Virtual power plants in 2026: what they pay, and what a $0 power bill really takes

What is a virtual power plant?

A virtual power plant links thousands of home batteries so a retailer or operator can use part of each one when the grid needs it: on a hot evening when demand peaks, or when wholesale prices spike. In return, you're paid: a credit on your bill, a payment for each kWh the VPP uses, or a better price for the power you send back.

Your battery still looks after your home first. VPPs keep a reserve for you, often 10 to 30% of the battery (CHOICE, September 2026), so you have power in a blackout. Every battery that gets the federal battery rebate has to be able to join a VPP, but joining one is your choice.

How much do VPPs pay in 2026?

What a VPP pays depends on which of four types of offer it is. We checked the providers' own published offers in October 2026; they change often, so check the current terms before you sign.

In NSW, a state incentive adds a one-off payment when you connect your battery to a VPP. Officially, a 13.5 kWh battery on the Ausgrid network creates about 297 certificates, and a battery of 28 kWh or more on the Endeavour network about 622, the most available. There's no official dollar figure; one provider publishes about $36 per usable kWh (about $489 for 13.5 kWh), held until at least 31 December 2026. Ask providers what they'll pay. How it works.

What did the ACCC find about VPPs?

In July 2026, the ACCC estimated bills $329 to $909 a year lower (20 to 52%) for households with solar and a battery, and $762 to $1,093 lower (57 to 63%) for the 24% of them in a VPP. It also found complaints about household batteries up 107% in a year, and warned that in a VPP you hand control of your battery to the operator and bear most of the risk.

Can you get a $0 power bill?

Yes, it's possible, and some households do. It takes the right combination, and it isn't something anyone can promise. Here's what it takes.

1. Know what's left on your bill

With solar and a battery, your bill comes down to three things: the daily supply charge, which stays whatever you use; the power you still buy, mostly on winter evenings and cloudy days; and the credits for what you send back. For a $0 bill, your credits and any VPP payments have to cover the first two.

A bill amount isn't a measure of how much power you use: rates, credits and any solar you have change it. On Homerise you can upload your bill, and we read your actual usage and rates.

A worked example

A Sydney home with a bill of about $1,000 a quarter uses about 10,240 kWh a year. With 13.2 kW of solar and a 30 kWh battery, on our model it would:

• make about 18,240 kWh a year, and send about 8,470 kWh back to the grid;
• still buy about 1,040 kWh, about $340 a year;
• pay about $610 a year in daily supply charges (a typical Ausgrid plan).

At a standard 4c feed-in rate, the exports earn about $340, leaving about $610 a year (about the supply charge: the export credits only cover the power you still buy). For about $0, the exports would need to average about 11c a kWh: about 8c alongside a VPP paying about $240 a year, or about 15c on a plan with a $25 monthly fee.

On an evening export plan at 35c for the first 15 kWh a day (and nothing for other exports), the battery's spare after the evening and a 20% reserve, about 8.2 kWh on an average evening (10 in summer, 4.2 in winter), earns about $480 a year more than the standard plan, leaving about $130 a year. Keeping 10% in reserve instead lifts the spare to about 11.2 kWh and brings the bill to about $0, on the standard plan's supply and usage charges.

That's the sum to do for your own home. On Homerise, Your repayments shows it for your system, and lets you try an evening export plan, a VPP that pays per event or a wholesale-price plan with your own figures.

2. Send back plenty

A $0 bill needs a system that makes well over what you use, so there's plenty to export. It's one reason to size for the life you'll live, not just today's bill: an electric car, an all-electric home, more air conditioning. See what size battery you need.

3. A battery that earns in the evening

Midday exports are worth little: everyone's solar is exporting at once, and some plans pay nothing then. The money is in the evening peak and in price spikes, when a battery can sell what it stored. A bigger battery covers your evening and still has power to sell.

4. The right plan

Compare the whole plan, not the headline: usage and supply charges, the feed-in rates at different times, fees, how much of your battery a VPP can use and how often, and the exit terms. Energy Made Easy compares offers (in Victoria, Victorian Energy Compare), and the government-backed SunSPOT calculator is a good cross-check for sizing and savings.

5. Know the limits

• The battery has two jobs. The same stored energy can run your home in the evening or be exported, not both. A 30 kWh battery that keeps 20% for blackouts and covers a 14 kWh evening has about 10 kWh to sell on a sunny day, and less in winter, when the solar doesn't fill it.
• Export limits. Networks cap what you can send back, often at 5 kW and for some homes 1.5 kW: over a four-hour evening that's at most 20 kWh, or 6 kWh. SA Power Networks offers fixed or flexible limits that vary by site. A big system can't sell everything at midday either.
• Export charges. Some networks now charge retailers for midday exports above a free amount: Ausgrid 1.23c a kWh from 10 am to 3 pm after the first 200 kWh a month (and pays 3.85c a kWh for exports from 4 to 9 pm); SA Power Networks 1c a kWh from 10 am to 4 pm after the first 9 kWh a day. Retailers decide how to pass these on.
• Credits. Many retailers carry credits forward rather than pay them out. A $0 year can mean credits in summer and a bill in winter.
• Your use. A $0 bill on today's use won't stay $0 if you add a pool or an electric car without more solar.

6. Ask your installer

Your installer can walk you through it: how big a system your roof takes, your network's export limit, which batteries work with which VPPs, and what joining one means for your warranty.

What are the catches with a VPP?

The catches with a VPP come down to control, price risk, service, your warranty and the fees:

• You hand over some control. The operator decides when to use your battery, within the limits you agree. The ACCC says households bear most of the risk.
• Wholesale prices cut both ways. When prices are high, so is the power you buy. When they fall below zero, exporting can cost you, and the software may switch your solar off. These plans aren't set and forget.
• Service matters. The ACCC found complaints about household batteries up 107% in a year. Before you sign, ask how the operator handles billing questions and support, and how to complain if something goes wrong.
• Your warranty. Some battery warranties limit the energy a battery puts through as well as its age. Check what VPP use does to yours.
• Fees and exits. Membership fees, and on some VPP contracts minimum terms or exit fees.

Questions to ask before you join

1. How much of my battery can you use, and what reserve do I keep for a blackout?
2. How often, and at what times of day?
3. What do you pay: a credit, a rate per kWh, or the market price? Is it capped?
4. What are the fees, and can I leave without paying to?
5. Does my battery work with your VPP, and does it affect my warranty?
6. What are your usage, supply and feed-in rates? The whole plan matters more than the VPP payment.

Which batteries each VPP accepts, and what Amber, AGL, Origin, ENGIE and GloBird pay: VPP-compatible batteries.

How Homerise shows VPPs

In Your repayments, a battery plan is optional and kept apart from your household savings. You can try an evening export plan (its evening rate, daily amount, your export limit and reserve), a VPP that pays per event (how much of your battery it uses, its rate and fees) or a wholesale-price plan (an average export rate and a monthly fee), and see what a $0 bill would take for your system. They're examples, not offers: your retailer or VPP operator sets the terms. Homerise doesn't sell electricity plans or VPPs, and isn't paid by them.