Before we get started, would you like us to use your Powerpal data to give you a more accurate quote?
This will allow us to see your electricity usage profile to give you a very accurate representation of how much you would pay on Amber.
It's completely optional, all you need to do is click the button below. If you would rather not, just click skip below.
Let’s grab some details and build you a personalised quote for your specific household setup! 🏡
I have Solar Panels
I have Solar & Battery
I have an Electric Vehicle
Use the slider below to estimate your quarterly energy usage (you can find your exact usage on a recent electricity bill).
enter exact value
- 2-3 people in the household
Wholesale prices are typically cheaper during the middle of the day when there are more renewables in the grid.
How often could you use your power-hungry devices during the day to save more money?
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Use the slider below to input the size of your solar system. An approximate value is enough.
- Approx. 1037 - 1087 kWh exports/quarter
- Approx. 14 panels
Use the slider below to input your battery’s storage capacity.
How do I find this out?
CommBank and Amber are working together to help Australians use more cheap and green energy by switching to wholesale electricity!
Yes, I do
No, I don't
Email it to yourself or someone else, or come back later to view your quote details. We'll also use your email to send you more information on Amber and you can opt out at any time.
Your estimated bill is (incl. GST)
$0
/quarterYour average dynamic rate
¢
/kWhWe don't have fixed rates
Wholesale prices are dynamic and change every 30 minutes.
Wholesale prices are dynamic, changing throughout the day as supply and demand change. This dynamic rate has no markup and is often really cheap!
Looking at the graph below you can see how, on average, the wholesale price of electricity changes throughout the day.
Average Dynamic Rate
The above graph shows the average wholesale price per 30 minutes, for your postcode. It has been calculated using historical wholesale prices over the last 9 months, weighted by the average demand curve in your state, and based on a flat rate tariff.
Wholesale is often really cheap!
You can get great electricity prices and lower bills by using more when it’s cheaper. We call that load-shifting, lots of our customers do it, and we show you how it works on the next page.
Why are wholesale prices dynamic
Wholesale energy refers to the true cost of generating and delivering electricity in the wholesale electricity market, where energy retailers like Amber purchase energy. In this market, wholesale prices change every half hour based on the supply and demand of energy.
As a general rule, prices are typically lower during the day and higher in the evening. This is because more cheap renewable energy is generating during the day, which helps bring prices down. Higher demand in the evening then requires more expensive fossil fuel generation to meet demand.
As an Amber customer, you benefit from these real-time prices, which we pass directly on to you with no markup.
What's the difference between wholesale & retail?
Most energy retailers charge you a fixed rate. But here's the kicker: they buy power at the lower wholesale rate, before selling it on to you at a fixed price (with a huge profit margin added).This means every time you use power, they're making a profit.
Even worse, during the 2022 energy crisis retailers lost billions of dollars, and now they're trying to claw it all back, by raising the fixed prices they charge you, even though the wholesale cost of electricity is trending cheaper.
At Amber, because we pass through this wholesale cost of electricity to you with no markup, our only margin for running the business is the $19/month subscription fee.This means our only goal is to save you money.
The above graph shows the average wholesale price per 30 minutes, for your postcode. It has been calculated using historical wholesale prices over the last 9 months, weighted by the average demand curve in your state, and based on a flat rate tariff.
Amber passes through wholesale prices for your usage and exports which change every 30 minutes. Price estimates have been calculated using historical wholesale prices over the last 9 months based on a flat rate tariff and weighted by the average demand curve in your state, as well as the inputs you provided to us. Estimates indicative only. Your bills may differ based on actual usage, wholesale price variability and future price changes. Learn more here.
When you use power makes a difference
You can save even more by using more power at cheaper times
Wholesale prices are often cheap — sometimes exceptionally cheap — when there are lots of renewables in the grid. Timing a select few of your power-hungry appliances to run during these low-cost windows can help rack up the savings. Check the graph below for a few examples of timing your device usage for maximum savings.
CHOOSE A DEVICE YOU USE AT HOME:
WHEN YOU USE POWER
MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
Get lower bills.
Wholesale prices are generally cheaper, but there are regularly times that are exceptionally cheap. Timing a few of your more power-hungry appliances to run during these low-cost windows can help rack up the savings.
Get greener energy.
These really cheap times are usually when there are lots of renewables in the grid. This isn’t a coincidence; renewable generators sell their energy for less than fossil fuels, bringing down the wholesale price. So, by using at cheaper times you’ll be contributing to a greener planet!
HOW WILL I KNOW WHEN
PRICES ARE CHEAPEST?
The Amber app has been built with tons of features built to help you use cheaper and greener energy, see historical usage and bills and manage your account. It’s free and available to all customers on both Apple and Android app stores.
Maximise your savings with our battery automation
With Amber you get to choose what to do with your solar and battery - giving you more control and more value.
CHOOSE A TIME OF DAY TO SEE HOW SMARTSHIFT™ WORKS
The power to control your battery at your fingertips
With the Amber app you have the power to customise our battery automation to best suit your battery needs. You also have the ability to control your battery at the tap of a button: Want to discharge your battery to the grid for extra earnings, it’s easy. Need to charge your battery quickly from the grid, also easy! Our app is free and available to all customers on both iOS and Android app stores.
🤖 More of what you want. Automatically.
Choose from our 2 automation presets, depending on what matters most to you - a fuller battery or earning extra from your exports. SmartShift™ then creates a personalised plan to bring out the best in your battery.
🔮 Get live insights and personalised plan
Get an overview of what your entire system is doing, including live insights into how much power you’re using, generating, exporting and/or storing in your battery. Additionally you can see what you battery plans to do in the future, your usage history, costs, billing and environmental impact.
⚡️ As much control as you want
Set your battery to charge, discharge, or keep its current power. Easy to turn on/off any time you want.
🤖 No need to lift a finger
SmartShift™ automatically creates a personalised plan to bring out the best in your battery.
🔮 All while staying in touch
Get an overview of what your entire system has done, is doing now, and the plans SmartShift™ is making.
How much control do I have?
With Amber for Batteries, your battery will be automated using our SmartShift™ automation technology. However, what sets Amber apart from everyone else is you will also have the option to manually control your battery whenever you like, using the Amber app.
- Dispatch your battery: Sending energy from your battery to your home & the grid. Use this to export power from your battery to the grid when prices are high!
- Charge battery:By opting to charge your battery, you can top up your battery’s reserve levels from the grid at times when you need some extra power.
- Preserve battery:Ensure that your battery’s stored energy doesn’t dip below the current level for a certain period of time. Preserve Battery essentially cuts off your battery from your home and solar system, ensuring all excess solar gets sent to the grid, and you use grid energy for any home energy usage during that period.
- Consume battery:Stops SmartShift™ from charging your battery from the grid or discharging it to the grid. In other words, it makes your battery operate in self-consumption mode - its standard mode of operating. If your household energy consumption is greater than your solar generation, you’ll consume your battery power. If your solar generation is less than your energy consumption, your solar will get stored in your battery.
These manual controls can be run for an extended period of your choosing, or for a pre-selected time period e.g. 30 mins, 60 mins, 90 mins.
Is my battery compatible with SmartShift™?
- Tesla Powerwall 2
- SolarEdge
- LG Chem with SolarEdge inverter
- AlphaESS with inverter module serial numbers starting with AL - not those with battery serial numbers beginning with ALPxxx or 9xxx
- Hive
- Sungrow with hybrid inverter- specifically those with the inverter model numbers
- SH5.0RS
- SH6.0RS
- SH8.0RS
- SH10.0RS
- SH5.0RT
- SH10.0RT
- Energizer
- Everready
- Hive
- Huawei
- Redback
- Solax
If you do not have any of these batteries, it may be the case that your battery is going to become eligible shortly, so drop us a line and we can give you an update.
In the meantime, we do find that solar and battery customers in general tend to do better with Amber’s wholesale pricing, regardless of automation. This is because having a battery to store your solar means that you have the ability to primarily draw energy from the grid at off-peak times, such as early morning or later evening.
Your estimated bill is (incl. GST)
Your Average Dynamic Rate
Want us to email your quote to you?
HOW DID WE CALCULATE YOUR MONTHLY QUOTE?
We pride ourselves on our transparency, and want to show you every single detail that makes up your wholesale electricity bill. Below you can see the 3 parts of your wholesale electricity bill, and if you’re really interested to see the full breakdown of the usage and supply charges, click on the dropdown boxes below
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See the full breakdown of your estimated usage rate
YOUR ESTIMATED AVERAGE USAGE RATE
¢ /kWh
Your average usage rate is made up of a few varying factors. There is the cost of generating the electricity, the cost of the electricity being delivered to you, and various other costs that help protect you and the environment. The below costs are representative of the varying costs that would make up an average rate of ¢/kWh.
See the full breakdown of your daily supply charges
YOUR ESTIMATED DAILY NETWORK SUPPLY CHARGES
¢ /day
Your electricity bill is also made up of daily charges we pass through to you with no markup. These charges are listed below.
Amber passes through wholesale prices for your usage and exports which change every 30 minutes. Price estimates have been calculated using historical wholesale prices over the last 9 months based on a flat rate tariff and weighted by the average demand curve in your state, as well as the inputs you provided to us. Estimates indicative only. Your bills may differ based on actual usage, wholesale price variability and future price changes. Learn more here.
Amber passes through wholesale electricity prices directly at the cost to us, this includes: wholesale energy costs, hedging costs, network charges (per kWh and per day), metering costs, environmental costs, and carbon offset costs.
View our Terms and Conditions here
You can find your Basic Plan Information Documents and Energy Factsheets here
Good news: It's super easy.
- You’ll need your ID 💁♂️
- Grab your payment method 💳
We won’t charge you anything; we just need this to verify your signup. And when it comes to future bills, you can use credit card, direct debit or BPAY.
YEP, THAT'S ALL YOU NEED.
Ready for wholesale?
WILL MY CURRENT ENERGY PROVIDER BE CONTACTED?
Nah, don’t sweat it. We'll handle all the 'we need to talk' stuff with your old retailer. They might ring you up, maybe even throw in some sweet deals, begging you to come back. But hey, you do you. Stick to your choice and let us handle the rest.
DO YOU HAVE ANY LOCK-IN CONTRACTS?
We don’t have any lock-in contracts or exit fees for switching to another retailer, so you are free to leave at any stage (but we are pretty sure you are going to like us!).
Email it to yourself or someone else, or come back later to view your quote details. We'll also use your email to send you more information on Amber and you can opt out at any time.
Will your set up work with amber?
It looks like you generate more solar than you use
Consuming solar is much better than exporting it. It looks like you use less power than your solar generates, so it'll be hard for you to shift your usage to consume your solar generation. Therefore you're likely to export more power at times where wholesale rates are low. This means that the average solar feed-in rate is more of a factor in determining your bill amount than the average usage rate, and you might be best finding a retailer with the highest feed-in tariff possible.
Why is consuming solar better than exporting it?
Everyone exports at the same time
Australia has the highest density of rooftop solar in the world. And everyone's exporting their excess solar to the grid at the same time, creating abundant supply at a time of typically low demand. Put simply, solar exports aren't worth very much in these conditions.
If you export a lot of power during the day Amber might not be the right retailer for youWholesale feed-in tariffs can go negative
Sometimes the supply to the grid is so plentiful that it causes a problem for the grid, and solar exports are penalised with wholesale feed-in tariffs becoming negative. This is more common in Spring and Summer when more solar is generated. Amber passes through the wholesale feed-in tariff, meaning that there are times when exporting will have a detrimental impact on your bill.
If you export a lot of power during the day you might get charged for your exportsConsume your solar
Without a home battery, the best way to maximise the value of your solar is to consume it. By using your power-hungry appliances when your solar is generating, you reduce your low-reward exports, reduce your more expensive imports and reduce charges from your network (which charges you for using their infrastructure - think poles and wires). By shifting your load to solar producing hours, you'll also reduce your demand for power during peak times, when solar has finished.
If you use all your solar, and have low usage in the early evening you could save with AmberA Battery Can Help You Benefit From Wholesale Prices
Home batteries take advantage of these conditions
Wholesale price fluctuations basically reflect the needs of the grid. Exports are rewarded much more highly when solar isn't generating and expensive coal and gas need to ramp up to meet growing demand. By storing excess solar when the wholesale feed-in tariff is low, and exporting it when prices rise, home batteries help to distribute solar power beyond times of solar generation, accelerating the transition to 100% renewable energy, and being rewarded for it.
Buying a battery means you can unlock higher price feed-in rates, avoid peak price times and make your solar go further