We're an energy retailer and a tech company
Amber isn't just an energy retailer. We're a tech company with a mission to transition Australia to 100% renewable energy — by giving battery owners and everyday energy customers more control over their energy.
GOODBYE ENERGY MARKUPS. HELLO ENERGY SUBSCRIPTION.
Amber subscription: $22 per month
To change Aussie energy, we’ve had to reinvent the way Aussies buy energy — giving you access to the real-time wholesale price of power for just $22/mth. Here’s what comes with your Amber subscription:
we're not in this business for the money
Well, we're in this business to save you money, but not to make money off your energy usage. In fact, unlike other retailers, Amber doesn't make anything off your usage or exports.
Traditional retailers sell electricity at a flat price, but all retailers buy electricity at the wholesale price. With Amber, you get access to this dynamic price, meaning you pay less when you use energy when it's greener and cheaper.
AMBER FOR BATTERIES:
THE HOME BATTERY PLATFORM
We're guessing you got a battery to have more control over your energy. But sometimes it can feel like your energy company has all the power, right? Amber for Batteries puts the power back where it belongs: in your hands.
With Amber for Batteries, you can charge, discharge, and fully automate your home battery at the touch of a button. Plus, with our wholesale model, you’ll even earn the same rate for your exports as the big coal and gas generators — helping support Australia’s transition to renewables.
Australia’s only energy provider with an open API
Pull prices, forecasts and usage data using Amber’s official REST API. Learn more about how you can our API by visiting the link below.
IT’S TIME TO DRIVE a renewable future
Amber is currently building the automation technology to bring Electric Vehicles (EVs) seamlessly into the smart platform.
Automate charging with greener, cheaper energy and even discharge when prices peak — you can help accelerate the renewable transition with your EV.
Our mission is to transition Australia to 100% renewables
We're firm believers in the power that everyday Aussies have to make a positive climate impact.
Our reliance on expensive and unreliable coal and gas has been behind one of the worst energy crises our country has ever seen. But within this crisis is an opportunity: the chance to rethink the way we power Australia today to transition faster to a renewable future.
No. of solar batteries in Australian households
If every solar battery automatically charged with greener, cheaper energy and exported power back into the grid when demand peaked, they’d earn $962 (plus help put coal and gas in its place).
How much we’d shift to solar battery owners in a year
Use cheaper renewablesBy exporting power when the energy grid needs it, you can shift cash away from coal and gas. That’s more earnings for you, lower bills for Aussies everywhere, and less cash for coal and gas (yay)! in order to supercharge your savings and exports.
Amount of carbon reduced in no. of cars taken off the road.
That’s right - 150,000 automated batteries could save the equivalent of 100,000 cars worth of C02 entering the atmosphere. So, are you ready to help accelerate the renewable revolution?
Common questions we get asked
What makes Amber for EVs different?
It might sound strange, but we want to help you do more of what benefits you, not us. Whether that’s charging from your solar, rather than just the grid energy we can sell you, or even paying you to charge when wholesale prices go negative (yes, that's right - with Amber wholesale prices fluctuate, even going into negative territory every now and again. This means we pay you to use energy at these times!).
It all comes down to our subscription model, which means we don’t make money off each kilowatt hour of energy you use like other companies. This means we can stay super focused on helping you do more of what you want - not more of what benefits us. It also means we don’t encourage you to charge overnight just so that we can keep our coal plants running profitably, like other energy companies do (in fact, we don't have any coal plants!).
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Do you have a special 'EV plan'?
Unlike other retailers, Amber has only one “plan”. We give you direct access to the wholesale market for our $22/month subscription fee (the subscription fee is the only income we generate to run the business as we don't make profits on your energy usage). And we give you the tech to take advantage of wholesale prices and your own solar energy.
Energy in the wholesale market can get extra cheap during the day when renewable energy floods the grid, which means you can really drive your charging costs down by charging more at these times. In addition to helping you use more of your excess solar to charge your car (if you have solar), we believe this is a great way for you to save big on charging your car.
Other energy retailers pay the wholesale price for their power and then pass this through to customers with a retail mark-up. Often the offers they propose for EV owners look very appealing on one hand, and less appealing on the other, when you look at costs holistically. For example, if you have access to “free energy” during the day, you are likely to get charged a high price at all other hours. We recommend assessing these offers with this in mind.
What exactly are wholesale prices?
All energy retailers buy their electricity from the same wholesale electricity market, where prices are set every 30 minutes by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). The wholesale price is the true price for your usage that Amber (and other retailers) have to pay to provide you energy.
It’s normal for the wholesale price to fluctuate up or down in each 30 minute period depending on supply and demand, encouraging more power generation when the grid needs it, and less when it doesn’t.
The wholesale price that Amber passes through includes wholesale energy costs (which vary every 30 mins), hedging costs (a small fee to cover the cost of offering our Amber price guarantee), the rates charged by your local network (who own the poles and wires), metering costs and regulated charges for environmental schemes and market operations. We also add on a carbon offset to make your energy use carbon neutral.
Amber makes nothing at all from your energy usage. Our $22/month subscription fee is our only margin for running Amber.
Check out this explainer to learn more about what drives the wholesale price up and down. You can find out more about what your bill with Amber would include here.
Can I stop charging if prices rise?
Charging your car at the right price is crucial. Both to look after your wallet and of course, also to use less dirty energy from the grid. Amber for EVs will keep an eye on prices and ensure that you're charging at optimal times, avoiding high price periods - including demand windows, if you're on a demand tariff.
