What happens with Ausgrid’s new mandatory export tariff (EA029)?

After running a successful tariff trial for a two-way tariff EA959 for imports and EA960 for exports, which was concluded on 30 June 2024, Ausgrid introduced the EA029 export tariff on an opt-in basis from 1 July 2024. Amber customers that were previously on EA960 were auto switched to EA029 unless they opted out.

What is changing from 1 July 2025 for export customers?

From 1 July the EA029 export tariff will be mandatory for all export enabled customers in the Ausgrid network area that match Ausgrid's assignment criteria* (which applies to most of Amber's export enabled customers). This means customers cannot opt-out of the export tariff anymore from 1 July 2025. 

*Assigment criteria

• Customers must have an approved Ausgrid application for connection with an assigned GENR code; and
• Customers must have either a type 4 or 5 meter installed and be assigned to one of the following primary tariffs: EA025, EA111, EA116, EA225, EA251 or EA256.

What does this mean for my export tariff?

The export tariff code EA029 will be applied to eligible customers as a secondary tariff for their export channel, in addition to the Amber wholesale market prices. This tariff features both a charge and a reward/rebate component, depending on the time of day.

A charge is applied daily from 10am to 3pm, while a rebate is provided from 4pm to 9pm each day. The charge component includes a free threshold (called Basic Export Level - BEL), which exempts a portion of the total exported energy in the billing period from being charged. This free threshold is calculated as 6.85 kWh multiplied by the number of days in the billing period.

The 2025-2026 pricing is as follows:

• 1.23 c/kWh charge for exports after exceeding daily average export level between 10am to 3pm
• 3.86 c/kWh rebate for all exports between 4pm to 9pm

Export pricing (from Ausgrid Tariff Structure Statement)

How does this work with Amber's wholesale pricing and SmartShift™ automation?

Remember, any network tariff is on top of Amber’s wholesale feed-in rate, so you still pay or receive the live price for all your usage and exports.

To see the best results on this tariff, keep maximising daytime usage to soak up your solar and avoid export penalties, and minimise your usage from the grid at expensive peak times.

The SmartShift™ automation will also consider the network pricing when making import or export decisions.