Illustration of houses with solar panels, against a yellow background.

SOLAR POWERING YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.

Tapping into the sun's renewable energy can help power your home or business, while saving on your monthly bills.
Smiling girl holding a cardboard image of a sun surrounding her face.

HOW IT WORKS

We buy back any excess solar you generate at our standard buy-back rate of 8.5 cents per kWh. Terms apply*.

Already have solar, or planning to get it installed? Join us or learn more about the ins and outs of exporting your solar below.

*Solar buy-back rates exclude GST and discounts. Residential and business terms and conditions apply.
As buy-back rates are dependent on lines company charges, there may be some networks such as Orion Network, where the buy-back rate will differ.

 

Solar panels on a roof, with a blue sky background.

INSTALL WITH HARRISONS SOLAR

Start your journey with Harrisons Solar, who will design and install a quality solar system tailored to your home.

Plus, with this offer, you can sell back any extra power you generate for a big 18 cents per unit!
LEARN MORE
Hands holding kiwi at national hatchery.

HATCHING KIWI WITH THE HELP OF SOLAR

The team at the National Kiwi Hatchery know a thing or two about looking after our most treasured bird, the kiwi.

We're proud to have been supporting the hatchery since 2018 in their mission to save kiwi. Recently, during their move to the Rotorua Agrodome we’ve funded a new solar and Tesla battery setup.

The sponsored system will help to power the facilities as well as power the two Tesla back up batteries which will provide the Hatchery with up to 30 hours of power in case of an outage, so that those all important incubators are never without power.

Girl with toy medical equipment walking towards the camera.

DID YOU KNOW YOUR SOLAR NEEDS SERVICING?

If you have a solar system, it's important to ensure it's regularly maintained. This will help keep it safe and ensure it continues to power your home for many years to come.
LEARN MORE

Have a question?

Check out our most commonly asked questions on solar, or head over to our FAQs for more help.
What is solar power and how does it work? With solar panels you can turn sunlight into electricity. This electricity can be used in your home, stored in a battery, or exported back to the grid. This export can then be purchased by retailers like Mercury. This is known as “buy-back”, “distributed generation”, “import/export”, or “embedded generation”.
What do you need to know before you begin exporting? You must have written approval from your lines company, to be able to export power from your property onto their network. You can find your lines company contact details here.
When will my buy-back rates start? The buy-back rates will be applied once your import/export meter is installed, and you begin exporting excess solar. It may take a few weeks for your meter to start communicating, however once it does you’ll be credited for any units you’ve exported back to the grid since your import/export meter has been installed. 
What is an import/export meter? This is a meter with two registers, one to record the import usage from the network and one to record the export usage to the network. These are also known as buy-back or 2-way meters.
Do I need to install a special type of meter for solar? In order for us to record your usage and output, you’ll need to get an import/export meter installed. Once installed, the meter installation fee will be added to your Mercury account. For regular capacity meters, the import/export installation fees are $195 for urban, $265 for rural and $325 for remote. If you require a higher capacity meter, the fee is quotable and we’ll let you know of the fee before installation. 
What should I do if there's a fault with my solar system?

If you suspect a fault with your solar system, follow the shutdown procedure instructions for your solar equipment, this will be noted next to your system.

After shutting down your system, get in touch with your installer for additional guidance. In an emergency, such as a potential fire risk, dial 111 for assistance.

How does exporting solar generation affect GST? If you're not GST registered, GST will not be applied to your solar generation.
I’m GST registered, how will this apply to the solar generation that I export?

If you're GST registered and your connection with us as a solar power generator is part of your business activity for GST purposes, please let us know on this form and we’ll get this applied to your account.

Once your GST number is applied to your account, the GST credit for your solar generation will be included in the total GST amount on your Bill. The GST credit is combined with GST charges for your overall electricity.

In the below example the GST on other charges is $35.79, then a credit of $4.13 for the GST on generation is applied, reducing the GST to $31.66.

Sample bill showing where GST is included for a GST registered solar customer.

If you're not GST registered, GST will not be applied to your solar generation.

Why don’t I see generation some months? If there is no meter read available, or if you didn't export any solar back to the grid in that billing period, the ‘Generation' line won't appear on your bill.

HELP CENTRE

Check out our Help Centre to view more FAQs and tools.
VIEW FAQS