With power bills and other household costs continuing to put pressure on family budgets, a new event coming to Mildura will focus on something most of us wouldn't mind doing — spending less money running our homes.
Mildura Rural City Council's Healthy Homes Expo will be held at Powerhouse Place on Saturday 7 November, bringing together businesses, organisations and industry professionals covering everything from solar and batteries to home electrification, electric transport, sustainable gardening and reducing household waste.
Council says the idea is to connect residents with practical products, services and information that can help people save money, waste less and live well.
And when you start looking at some of the potential savings available, the numbers can become fairly substantial.
Could an All-Electric Home (No Gas) Save Thousands?
Victorian Government estimates suggest an average existing Victorian home could potentially save around $1,900 a year by going all-electric, even without solar.
For a home that already has solar panels, the estimated saving increases to around $2,230 a year.
They're estimates rather than guaranteed savings for every household. What you actually save will depend on your home, appliances, energy use and electricity and gas tariffs.
Going all-electric (no gas) means using electricity for things such as heating, cooking and hot water instead of maintaining a household gas connection.
It doesn't necessarily mean throwing out perfectly good gas appliances tomorrow either. For many households, the change could happen gradually as existing appliances reach the end of their useful lives.
A gas heater might eventually be replaced with efficient reverse-cycle heating and cooling, for example, while an ageing gas hot-water service could be replaced with an electric heat-pump system.
But Our Recent Power Outage Highlighted an Advantage of Keeping Gas
Running costs aren't the only thing worth considering — and Sunraysia has just had a fairly good demonstration of that.
The recent widespread power outage provided a timely reminder of one potential advantage of having more than one source of energy in the home.
When the electricity supply disappears, an all-electric house loses its mains energy source unless it has another system capable of operating independently during a blackout.
A household that retains gas may still be able to use some gas appliances during a power outage, depending on the appliance and how it operates.
A basic gas cooktop, for example, may be capable of being manually lit during an outage if the manufacturer permits it.
But keeping gas doesn't automatically make a house blackout-proof either.
Many modern gas hot-water systems, ducted heaters and other appliances still require electricity for electronic controls, ignition, pumps or fans and may stop working when mains power goes off.
So there's another consideration alongside the dollars and cents of your annual energy bill — resilience.
For some Mildura households, maintaining two energy sources may provide a level of backup that they value, particularly after experiencing an extended outage.
That's something worth putting into the equation before disconnecting gas altogether.
Three Hours of Free Electricity Is Coming — But There's a Catch
There's another major change arriving just over a month before the Mildura expo.
From 1 October 2026, eligible Victorian households with a smart meter will be able to opt into the new Midday Power Saver.
The offer provides electricity at $0 per kilowatt-hour between 11am and 2pm every day, including weekends, up to a fair-use limit of 24kWh during the free period.
At first glance, three hours of free electricity every day sounds like a pretty easy way to reduce the power bill.
But there's a catch.
The Midday Power Saver won't necessarily save everyone money.
The Victorian Government warns that electricity prices outside the free three-hour window may be higher, and households that can't shift enough of their electricity consumption into the middle of the day could actually end up with higher electricity costs.
What Will Power Cost Outside the Free Period?
For the Powercor distribution area, the regulated Midday Power Saver standing-offer maximum rates from 1 October 2026 are:
9pm – 11am: 24.62 cents/kWh
11am – 2pm: FREE — 0 cents/kWh
2pm – 4pm: 19.39 cents/kWh
4pm – 9pm: 43.81 cents/kWh
Daily supply charge: $1.3805
Those charges include GST.
The figure that really jumps out is the 43.81 cents per kilowatt-hour between 4pm and 9pm.
That's also the time many households are using plenty of electricity — people arrive home, dinner goes on, heating or air conditioning is running, televisions and computers are switched on and other appliances start getting used.
So while the words "three hours of free electricity" sound pretty attractive, it's important to look at what you'll pay during the other 21 hours of the day.
Free Power Could Work Brilliantly for Some Homes
For households that can move a decent amount of electricity consumption into the 11am to 2pm period, the offer could work very well.
Washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers, electric hot-water systems, pool pumps, batteries and electric-vehicle chargers are among the bigger loads that could potentially be shifted into the free period.
And you don't necessarily have to be home.
Timers and smart controls could allow appliances to operate during the free period while everyone is at work or school.
The Victorian Government estimates households could save between $149 and $428 a year, depending on their circumstances and how much electricity they can shift into the three-hour window.
Households with an electric vehicle could potentially save even more by moving vehicle charging into the free period.
But It May Not Be for Everyone
This is where households need to look beyond the word "free".
If your house is empty during the day and most of your electricity consumption occurs between 4pm and 9pm, the Midday Power Saver could be a poor fit.
Someone who can't move enough consumption away from that expensive evening period could potentially lose some or all of the benefit they receive from the free electricity.
The Victorian Government specifically says the Midday Power Saver may not be suitable in all circumstances and that customers who can't shift their usage could face higher electricity costs.
Before signing up, electricity retailers will also be required to provide information about the likely cost impact and tell customers about other plans they reasonably believe may be more suitable based on their energy usage.
So before changing plans, compare the whole tariff — not just the three free hours.
Already Have Solar? There's Another Calculation to Make
There's another interesting group in Sunraysia — households that already have rooftop solar.
If your solar panels are already producing most of the electricity your household needs between 11am and 2pm, getting grid electricity for free during those same hours may not be as valuable as it first sounds.
It could be a different story if you have an electric vehicle, battery, pool pump, electric hot water or other large loads that can be moved into that period.
Again, it comes down to the individual household.
Solar Doesn't Necessarily Keep the Lights On During a Blackout
The recent Sunraysia outage also highlighted another question worth asking before spending thousands of dollars upgrading a home.
What happens when the grid goes down?
Simply having rooftop solar doesn't necessarily mean your house will continue operating during a blackout.
Standard grid-connected solar systems generally shut down when grid power is lost for safety reasons.
Likewise, simply owning a home battery doesn't automatically mean everything in the house will continue working. The system needs to be designed and configured to provide backup or islanded operation during an outage.
If blackout protection is important to you, that's a question worth asking before purchasing a solar or battery system:
"Exactly what will continue working in my house when the street loses power?"
Sometimes the Cheapest Upgrade Costs Nothing
Saving money around the home doesn't necessarily require installing solar panels, buying a battery or replacing every appliance.
Understanding where and when you're using electricity can be a good place to start.
Checking your existing electricity plan, comparing it with other offers, using appliance timers, moving consumption to cheaper periods and identifying inefficient appliances could all help reduce costs without a major investment.
That's particularly important with the new Midday Power Saver.
A household capable of changing when it uses electricity could potentially benefit considerably more than one that simply signs up and continues using electricity exactly as it always has.
Healthy Homes Expo Coming to Mildura
The Healthy Homes Expo will be held at Powerhouse Place, Hugh King Drive, Mildura, from 9am until 12pm on Saturday 7 November.
Council is seeking businesses, community groups, organisations and industry professionals covering areas including home electrification, solar and batteries, electric transport, sustainable gardening, waste reduction and recycling, and sustainable homes.
For locals, perhaps the most useful part of the expo will be the opportunity to start putting some actual numbers against the options.
How much will it cost?
How much could you actually save?
What rebates are available?
Would going all-electric (no gas) actually suit your household?
Would three hours of free electricity still save you money once the higher evening rate is taken into account?
And after our recent outage — what will still work at your house when the power goes off?
The cheapest household to run isn't necessarily the best setup for every family.
Cost, convenience and resilience all deserve to be part of the calculation.
