Why is my electricity bill still high despite solar panels?

Almost always because production and consumption happen at different times: the panels peak at noon while the household consumes in the morning and evening. You export surplus for a modest rate and buy evening power at full price — so annual production can even exceed annual consumption while the bill stays stubbornly high. The bill reflects self-consumption, not generation.

Why this happens

Under net-billing-style schemes across Europe and Australia, an exported kWh typically earns a half to a third of what an imported one costs (plus standing charges that solar never touches). A household away at work often self-consumes only 20–30% of what the roof produces; the remaining 70% goes out cheap, and the evening comes back in dear. The bigger the array, the starker the ratio — impressive production totals, disappointing savings.

Nothing in this is a fault. It is arithmetic that rewards one specific skill: moving consumption into the production window, or storing the surplus for later.

What to do

1. Find your self-consumption ratio — inverter apps and smart meters show it; below ~30% means the levers below are worth real money.
2. Shift the big loads into the solar window — hot water, dishwasher, laundry, EV. Timers help; automation against a production forecast helps more (see the surplus water-heating answer).
3. Check the tariff — with shiftable loads or a battery, a time-of-use or dynamic tariff usually beats flat; the tariff-choice answer walks through the comparison.
4. Count the standing charges — part of every bill is fixed fees no panel can offset; knowing that number stops you chasing savings that were never available.
5. Recalculate the battery case — high export plus high evening import is precisely the profile a battery monetises (see: panels or a battery?).