How To Read Your Synergy Bill After Going Solar

By Author: Fusion Sun
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Getting solar panels installed is exciting, but the first bill that arrives afterwards can be confusing. Many Perth households expect a bill close to zero, then find charges they did not anticipate and a credit that seems smaller than hoped. The good news is that a Synergy bill follows a predictable structure. Once you know where to look, you can tell whether your solar system is doing its job and where the remaining costs come from.

Start with the billing period and meter reads

At the top of the bill, check the dates covered and whether the readings are marked as actual or estimated. After solar is installed you should have a meter that records both the energy you draw from the grid and the energy you send back. If a bill is estimated, the figures may not reflect your real generation, and you can ask for a corrected bill once an actual reading is available. Comparing the dates with your inverter or app data is the easiest way to spot a mismatch.

Understand the fixed supply charge

Every household pays a daily supply charge simply for being connected to the network. This charge does not shrink when ...
... you install solar, which surprises many people. If you have a 62 day bill, you pay the supply charge for 62 days regardless of how much sun your panels captured. For a solar household, the supply charge often becomes the largest part of the bill, and it is the main reason bills rarely drop to nothing. Knowing this stops you from assuming something is wrong with your system.

Look at your usage charges

Usage charges show how many kilowatt hours you drew from the grid and what you paid per unit. Under a flat tariff, every unit costs the same regardless of the time of day. Under a time-of-use plan, there are different rates for peak, off-peak and sometimes shoulder or midday periods. The key point is that your usage line only counts electricity bought from the grid. Whatever your panels produced and you consumed straight away does not appear as a charge at all. A household that runs the dishwasher, washing machine and pool pump during daylight will see a lower grid usage figure than one that runs everything in the evening.

Find the solar export credit

The credit for energy you export is listed separately, usually under a name related to the Renewable Energy Buyback Scheme. It shows the units exported and the rate paid per unit. In Western Australia, the buyback rate is set by the State Government and is changed from time to time, and the rate can differ depending on the time of day. Because the rate you receive for exported energy is much lower than the rate you pay for imported energy, exporting is worth far less than using your own solar. A kilowatt hour used at home avoids a charge of perhaps thirty cents or more, while one exported earns only a fraction of that. Always check the current rates on Synergy's website rather than relying on old numbers.

Check the net result

Your bill combines these items. Imagine a household that imports 600 kilowatt hours, exports 400, and pays a daily supply charge. The charges for imports and the supply fee are added together, and the export credit is subtracted. If the credit is large but the bill is still high, it is usually because exported energy is valued so much lower than imported energy, or because evening use is high. This is the point where many households realise that shifting usage into daylight hours would help more than adding extra panels.

Compare your bill with your inverter data

Your inverter or its app records how much your system generated, how much was used at home and how much was exported. Over a billing period, the exported figure should closely match the units listed on the bill. If it does not, ask Synergy to explain the difference. Small differences are normal because meters and inverters measure at different points, but large gaps deserve a question to both the retailer and your installer. A drop in exports during normal weather could point to a tripped breaker, a shaded panel or an inverter error, and the sooner you notice, the less production you lose.

Practical ways to lower the next bill

Use as much of your solar as possible while the sun is up. Run dishwashers, washing machines and pool pumps in the middle of the day, set the air conditioner to pre-cool the house before late afternoon, and charge devices when your panels are producing. Check whether your current plan suits a solar household, because some plans suit daytime exporters better than others. Review your plan once a year, since offers and buyback arrangements change. Keep a record of your bill results, so you can see whether changes in habits make a difference.

When to ask for help

If a bill looks wrong, contact Synergy first and request an explanation of each line. If the problem is not resolved, the Energy and Water Ombudsman Western Australia handles unresolved complaints. If the inverter data suggests that your system is underperforming, contact your installer, for example Fusion Sun Solar at https://fusionsunsolar.com.au, and ask for a system check. For general discussion among Australians who have already been through this, see https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/profile/solarenergyperth for community tips.

A solar system will not remove your supply charge, but understanding each part of the bill makes it much easier to see the savings that solar delivers and to find the next improvement.