The two directions on your meter

Every time your household draws more power than your solar panels are producing (or if you don’t have solar at all), that electricity flows in from the grid through your meter. This is your import, and it’s what you pay for on the usage-charge lines of your bill.

Import is measured in kWh and charged at your tariff’s usage rate — whether that’s a flat rate or a time-of-use rate that varies by time of day.

When your solar panels produce more than your house is using at that moment, the surplus flows out through your meter to the grid. This is your export, and your retailer credits you for it at your feed-in tariff rate.

Export credits appear as a negative line on your bill, reducing the total you owe. The feed-in rate is almost always much lower than the usage rate — typically 3–8c/kWh compared to 25–35c/kWh for usage.

Your bill is essentially a subtraction:

Because the feed-in rate (what you earn for exporting) is so much lower than the usage rate (what you pay for importing), using your own solar electricity is worth far more than sending it to the grid.

This is why shifting heavy loads (dishwasher, washing machine, pool pump) to run during solar hours makes such a big difference. Learn more on the Get More from Solar page.

On your bill, look for separate line items:

• Usage / General usage / Peak / Off-peak — these are all import charges, for electricity you drew from the grid.
• Solar feed-in credit / Export credit — this is your export, shown as a negative amount (a credit reducing your bill).