Paying peak power rates all year? Your network only charges them for 8 months

Here’s a date worth knowing: on 1 September, Ausgrid closes its peak window until November.

Not reduces — closes. Through September and October, and again through April and May, the network charges its off-peak rate for every hour of every day. Peak pricing only exists in summer (November–March) and winter (June–August), from 3pm to 9pm. It’s been that way since July 2024, and it’s a good reform: peak prices now only apply when the grid is actually under strain.

There’s just one problem, and it’s probably on your bill.

Fewer than half of energy retailers pass the seasonal windows on. Many plans still charge “peak” rates in months the network bills entirely at off-peak.

Ausgrid peak and off-peak times (2026)

Here’s the network’s actual clock, for the record:

Rate	When it applies
Peak	3pm–9pm, every day — but only November–March and June–August
Off-peak	All other times — including every hour of April, May, September and October

Two rates, no shoulder — the in-between rate was abolished in July 2024 — and the windows follow NSW daylight saving. But those are the network’s times. Whether your retail plan uses them is a different question, and that’s the rest of this article.

Is this you? Three quick checks

Which network are you on? Your bill names it, usually near the faults-and-emergencies number. Ausgrid covers much of Sydney (inner, northern and eastern suburbs), the Central Coast and the Hunter. Western and south-western Sydney is Endeavour Energy — different windows, same idea, see the end.

Which plan type are you on? Look at the prices on your bill. One price for every hour of the day = a flat-rate plan — this gap doesn’t affect you. Your price never changes with the time, so there’s no peak window to argue about. Separate peak and off-peak prices = a time-of-use plan — keep reading.

And one thing worth knowing about how bills work: you pay your retailer, your retailer pays Ausgrid for the poles and wires, and those network charges are built into your rates. This story lives in the gap between what the network charges your retailer and what your retailer charges you.

What changed — and what didn’t reach every bill

	Before July 2024	Now
Rates	Peak, shoulder*, off-peak	Peak and off-peak only
Peak months	All year	Nov–Mar and Jun–Aug only
April, May, September, October	Peak and shoulder charged	Every hour is off-peak

*the “shoulder” was a third, in-between rate — the network abolished it two years ago.

About 22% of a typical household’s power is used in the 3–9pm window, which is why four extra months of “peak” is real money.

That’s the finding of comparison site WATTever’s plan-by-plan analysis: some retailers kept year-round peak windows, some still charge the abolished shoulder, and fewer than half follow the network’s seasonal windows.

To be clear: this is legal. Retailers can set whatever windows they like. It’s just worth knowing which kind of plan you’re holding — and most people have no idea.

What it costs

Depending on the plan, year-round windows add around 700 hours a year of peak pricing that the network isn’t charging for.

WATTever puts the cost at about $100 a year for a typical household, and about $125 for heavier evening users. Our own quick maths lands in the same place: roughly 4.4 kWh a day used in the window, across the 122 off-season days, at a typical 20c/kWh gap between time-of-use peak and off-peak prices — call it $107 a year.

Not the biggest line on your bill. But it’s $100 a year for checking one document, once.

The two-minute check

1. Go to your plan’s fact sheet, not your bill. Search your retailer’s name plus your plan name plus “basic plan information document” — every plan legally has one, and it states the pricing windows. (Your bill often doesn’t print the windows at all, which is why it’s the wrong place to look.)
2. Look for months attached to the peak window. A seasonal plan says something like “peak applies 1 November – 31 March and 1 June – 31 August.” Peak with no months attached, or any mention of a shoulder rate, means you’re on the old structure.
3. Can’t find it, or can’t face the PDF? One phone question settles it: “Do my peak rates apply all year, or only in summer and winter?”

Then, if you want to compare: WATTever’s list shows which retailers follow the seasonal windows, and the government’s Energy Made Easy compares plans available at your address.

What to do with the answer

• On year-round peak? Ask your retailer whether they offer the seasonal windows, or shop around. One caution: compare the whole plan, not just the windows. A seasonal plan with high rates can still cost more than a year-round plan with low ones — the windows are one feature, and Energy Made Easy compares the lot. Switching takes about ten minutes online; you’re changing billing, not wires.
• Already on seasonal windows? Then enjoy the flip side: from September to October, and April to May, the evening rules are off. Run the dryer at 6pm — it’s all off-peak. (One exception: if your plan has a demand charge — uncommon, but it’ll be on the fact sheet — evening spikes can still cost you.)
• Got solar and a battery? The windows matter double: peak is where a battery earns its keep on a time-of-use plan — we ran those numbers in our home battery piece.

Not with Ausgrid?

Endeavour and Essential Energy run different windows and seasons again. Networks re-price every 1 July, but the windows themselves change rarely — so this is a once-a-year check at most. The method travels everywhere: find what your network charges, find what your plan charges, and ask why they differ.

The verdict

• Ausgrid’s peak rates only exist eight months a year — 3–9pm, November–March and June–August. The other four months, every network hour is off-peak.
• Fewer than half of energy retailers pass that on — worth about $100 a year to a typical time-of-use household.
• Flat-rate plan? This one isn’t your problem. One price all day means no window games — spend your two minutes on our bill benchmark instead.
• Check the months on your plan’s fact sheet — or ask one question: “all year, or summer and winter only?”
• Already seasonal? Enjoy September. The evening rules are off until November.

Network rates and windows: Ausgrid’s published FY2026-27 price list and Network Price Guide. Retailer analysis: WATTever’s pass-through review (updated July 2026) and time-of-use guide (updated August 2026) — plans change, so check their live list. Your plan’s fact sheet beats any article, including this one.