What Happens to the Electricity You Do Not Use: SP Group Net Metering Explained

When a solar system makes more than the home is using, the surplus flows to the grid and you are paid for it. How you are paid depends on who you buy electricity from, and the rate is always lower than the tariff you pay, because grid charges are taken off.

How are you paid for the solar electricity you export?

• If you buy at SP Group's regulated tariff: you are credited the regulated tariff less grid charges, under EMA's Simplified Credit Treatment for systems below 1 MW, and SP Services puts the credit on your monthly bill.
• If you buy from an electricity retailer: you can register under the Enhanced Central Intermediary Scheme (ECIS) and be paid the wholesale electricity price for what you export.

Why is the export rate lower than the tariff?

The tariff on your bill pays for more than the electricity itself: it also covers the grid that carries it to your home. Exported electricity is credited without that grid portion, so each kWh exported earns less than each kWh you would otherwise buy. The calculator on this site uses 26 cents per kWh for exports against a tariff of 31.16 cents.

What is dual metering?

A second meter that measures what your system sends to the grid, separately from what the home draws. Hao Solar arranges it with SP Group for every installation; customers like Danny have described the follow-up with SP Group as seamless.

Is it better to use solar or export it?

Use it wherever you can. Every kWh used at home saves the full tariff; every kWh exported earns the lower credit. Moving laundry, air-conditioning or EV charging into daylight hours is the simplest way to get more out of the same roof, and it shortens the payback period.