How to verify your solar export credits on your Synergy bill

Your solar inverter monitoring app shows you exactly how much electricity your panels generated. Your Synergy bill shows you what you were paid for. These two numbers should be reconcilable — but billing errors do occur, and many Perth solar owners never check.

Understanding what appears on your Synergy bill

A standard Synergy electricity bill with solar export has several line items:

Import charges:

• Supply charge: daily connection fee (119.24c/day × days in period)
• Peak electricity: kWh imported at 55.33c (Midday Saver) or 33.26c (A1)
• Off-peak electricity: kWh imported at lower rates (if on Midday Saver)

Export credit (DEBS):

• Peak DEBS: kWh exported 3pm–9pm × 10c/kWh
• Off-peak DEBS: kWh exported outside 3pm–9pm × 2c/kWh

Note: On a standard A1 tariff, DEBS doesn't distinguish peak vs off-peak — all exports receive the same flat rate. The two-rate DEBS above applies only to Midday Saver.

The DEBS credit line appears as a negative amount (reducing what you owe) or as a separate credit if total credits exceed charges.

Step 1: Find your inverter's export total

Your inverter monitoring app records total energy exported to the grid:

• Fronius Solar.web: Go to "Energy Balance" → "Grid export" for the billing period
• SolarEdge monitoring: Go to "Energy Details" → "Export to Grid"
• Sungrow iSolarCloud: "Site Earnings" or "Energy Report" showing grid export
• Tesla app: "History" → showing export in the Powerwall daily summary
• No monitoring app: Check your inverter's LCD display — most show a "to grid" or "export" total in the lifetime statistics

Note the kWh exported to the grid during the billing period (usually a quarter, but varies).

Step 2: Cross-check with your smart meter reading

Your Synergy bill uses readings from your smart meter. Smart meters record both import and export independently. The Synergy bill should show:

• "Previous generation meter reading": your total export at the start of the period
• "Present generation meter reading": your total export at the end of the period
• Difference = kWh exported this period

If your bill shows "accumulation meter" readings rather than "generation meter" readings, your smart meter upgrade may not have been completed yet — contact Western Power to check the status.

Step 3: Compare inverter export vs meter export

These two numbers should be within 1–3% of each other (small discrepancies from rounding and metering tolerances are normal).

If meter export is significantly lower than inverter export: The meter may not be correctly configured to measure export, or the smart meter upgrade is incomplete. Contact Synergy.

If meter export is significantly higher than inverter export: Unusual — could indicate a meter configuration error (meter recording both household consumption and solar on the same channel). Worth investigating.

If DEBS credits are missing entirely despite export showing on the meter: You may not have been enrolled in DEBS yet. Contact Synergy and request DEBS enrolment — they should back-date credits to when the smart meter was installed.

Common billing problems and how to fix them

Missing DEBS credits (most common issue)

Symptom: You have a smart meter and your inverter shows export, but no DEBS credits appear on the bill.

Cause: Synergy didn't automatically activate DEBS when the meter was installed. This is a relatively common omission.

Fix: Call Synergy and ask to be enrolled on DEBS. They can activate it retroactively and should provide back-dated credits. Keep a note of who you spoke to and when.

DEBS credits appear but seem lower than expected

Symptom: Credits are appearing but the kWh rate seems wrong, or the total is significantly less than your inverter showed.

How to check: Take your quarterly export from the Synergy bill and multiply by the applicable DEBS rate:

• On A1 (pre-July 2026): 3.5c/kWh (historical REBS grandfathered rate) or 2c DEBS
• On Midday Saver: 10c (peak exports) and 2c (off-peak exports) — weighted average depends on when you export
• Flat DEBS: Check Synergy's website for current rates

If the rates seem wrong, contact Synergy with your bill details.

Wrong tariff applied

Symptom: You're on Midday Saver but being billed at A1 rates, or vice versa.

Fix: Confirm with Synergy which tariff your account is on. If you changed tariffs, check when the change took effect and whether billing has caught up.

Using Synergy MyAccount to track solar performance

Synergy MyAccount (myaccount.synergy.net.au) provides interval data for smart meter accounts. Under "Usage data," you can:

• Download half-hourly consumption and export data as a spreadsheet
• View daily consumption vs export graphs
• See the breakdown of import and export by time of day (useful for Midday Saver tariff analysis)

This data is more granular than your inverter monitoring app (which typically shows 5-minute or 15-minute intervals) and represents what you're actually being billed for — the meter, not the inverter estimate.

Reconciliation tip: If you use BillWise to analyse your electricity bills, uploading a Synergy bill that includes DEBS credits will automatically calculate the effective value of your solar exports and compare against your tariff options.

DEBS rates effective 1 July 2026: peak 10c/kWh (3pm–9pm), off-peak 2c/kWh. Synergy billing processes may change — confirm current procedures at synergy.net.au or by calling Synergy directly.