Off-peak electricity times in Victoria, all 5 zones
By Sithum Imarsha Last reviewed
On the CitiPower Victorian Default Offer, peak is 4pm to 9pm. Saver is 11am to 4pm. Off-peak is 9pm to 11am. Time of use is about $31 a year cheaper for a typical 2-person home: 13.3 kWh a day, with 29% of it in the peak. It stays cheaper while less than 32.5% of your use is 4pm to 9pm.
Your result
For your home
Time of use is about $31 a year cheaper
- Time of use, a year
- $1,671
- Flat, a year
- $1,702
- Peak share used
- 29% (typical home)
- Daily use
- 13.3kWh
The rates behind it
- Peak rate
- 38.31c/kWh, 4pm to 9pm
- Rest of the day, averaged
- 20.01c/kWh
- Flat rate
- 25.96c/kWh
- Supply charge, time of use vs flat
- 121.14c vs 121.14c a day
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Break-evenTime of use wins while less than 32.5% of your use is 4pm to 9pm.
ClockTimes follow the clock, including daylight saving.
Season
Rates
Your planThese are the times on the CitiPower Victorian Default Offer. A market plan can use other times. Check your plan.
Your whole billEstimate your whole bill.
How we calculated this
- The peak rate is averaged over the year, because some days and months have no peak.
- The rest of the day is priced by the use of a typical home in each band.
- A year on the flat rate is compared with a year on time of use. Break-even is the peak share where they cost the same.
Full method, tables and sources: Peak and off-peak times calculator
| Band | Times | Days | Season | c/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak | 4pm to 9pm | Every day | All year | 38.31c |
| Saver | 11am to 4pm | Every day | All year | 16.59c |
| Off-peak | 9pm to 11am | Every day | All year | 21.17c |
The peak hours over a year
38.31c/kWh
The rest of the day
20.01c/kWh (Official source: ESC Victorian Default Offer 2026-27 final decision, Table D.2: 4pm to 9pm 29%, 9pm to 11am 53%, 11am to 4pm 18% (AEMO data 2022-23 to 2024-25, all homes))
Flat for a year
(121.14c + 13.3 kWh × 25.96c/kWh) × 365 = $1,702
Time of use for a year
121.14c a day supply, peak share 29% (typical home): $1,671
Break-even
Time of use wins while less than 32.5% of your use is 4pm to 9pm.
This version starts with a 2-person home on CitiPower. The table shows the rates in all 5 zones.
Victoria: what to know
Official source
- Every Victorian default time of use offer has 3 bands, every day, local time: peak 4pm to 9pm, solar soak 11am to 4pm and off-peak 9pm to 11am.
- The ESC found 29% of an average home's use falls 4pm to 9pm, 18% in 11am to 4pm and 53% overnight.
- CitiPower and Powercor call the midday band "Saver".
| Zone | Peak | Solar soak | Off-peak | Supply (c/day) | Flat (c/kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AusNet Services | 47.64c | 17.59c | 22.6c | 128.24c | 31.98c |
| CitiPower | 38.31c | 16.59c | 21.17c | 121.14c | 25.96c |
| Jemena | 37.57c | 17.65c | 21.76c | 127.12c | 27.47c |
| Powercor | 41.67c | 17.26c | 22.49c | 138.05c | 28.22c |
| United Energy | 40.32c | 17.26c | 22.14c | 119.12c | 27.35c |
| Network | Household | kWh a day | Flat | Time of use | Cheaper | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AusNet Services | 1 person | 8.1 | $1,414 | $1,324 | Time of use by $90 | 40.5% |
| AusNet Services | 2 people | 13.3 | $2,021 | $1,874 | Time of use by $147 | 40.5% |
| AusNet Services | 3 people | 13.9 | $2,091 | $1,937 | Time of use by $154 | 40.5% |
| AusNet Services | 4 people | 15.9 | $2,324 | $2,149 | Time of use by $175 | 40.5% |
| AusNet Services | 5 or more people | 20.1 | $2,814 | $2,593 | Time of use by $221 | 40.5% |
| CitiPower | 1 person | 8.1 | $1,210 | $1,191 | Time of use by $19 | 32.5% |
| CitiPower | 2 people | 13.3 | $1,702 | $1,671 | Time of use by $31 | 32.5% |
| CitiPower | 3 people | 13.9 | $1,759 | $1,727 | Time of use by $32 | 32.5% |
| CitiPower | 4 people | 15.9 | $1,949 | $1,911 | Time of use by $38 | 32.5% |
| CitiPower | 5 or more people | 20.1 | $2,347 | $2,299 | Time of use by $48 | 32.5% |
| Jemena | 1 person | 8.1 | $1,276 | $1,221 | Time of use by $55 | 40.1% |
| Jemena | 2 people | 13.3 | $1,798 | $1,707 | Time of use by $91 | 40.1% |
| Jemena | 3 people | 13.9 | $1,858 | $1,763 | Time of use by $95 | 40.1% |
| Jemena | 4 people | 15.9 | $2,058 | $1,950 | Time of use by $108 | 40.1% |
| Jemena | 5 or more people | 20.1 | $2,479 | $2,343 | Time of use by $136 | 40.1% |
| Powercor | 1 person | 8.1 | $1,338 | $1,305 | Time of use by $33 | 34.4% |
| Powercor | 2 people | 13.3 | $1,874 | $1,820 | Time of use by $54 | 34.4% |
| Powercor | 3 people | 13.9 | $1,936 | $1,879 | Time of use by $57 | 34.4% |
| Powercor | 4 people | 15.9 | $2,142 | $2,077 | Time of use by $65 | 34.4% |
| Powercor | 5 or more people | 20.1 | $2,574 | $2,493 | Time of use by $81 | 34.4% |
| United Energy | 1 person | 8.1 | $1,243 | $1,219 | Time of use by $24 | 33.2% |
| United Energy | 2 people | 13.3 | $1,762 | $1,723 | Time of use by $39 | 33.2% |
| United Energy | 3 people | 13.9 | $1,822 | $1,781 | Time of use by $41 | 33.2% |
| United Energy | 4 people | 15.9 | $2,022 | $1,975 | Time of use by $47 | 33.2% |
| United Energy | 5 or more people | 20.1 | $2,441 | $2,381 | Time of use by $60 | 33.2% |
- At default offer prices, with a typical share of use in the peak, time of use is cheaper in every row of the table: by $19 a year for 1 person on CitiPower, up to $221 for 5 or more people on AusNet Services.
- Household size does not move the break-even on 4 of the 5 networks, because the flat and time of use default offers have the same supply charge on each of them. A typical home sits under the break-even on all 4: by 11.5 percentage points on AusNet Services, 3.5 on CitiPower, 5.4 on Powercor and 4.2 on United Energy.
- On Jemena the time of use offer's supply charge is 0.01c a day lower than the flat offer's (under $1 a year). That is too little to move the break-even at one decimal place: it is 40.1% of use in the peak at every household size. A typical home is at 29%.
- On the default time of use offers, a typical 2-person home that moves 10% of its use out of the peak and into the other hours saves $128 a year on AusNet Services, $89 on CitiPower, $82 on Jemena, $100 on Powercor and $94 on United Energy.
Each row is a whole year at the AER benchmark daily use for Melbourne at that household size (Official source, Estimate for AusNet Services and Powercor), with a typical home's share of use in each band (Official source). Break-even: time of use is the cheaper plan while less than this share of the home's use is in the peak hours, with the rest split over the other bands as in a typical home. 2026-27 flat and time of use rates: Official source.
Every network and your own peak share: use the main peak and off-peak times calculator.