Tariff 32 vs Tariff 93: Is Aurora's New Flat Rate Cheaper for Your Home?

A tariff is simply the pricing structure your retailer uses to charge you. It has two parts: a daily supply charge you pay no matter what, and a usage rate (cents per kilowatt-hour, or c/kWh) for the power you actually buy. Some tariffs charge one flat rate all day; others charge more at busy times.

In Tasmania, the tariff number on your bill matters more than most people realise. Two households using exactly the same amount of power can pay quite different amounts purely because they sit on different tariffs.

What is Tariff 93?

Tariff 93, “Residential Peak & Off-Peak”, is Tasmania’s default residential time-of-use tariff. Since 1 July 2024, every new or upgraded residential connection is assigned to it. It covers your whole home, and it charges a higher rate during peak hours and a lower rate the rest of the time.

Peak hours on Tariff 93 are weekdays 7am–10am and 4pm–9pm — shifting to 8am–11am and 5pm–10pm during daylight saving. Every other hour is off-peak, including all weekend.

On Aurora Energy’s 2026-27 standing offer prices (from 1 July 2026, GST included), Tariff 93 is 36.19 c/kWh in the peak and 17.02 c/kWh off-peak, with a supply charge of about 172 cents a day.

What is Tariff 32, and who can get it?

Tariff 32, “Residential Single Rate”, is new from 1 July 2026. According to Aurora Energy’s 2026-27 standing offer schedule it’s a flat 24.75 c/kWh for every kilowatt-hour, at any hour, plus a daily supply charge of 182 cents a day.

Two things to know. First, it needs a meter that records interval data — a smart meter. Second, there are no restrictions on what the power is used for, and it can sit alongside Tariff 62 for a separately wired off-peak circuit.

Is Tariff 32 cheaper than Tariff 93?

For most households, no — but it depends entirely on when you use power. Working through Aurora Energy’s own published rates, Tariff 93 comes out cheaper than Tariff 32 unless more than about 40% of the power you buy from the grid falls inside peak hours. Treat that as an approximate rule of thumb, not a promise.

For anyone who likes the arithmetic: (24.75 − 17.02) ÷ (36.19 − 17.02) ≈ 0.40. Tariff 93’s daily supply charge is also slightly lower — roughly 10 cents a day less — which nudges things a little further its way.

	Tariff 32 (new)	Tariff 93 (default)
Usage rate	24.75 c/kWh, flat	36.19 c/kWh peak / 17.02 c/kWh off-peak
Daily supply charge	about 182 c/day	about 172 c/day
Time-of-use?	No	Yes
Peak window	—	Weekdays 7–10am & 4–9pm (8–11am & 5–10pm in daylight saving)
Weekends	Same rate	All off-peak
Needs a smart meter?	Yes	—

Source: Aurora Energy 2026-27 Standing Offer Tariff Schedule, GST inclusive.

Hitting more than 40% peak is harder than it sounds, because weekends are entirely off-peak on Tariff 93, and so is everything overnight and through the middle of the day. For a lot of Tasmanian homes, the flat rate’s appeal is mainly simplicity and predictability rather than a lower bill.

Does going solar change which tariff suits me?

Yes, and this is the part worth thinking carefully about. Solar covers a good chunk of your daytime use — which is exactly when Tariff 93 is cheapest. So the power you still buy from the grid leans toward the evening peak, and your peak share goes up, not down.

A solar home with no battery and heavy 4pm–9pm use (cooking, heating, the dryer, charging an EV after work) should genuinely check its numbers rather than assume Tariff 93 wins. That’s one of the few situations where a flat rate can stack up.

Add a battery that carries you through the evening peak and the picture flips back: Tariff 93 usually suits better, because you’re buying very little at the peak rate and the rest at off-peak.

It also changes what each solar kWh is worth to you. Tasmania’s regulated feed-in tariff is 9.276 c/kWh from 1 July 2026 (up from 8.782c in 2025-26) — modest, and well below what you pay to buy a kWh back. So self-consumption, not export, is where the value sits. On Tariff 93, a kWh used at midday avoids the 17.02c off-peak rate and a kWh from a battery in the evening avoids 36.19c. On Tariff 32, every self-consumed kWh avoids the same 24.75c whatever the time — which flattens the reward for shifting your washing to lunchtime or discharging a battery at 6pm.

How do I check my own usage before switching?

Don’t guess, and don’t let anyone else guess for you. The check is straightforward:

Ask your retailer for the last 12 months of usage split by time of day, or pull it from the Aurora+ app if you’re an Aurora customer.
Add up the kWh you bought during Tariff 93’s peak windows, remembering the daylight-saving shift.
Divide that by your total kWh bought to get your peak share.
If it’s comfortably under about 40%, a time-of-use tariff is likely the cheaper structure for you. If it’s well over, the flat rate deserves a proper look.
Do it again a year after your solar or battery goes in, because your pattern will have changed.

One caveat: these are standing-offer prices. Market offers from Aurora and other retailers can look different, so the rates printed on your own bill are the ones that count.

What about Tariffs 31, 41, 62 and 97?

Tariffs 31 (flat general light and power, 27.95 c/kWh) and 41 (a separately metered lower flat rate for hard-wired heating and hot water) are the legacy pair. They closed to new connections from 1 July 2024, though existing homes can stay on them.

Here’s the catch, and it’s an important one: Aurora says that once a home switches to a different tariff, it cannot return to Tariffs 31 and 41. If you’re on 31/41 and you get a new digital meter, you have 12 months to tell your retailer you want to stay — otherwise you move to Tariff 93. So a move onto Tariff 32 is effectively a one-way door out of the legacy rates.

Tariff 62 is a separately wired off-peak circuit, often hot water, with power available only from 10pm to 7am at 14.02 c/kWh. It can sit alongside either Tariff 93 or Tariff 32.

Tariff 97 is a separate opt-in tariff designed for homes with solar, a battery or an EV. Availability depends on the retailer, and Aurora Energy doesn’t offer a Tariff 97 plan.

The practical takeaway

Before you touch anything, write your current tariff number down from your bill, then work out your peak share from 12 months of real interval data. If you’re on 31 or 41, pause before switching, because that door doesn’t reopen. And if solar or a battery is on the cards in the next year or two, run the numbers on the household you’ll be, not the one you are today — a battery that covers the evening peak and a time-of-use tariff tend to work well together, while a no-battery solar home with a busy 5–8pm is the one case worth checking twice.

This free guide is written by the Tasmanian solar team at Solar Generation Tasmania — locals who are always happy to help answer a question about how any of this applies to your place.

#solargentas #solargen #solargenerationtasmania

Published by Solar Generation Tasmania. General information current as at publication — rebates, tariffs and prices change, so confirm current figures before deciding.