s another reason why working from home can save you time and money.”
The government says the plan will help households that can shift electricity use into the middle of the day, specifically naming people who work from home and those with smart appliances. That may suit some households, but it is a different story for shift workers, commuters, casual workers, families with fixed routines, and older Victorians who cannot simply reorganise their day around a tariff window that has not even been fully published yet.
Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said, “Whether you work from home or have smart appliances, the Midday Power Saver will save Victorians money.”
She also used the announcement to attack the opposition, saying, “Liberals will block renewable energy and send power bills up.”
The problem for the government is that many Victorian households are in no position to wait for a future tariff promise. Consumer Action Law Centre said only last week that the cost-of-living crisis was continuing to hit families hard, and that the average energy debt for Victorian callers to the National Debt Helpline last October was $4,264, the highest ever recorded and $1,000 more than the previous October.
Consumer Action Law Centre’s chief executive, Stephanie Tonkin, said calls were surging as people worried about paying their energy bills.
That same statement from Consumer Action welcomed a proposed cut to the Victorian Default Offer from July, worth an average of $46 a year for domestic customers, a modest reduction, but one available sooner than the new midday scheme.
In other words, while regulators and consumer advocates are dealing with the immediate pressure of energy debt and overdue bills, the Allan government has chosen to pitch a future savings plan that will not start until spring.
The government argues the policy is possible because Victoria now produces more electricity than it needs during the day, thanks to renewable energy, and says more than 850,000 Victorians already generate solar power and enjoy cheap or free daytime electricity. But even here, the political framing is doing a lot of work.
Households without solar, without batteries, without work-from-home flexibility, or without appliances they can schedule in the middle of the day, are being told the state’s renewable success will eventually trickle down to them, just not yet.
For struggling families, the real question is simpler: if help is needed, why is it delayed? After years of cost-of-living pressure, a promise of free power starting on 1 October risks looking less like urgent relief and more like a carefully timed announcement with the politics front and centre.
Victorians may well welcome lower bills when they arrive. But for households already choosing between essentials today, the Allan government’s answer is not immediate support. It is another promise to wait.
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