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Solar power buy-back rates are the price per unit at which energy retailers pay for excess/exported solar power from homes or businesses.
The buy-back price ranges between 7¢ to 17¢ per kWh for exported solar power. Up to 40¢ is offered for exported stored battery capacity. View the New Zealand solar buy-back price list below.
To find out how much the buy-back price will affect how much you save on electricity bills, try out our solar calculator.
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Energy Retailer |
Solar Power Buy Back Rate |
Further Details |
Max. System Size: |
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Power Edge |
17.39 cents per kWh |
($0.125 otherwise) |
10kW |
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Meridian |
17 cents per kWh (5-year, fixed-rate Solar Plan) 12 cents per kWh** (Standard Plan) |
** Standard plan rates are variable during the Term and subject to change with 30 days' notice. |
10kW |
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Electric Kiwi |
12.5 cents per kWh - (MoveMaster Plan) 8 cents per kWh (Standard Plan) |
MoveMaster - Peak power prices are more expensive, off-peak power prices are cheaper. More MoveMaster details here. All Electric Kiwi customers get an hour of free off-peak power every day. |
None |
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Comtricity |
14-15 cents per kWh (depending on region) |
None |
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Powershop |
13 cents per kWh |
Residential customers only |
None |
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Octopus Energy NZ |
17 cents per kWh |
Only available in certain regions of New Zealand. Click here to find out if this offer is available where you live. OctopusFixed: Off-peak power prices, half price nights, no daily charge for low users and no exit fees. |
10kW max |
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Octopus Energy NZ |
23 cents per kWh (Peak export hours) 10 cents per kWh (Off-peak) |
Peak export: 7am - 11am and 5pm - 9pm, weekdays Off-Peak export: 11am - 5pm and 9pm - 11pm, weekdays; 7am - 11pm weekends. Night export: 11pm - 7am, every day |
No limit |
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Ecotricity |
13.48 cents per kWh |
Standard rate for residential and SME |
69 kVA |
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Ecotricity |
21 cents per kWh (Peak) 12 cents per kWh (Off peak) |
Only available through SEANZ approved solar installer members. Note: My Solar Quotes only requests quotes from SEANZ members. |
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Ecotricity |
13.88 - 14.78 cents per kWh |
Prices are indicative only – contact the Ecotricity solar team for more info. |
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Z Energy |
Z offers the wholesale electricity price for their buy-back rate. |
Z offer a variable rate based on the wholesale price of electricity in your region at the time you export that electricity. If you export your excess solar power when demand is high, you could save more. View wholesale prices here. |
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Flick Electric Co |
Flick offers the wholesale electricity price for their buy-back rate. |
The wholesale price is a variable rate that changes every 30-minutes. Check out the average monthly wholesale price during sunshine hours over the past 12 months here. These prices are indicative of wholesale electricity prices nationwide |
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Frank Energy |
11 cents per kWh |
Up to 50kW |
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Toast Electric |
10 cents per kWh |
Up to 10kW |
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Mercury |
8.5 cents per kWh |
No limit | |
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Contact Energy |
8 cents per kWh |
Up to 10kW | |
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Nova Energy |
10 cents per kWh |
Up to 10kW |
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Pulse Energy |
15.2 cents per kWh (indicative) |
The average buy back rate is 15.2 cents per kWh, but this does vary depending on location. |
No limits |
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Grey Power |
7 cents per kWh |
Requirements: must be a residential address and a member of the Grey Power Federation. To be a member you need to be over the age of 50. |
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Genesis |
12.5 cents per kWh |
50kW |
This table was last updated: 29/05/2024
Please note - you can only claim GST if you are GST registered and you will need to inform your energy retailer if you are.
Before switching your electricity retailer to a company that offers a better buy-back rate, please check with them what your price for using / importing power bill be. Some electricity retailers have been known to increase the power price for solar power system owners.
Tip: As soon as you decide on going solar and have figured out which energy retailer to switch to, make the switch asap, as it can cause delays in turning on the system once the solar panels have been installed.
When solar panels generate more power than what is needed in the home or business, and there are no batteries in the solar power system that can soak up the excess power, the solar power is then exported to the grid. Your chosen electricity retailer will have a set price (as above) at which they will pay for this solar power.
This will show up as a credit on your power bill, which is normally subtracted from the cost of buying regular grid power. If the solar buy-back credit piles up you may be able to be paid for the solar power solar, but not all energy retailers will do this, so best to ask them first.
A good buy-back price is more important for homes and businesses that plan on selling a good portion of their solar power to the grid. For example, a home that uses 50% of the solar power in its home and 50% of its power will be exported will need to focus on getting a good solar buy-back rate. If the home is able to use closer to 80% of the power generated then a good buy-back price won't matter as much.
Using our solar calculator, you can see how different buy-back prices would change the amount of savings achieved each year, and you'd be able to see the difference between rates of return.
Learn more about why solar buy-back rates are important in New Zealand.
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