IPART publishes a feed-in tariff benchmark for NSW every year. A lot of people assume it is a minimum retailers must pay. It is not.
Here is the current benchmark, what retailers actually do with it, and the far higher evening rates most people never see.
At a glance
Quick answer: IPART's 2026-27 all-day benchmark for NSW, effective 1 July 2026, is 3.4 to 6.5 c/kWh, down from 4.8 to 7.3 c/kWh in 2025-26. It is guidance only, not a mandatory minimum, so retailers can and do price above and below it. IPART also publishes much higher evening benchmarks, but very few retailers offer time-varying feed-in tariffs.
What the IPART benchmark actually is
IPART sets a benchmark range each financial year to show what a fair feed-in tariff looks like based on expected wholesale prices when solar exports. For 2026-27 the all-day benchmark is 3.4 to 6.5 c/kWh.
That is lower than the 4.8 to 7.3 c/kWh benchmark for 2025-26, which IPART attributes to lower expected wholesale prices during the middle of the day, when rooftop solar floods the grid.
The evening rates almost nobody is paid
IPART also publishes time-of-day benchmarks, and they are dramatically higher because that is when the grid actually needs power. Evening benchmarks run to roughly 17 to 19 c/kWh in the Ausgrid area between 4pm and 9pm, 16.9 to 19.9 c/kWh for Endeavour Energy between 4pm and 8pm, and 26.6 to 33.3 c/kWh for Essential Energy between 5pm and 8pm.
The catch is that very few retailers actually offer a time-varying feed-in tariff, so most NSW solar owners are paid the flat rate no matter when they export. It does show what evening electricity is worth, which is the entire argument for storing solar rather than exporting it at midday.
What NSW solar owners should do
With a flat rate in the single digits and grid power several times that, self-consumption beats exporting. Run the dishwasher, washing machine and pool pump in the middle of the day and you keep more of what your panels make.
If your retailer does offer a time-varying feed-in tariff, and you can shift exports into the evening with a battery, the gap between a 5 c/kWh midday rate and a 17 c/kWh-plus evening benchmark is where the value sits.
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Steve Hill
Steve Hill is a renewable-energy executive with a deep background in Australian solar and energy efficiency, spanning consulting, project management and business development. He founded Elite Smart Energy Solutions, a Clean Energy Council Approved Retailer focused on smarter, lower-cost energy for homes and businesses. Steve contributes to Energy Matters, one of Australia's longest-running solar publications, and has appeared on its Road to Zero podcast. He helps Australian homeowners cut through the noise on rebates, batteries and going solar.