Your Synergy bill explained: every line item, solar credit, and concession decoded

A Synergy bill covers roughly 60 days, and it's built from four numbers you can check yourself: how many days it covers, how much power you used (and when), your tariff's rates for that usage, and a supply charge you pay just for staying connected. Add solar and two more show up: your export, split by time of day, and a DEBS credit for it. Everything else on the page, GST, concessions, the usage graph, is built on top of those numbers.

This guide walks through every section of the bill in order, what changes once solar or a different tariff enters the picture, and what a wrong-looking first bill (or a wrong-looking ongoing one) usually means. Already spotted an error and want the formal process for fixing it? Jump straight to how to dispute a Synergy bill.

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The account summary and billing period

Up top, your bill shows your account number, supply address, and the billing period: the date range you're being charged for. Synergy bills residential accounts every 60 days, so a normal bill covers close to two months, not a quarter. If a meter reader visit was missed or delayed, that window can run longer or shorter than usual, and the total won't be directly comparable to your last bill.

Below that sits the running total: your previous balance, the payment Synergy received, and the new amount due. Check the payment landed before you assume you're behind on it.

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Which tariff are you on, and what does it cost

Your bill's tariff line names the plan you're actually billed on, and it's worth checking against what you think you signed up for. Synergy runs five residential plans open to new customers, effective from 1 July 2026:

If your bill instead shows SmartPower (SM1), Smart Home Plan, Hot Water (B1), or EV Home Plan, none of these are offered to new customers any more. You're simply an existing customer Synergy is still billing on a plan it has since closed:

Not sure which plan actually suits you? Compare tariff plans against your own usage before switching.

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Reading your meter data

Next to the tariff line sit your meter reads: the previous reading, the current one, and the difference in kWh. The read type matters as much as the number. An actual read comes from a real meter visit or a smart meter transmission. An estimated read (marked "E") is Synergy's guess, based on your past usage, because nobody read the meter this period. If your household's habits changed, an estimated read can be well off, and it gets corrected against the next actual one.

If you have a smart meter, which DEBS export crediting requires (a newly commissioned system can still generate on the old meter while it waits for Western Power's meter exchange), reads transmit automatically every day, even though your bill still totals them over the full 60-day period. You can pull the daily figures yourself from Synergy's online portal, usually under something like "My Energy Data".

Worth doing once a bill: add up the kWh across your rate periods and check it matches the total units-consumed figure. Then compare that total to the same period last year. A jump of 20 to 30% with no lifestyle change (no new appliance, no extra people in the house) is worth investigating before you assume it's just a hot summer.

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The supply charge

The supply charge is a fixed daily fee for staying connected to the grid, whether you use one kWh or one thousand. It doesn't move with your usage, and solar doesn't reduce it either: you're paying for the network, not the electrons.

Current supply charges, from 1 July 2026:

• A1: 119.2419c/day, about $1.19
• Midday Saver and EV Add-On: 132.7806c/day, about $1.33
• Community Energy: 199.1683c/day, about $1.99
• Home Business (K1): 210.4115c/day, about $2.10

Midday Saver's supply charge is noticeably higher than A1's: 132.7806 - 119.2419 = 13.5387c/day more, which adds up to about $8.12 extra over a 60-day bill (13.5387 x 60), or close to $49 a year across the six billing periods Synergy runs. Weigh that against whatever Midday Saver actually saves you on usage before you switch.

Over a 60-day A1 bill, the supply charge alone comes to 60 x 119.2419c = 7,154.51c, or $71.55, before you've used a single kWh.

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Usage charges

This is usually the biggest line on the bill: your metered kWh multiplied by your tariff's rate.

On A1, it's simple. One flat rate applies to everything, 33.2621c/kWh, any time of day. Import 820 kWh over 60 days and the usage charge is 820 x 33.2621c = 27,274.92c, or $272.75.

On Midday Saver or EV Add-On, usage splits into time bands, and each band gets its own rate (see the tariff table above). Add up the kWh in each band on your bill: the total should match your units-consumed figure. If a lot of that sits in the 3pm-9pm peak band, that's the clearest sign there's room to shift some usage earlier or later in the day.

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GST: it's already in the rate

Every import rate and supply charge quoted above, and every other retail charge in this guide, already includes GST. The exception is export credits: the DEBS and REBS rates later in this guide are credit rates quoted as-is, and GST isn't added on top of a feed-in credit for an ordinary household. Synergy still splits your total into a pre-GST subtotal and a GST amount on the printed bill, but that's the GST-inclusive total divided back out (subtotal = total ÷ 1.1, GST = total - subtotal), not GST calculated fresh and added on top of the rates.

Take the A1 example above: 60 x 119.2419c = 7,154.514c supply, plus 820 x 33.2621c = 27,274.922c usage. Added before rounding, that's 7,154.514 + 27,274.922 = 34,429.436c, or $344.29, and that figure already includes GST. Split back out, that's a $312.99 subtotal (344.29 ÷ 1.1) and $31.30 GST, which is exactly what the bill shows against total charges, unchanged.

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Understanding your usage graph and seasonal changes

Most Synergy bills carry a 12-month usage graph. It's worth a glance every bill, not just when something looks wrong.

Look for three things: the seasonal shape (Perth summers run hottest on air conditioning, winters climb on hot water and heating, and the shoulder months in between usually sit lowest), whether this period is up or down on the same period last year, and your average daily use, total kWh divided by the number of days in the period, which is the only fair way to compare bills of different lengths.

A spike that doesn't fit the season, a big jump in the same month you're normally lowest, usually means an appliance fault, a solar system that's stopped generating, or a hot water element stuck on. It's worth chasing down before it repeats for another 60 days.

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How solar credits work: DEBS, REBS, and self-consumption vs export

Synergy's smart meter measures your import (grid power you use) and your export (solar power you send out) as two separate streams. It doesn't net them against each other in real time: every kWh you import gets charged at your tariff's rate, and every kWh you export gets credited separately, at the export scheme's rate. They only meet on the bottom line of your bill.

Most solar customers today are on DEBS (the Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme), and it's time-of-use for everyone, regardless of which import tariff you're on. Export between 3pm and 9pm earns 10c/kWh. Export at every other time, including the 9am-3pm window when most rooftop solar actually sends power to the grid, earns 2c/kWh. That holds no matter which import tariff you're on, A1, Midday Saver, or anything else: only your import rate depends on your tariff, never your export rate. DEBS also caps at 50 kWh of export a day; an ordinary rooftop system rarely gets close, but it matters if you're sizing a larger one.

Say you exported 300 kWh over a 60-day period, 270 kWh off-peak and 30 kWh in the peak window. Your DEBS credit would be (270 x 2c) + (30 x 10c) = $5.40 + $3.00 = $8.40. Compare that export figure to your inverter app's export (grid feed-in) total for the same period, if it reports one, not its generation total: generation includes the solar you used directly in the house, so it normally sits well above metered export even when everything is working. If your app only shows generation, subtract your self-consumption estimate first. Against a like-for-like export figure, a small gap is normal (the smart meter and your inverter measure slightly differently), but anything more than about 10% apart is worth a call to Synergy.

Still on REBS (the Renewable Energy Buyback Scheme, the older flat-rate scheme some long-time solar households never moved off)? You're paid one rate for everything you export: 7.135c/kWh, any time of day. REBS is not net metering. WA has never billed solar by netting export against import in real time, on either scheme.

Your bill's export credit isn't the main solar saving, though. The bigger number is hiding in your lower import figure. Every kWh your household uses the moment your panels make it (self-consumption) never touches the export meter at all; it just shows up as a kWh you didn't have to buy. And avoiding an import is worth more than exporting the same kWh, because the two numbers aren't close.

On A1, avoiding one kWh of import is worth the flat 33.2621c/kWh rate. Export that same kWh instead and you'd get 10c in the peak window, or 2c outside it: a gap of 23.2621c/kWh in peak, 31.2621c/kWh everywhere else. On Midday Saver, the gap depends heavily on when. Avoiding an 8.852c/kWh super off-peak import against a 2c/kWh export nets only 6.852c/kWh. Avoiding a 55.3253c/kWh peak import against a 10c/kWh export nets 45.3253c/kWh, by far the strongest reason to shift load, or store it in a battery, rather than sell it back to the grid at peak.

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Using your export data to shift usage and save more

Synergy's online portal shows your import and export in 30-minute blocks, not just the two totals on your bill. Log in, find your interval data (usually under "My Energy Data"), and you can see exactly when your panels are exporting and when you're pulling from the grid.

That's more useful than it sounds. Exporting heavily through the middle of the day and importing again by early evening? Moving the dishwasher, the washing machine, or an EV charge into the 9am-3pm window means you stop selling that power for 2c/kWh and start using it for free instead. On Midday Saver, that window is also your cheapest import rate, so the same shift saves twice over.

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Solar customers: your first bill and the months after

The timeline after installation

Your installer commissions the system and it starts generating the same day, but DEBS credits don't start immediately. In the first week, your installer lodges the compliance paperwork with Building and Energy and notifies Western Power. If your home doesn't already have a smart meter, that's usually the longest wait: Western Power has to schedule a meter exchange, and how long that takes depends on the queue in your area. DEBS starts once Synergy has confirmation that the meter is recording export correctly.

What happens to your export while you wait

Most people get this wrong in one of two directions. Your early export is not lost, and it is also not paid at DEBS rates later.

While Synergy is waiting on Western Power to install or reconfigure the meter, it pays a Temporary Export Credit of 7.135c/kWh on your net export. That is the old REBS flat rate. It stops once the metering is sorted, and the DEBS time-of-use rates take over from that point forward.

So the order is: temporary flat credit first, then DEBS. Nobody backdates DEBS rates across the waiting period, and nobody keeps paying the temporary rate once the new meter is live.

Why the first bill can look strange

If your billing period straddles the install date, the bill splits: normal grid charges for the days before, reduced import plus export credits for the days after. If DEBS activation landed partway through that second half, the credits only cover the days after activation, not the full post-install stretch. A first bill showing modest savings, even though the system's been running for weeks, is usually just this partial-period effect.

If it still looks wrong, work through it in order

1. Check your inverter app's total generation for the billing period.
2. Log in to Synergy's portal and compare the export data for the same period: does it roughly match your inverter's generation minus what your household used directly?
3. Call Synergy and ask for the exact date DEBS activated on your account. Anything exported before that date was not credited at DEBS rates: check for the temporary export credit described above instead, as it will not show up in the DEBS math above.
4. If the numbers still don't add up, ask Synergy whether a meter accuracy test applies, and get the cost and process confirmed before you request one.

Common first-bill patterns

• No DEBS line at all: usually the smart meter isn't reconfigured yet, or Synergy hasn't logged the activation. Ask for a case number and follow up.

• DEBS credit present but small: expected. A 6.6kW system exporting around 3,000 kWh a year earns roughly $60 a year from DEBS, assuming most of that lands in the cheaper off-peak window (3,000 x 2c). The real saving is the import you're not buying, not the export credit.
• Grid import barely reduced: DEBS activation timing isn't the explanation here; solar cuts your import from the day the system starts generating, credits or not. Check whether the billing period mostly predates the system going live, or whether it went in over winter when generation is naturally lower. Then cross-check your inverter's generation total for the period: if generation itself is low, you're looking at a system, wiring, or metering problem, not a billing one.
• Bill higher than before solar: rare, but possible if consumption rose for another reason at the same time, you switched to a tariff with a higher peak rate that solar isn't fully offsetting, or a new appliance arrived. Compare against the same period last year if you can.

Give it a full year before judging performance

Your installer's generation estimate is an annual average: it assumes twelve full months, an average Perth year, clean panels, and no unmodelled shading. A partial first year, or one cloudier than average, will sit below that number without anything being wrong. Prorate the estimate for however many months you've actually had the system before comparing.

Bill still higher than expected, months in?

1. You're not on Midday Saver yet. Switching doesn't happen automatically after solar goes in; you have to ask Synergy. Still paying the flat 33.2621c/kWh A1 rate for everything, including the hours your panels would've let you use Midday Saver's 8.852c super off-peak rate? That's worth checking, not automatically switching: Midday Saver's 55.3253c peak rate and higher daily supply charge mean a household drawing most of its grid power between 3pm and 9pm can pay more on it than on A1. Compare tariff plans against your own usage first.
2. High evening consumption. Solar generates during the day; most households use the most power in the morning and evening. Ducted air conditioning running 3pm to 10pm, or overnight EV charging, means importing grid power right when your panels aren't producing.
3. Winter billing period. Shorter days and a lower sun angle cut generation well below summer levels. A winter bill showing less DEBS credit and more import than a summer one is normal, not a fault.
4. System not running at full capacity. An inverter fault for part of the billing period lowers generation without necessarily throwing an obvious alarm. Check your inverter app's actual generation total against what the system should be producing for the season.

A worked example

Say a Midday Saver household with solar imports 400 kWh over a 60-day period (40 kWh super off-peak, 140 kWh peak, 220 kWh off-peak) and exports 300 kWh (270 off-peak, 30 peak):

• Supply: 60 x 132.7806c = $79.67
• Usage: (40 x 8.852c) + (140 x 55.3253c) + (220 x 24.3431c) = $3.54 + $77.46 + $53.55 = $134.55

• DEBS credit: (270 x 2c) + (30 x 10c) = $5.40 + $3.00 = $8.40
• Net bill: $79.67 + $134.55 - $8.40 = $205.82, inc GST

This is one illustrative household, not a promise. A bigger system, a different consumption pattern, or a different season lands on a different number.

A quick check for your first few post-solar bills

1. Are both import and export meter readings present? If only one shows, your account may not be flagged as solar-capable yet.
2. Does the tariff header match what you agreed to?
3. Does the export figure roughly match your inverter app for the same period?

4. Are the DEBS bands applied correctly? Peak is 10c/kWh, 3pm-9pm; everything else is 2c/kWh, and that's the same regardless of your import tariff.
5. Is the supply charge right for the number of days in the period? Midday Saver's daily rate is noticeably higher than A1's (132.7806c against 119.2419c), so a bigger supply charge isn't automatically an error if you've switched plans.

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Electricity concessions and credits

If the electricity account holder holds a Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card, or a Veterans' Affairs Gold or Pensioner Concession Card, the Energy Assistance Payment (EAP) takes $342.85 a year off the electricity account, paid through Synergy. The card must belong to the account holder; a card held by someone else in the household doesn't qualify unless the account is moved into their name. It's not a one-off: pro-rated across a 60-day bill, that works out to about $56.36 (342.85 ÷ 365 x 60), applied automatically once the card is registered against the account. Hold an eligible card and don't see it on your bill? Contact Synergy to register it.

You might also see a reference to the Household Electricity Credit from 2025. That was a one-off state government payment, and applications for it closed on 31 March 2026. It isn't a live or ongoing credit: nobody applying now can get it, and it won't reappear on a future bill just because you're an existing customer.

See the full concessions breakdown for the complete current list, or check what else you might be eligible for.

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Common billing errors to check for

1. Estimated reads. The bill is marked "estimate" when an actual read should have happened.
2. Concession not applied. An eligible EAP card holder isn't seeing the credit.
3. Wrong tariff line. The bill's tariff doesn't match your actual plan (A1, Midday Saver, EV Add-On, and so on).
4. DEBS credit missing. Solar's connected, but no export credit shows (see the first-bill section above if this is new).
5. Supply charge doesn't add up. Days in the period x the daily rate should match what's billed. If it doesn't, the period length is probably the difference.

Decoding one bill is easier when you know what the bill is made of. How a Perth electricity bill works sets out the four numbers every Synergy bill is assembled from and what moves each one.

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Bill higher than expected?

The short version: check the season, check your read type, check whether a tariff changed, check for a new appliance, and check whether solar underperformed. Any of those five can move a bill on its own, and most high bills trace back to exactly one of them.

For the full appliance-by-appliance breakdown, including how much an air conditioner, a hot water system, or a pool pump actually costs to run, and how to use your interval data to catch a phantom load, see why your Synergy bill might be high.

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Think there's an error on your bill?

Start with the checks above: read type, tariff line, meter reading arithmetic, and the DEBS math if you have solar. If the bill still doesn't add up after that, Synergy has a formal dispute process, and if you can't resolve it directly with them, the Energy and Water Ombudsman WA is the independent body that handles unresolved electricity complaints in WA.

For the full step-by-step process, including how to request a meter test and what to have ready before you call, see how to dispute a Synergy bill.

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