Trial points to time-matched pricing before Solar Sharer Offer starts
Deakin University research found that linking electricity prices to actual solar output shifted household demand by up to 18% into solar-generating periods.
The 6 July 2026 findings also showed lower electricity costs for buyers, higher returns for participating solar owners and stronger perceptions of fairness across the market.
Just days before the Solar Sharer Offer starts on 1 July 2026, the study pointed to a different way to connect consumers with rooftop solar.
From 1 July 2026, the SSO will require participating retailers to offer electricity at zero cents during a designated three-hour daytime window, including network charges, whether or not solar rooftops and farms are generating.
Researchers achieved those results without requiring retailers to provide electricity at zero cost or absorb network charges outside their control.
The project, called the Virtual Energy Network study, was led by Deakin Business School and funded by Energy Consumers Australia.
ReThink Sustainability, WinZero and Enosi Australia also supported the study.
According to the research team, the project used a phase-in randomised controlled trial, the standard method for testing cause and effect.
It is Australia’s first causal evaluation of peer-to-peer electricity trading at large scale.
266 participants across 296 sites
The trial ran across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia with 266 participants across 296 sites.
Energy Locals took part in the trial, which used Enosi’s Powertracer platform.
Between 8am and 4pm, households using peer-to-peer matching sourced almost all imported electricity from shared solar generation.
About one-third of participants did not have rooftop solar, a key detail because the study tested access for buyers without panels.
Steve Hoy, chief executive and founder of Enosi, said the research shows the energy transition does not require a choice between helping consumers and keeping retailers commercially sustainable.
“Customers and retailers will be better off when consumption is matched to generation,” Hoy said.
Hoy also said the trial provides the first rigorous causal evidence that consumers shift demand when lower prices reflect when renewable energy is actually available.
He argued that matching prices to real renewable generation rewards solar owners more fairly and avoids forcing retailers to underwrite costs outside their control.
Australia’s electricity market is entering a new phase as distributed energy grows, and Hoy backed rewarding renewable consumption when it actually occurs rather than using a fixed zero-price window.
Meanwhile, Enosi’s Powertracer system is already operating in Europe through Italian energy company Plenitude’s Adopt a Panel programme.
That programme attracted more than 110,000 customers in 12 months.
