Wholesale energy prices and a bill guarantee
Our bill guarantee - never pay more than the DMO/VDO* over a 12-month period.
Our customers say it best
Wholesale energy prices are usually much cheaper than a typical retailer's fixed price (in fact during the 2021 Financial Year our customers have saved 24% on average compared to the DMO). We provide peace of mind that you'll never pay more than the DMO in case wholesale prices do fluctuate over any 12-month period.
Wholesale energy prices drop when there are more renewables in the grid. So you can actually be rewarded for using greener energy.
The Amber subscription fee model is simple.
You pay us $15 per month - we give you direct access to the wholesale energy price (as well as our awesome app to help you track live prices and your usage).
Because we charge a flat fee, our only incentive is to help our customers reduce their electricity costs.
In 3 minutes, you can make a huge impact on shifting Australia's to 100% renewables.
Step 1
Fill out a short form in 3 minute with your billing information and ID.
Step 2
We break up with your retailer for you and install a smart meter for you at no additional cost.
Step 3
Sit back and relax. There are no lock-in contracts, no exit fees if you decide Amber's not for you.
Once you've joined our community of over 15,000 Aussies making an impact, we will help with:
We'll arrange for your meter read within a couple days of sign up.
If you don't have a smart meter, we'll organise one for you at no cost.
View live prices half-hourly and get cheaper energy prices when wholesale price drops.
Unlike other energy retailers, Amber makes exactly $0 on your energy usage.
We’re so committed to this mission that our $15 monthly subscription fee is our only profit for running the business.
There are no lock-in contracts, no exit fees, and no nonsense if you decide Amber’s not for you.
Amber is a new type of energy provider designed to unlock the value of renewables. Our mission is to shift Australia to 100% renewables faster. Go beyond offsetting and use more renewable energy. Amber is headquartered in Melbourne.
This exciting partnership was born out of CommBank’s recognition of the important role Amber plays in moving Australia towards 100% renewable energy - a goal we both strongly believe in. By joining forces in this partnership, we will work together to help more customers to shift their homes onto renewable power and save money on their energy bills. Commbank are also looking at how they can help save customers money with their everyday bills and commitments, and this partnership with Amber is just one of the ways they are continuing to reward their customers.
You'll receive a notice one month prior to your discount ending reminding you that your next month's bill will not show your CommBank staff discount.
Firstly check that you're using your work email address to sign up. There are restrictions applied that will not allow you to sign up if the correct email domains are not being used.
For any further issues applying your CommBank customer discount code or signing-up to Amber, contact Amber’s helpful customer service team. Just hit the big green Support button below on the bottom right of this page.
While we really appreciate your enthusiasm, this offer is only available to CommBank staff.
However, you can direct your family and friends to the CommBank Yello hub in the CommBank app for all offers available to CommBank customers.
This offer is subject to Amber’s Terms and Conditions, and eligibility criteria.
To be eligible for the guarantee, each CommBank staff member who is transferring to Amber must:
1. continue to be an Amber customer for a full 12 month period;
2. be at the same connection address or in the same local network area as registered previously with previous electricity provider;
3. at the end of the 12 months if the customer would have paid less under their plan with previous electricity provider, the customer should send Amber a bill from their previous electricity provider (if they haven't previously).
Amber will calculate what the customer would have paid with previous electricity provider and refund the difference between their actual Amber bill and the amount they are likely to have paid with previous electricity provider.
To apply for the credit, send a bill from your previous electricity provider to info@amber.com.au with the subject line CommBank staff guarantee and if you are eligible, Amber will credit your next month's bill.
There’s nothing like an energy crisis to bring things into sharp focus. Thanks to Australia’s reliance on fossil fuels, our ageing coal fired generators and the behaviour of those who run them, we’re now seeing record high wholesale energy prices in a country where renewable energy should be king.
Rather than see the cost of this crisis pass through to Aussie households, we've seen how harnessing the power of home battery storage can quickly move to 100% renewables and reduce energy costs for everyone.
While battery automation technology is available today that would allow these solar home batteries to discharge excess energy to the grid, it's estimated only around 15% of battery owners are using it.
Our campaign is a call to arms for Australia’s 150,000 current Aussie owners to start using this automation, so we can automatically discharge them into the grid at peak times, stabilising the grid, reducing energy prices for everyone, and displacing fossil fuels with renewables.
Simply click ‘Join Amber’ above and proceed to fill in the form! IMPORTANT: To ensure your battery is optimised by Evergen against Amber’s wholesale prices (and to receive your $50 signup bonus) you will need to sign up using the above button (not directly on the Amber website).
Yes, if they are a CommBank customer please feel free to share this link with them, all CommBank customers will receive this discount when signing up to Amber.
This offer is subject to Amber’s Terms and Conditions, and eligibility criteria.
Amber was founded by climate activist Dan Adams and techie mate Chris Thompson to solve the biggest problem holding Australia back from reaching 100% renewable energy: making it easier and rewarding for more Aussies to use more green energy and act on climate change. While other green energy providers focus on offsetting your fossil fuel energy use, we’re laser-focused on helping you reduce your fossil fuel use in the first place.
When it comes to going green, Amber’s doing energy differently.
With Amber, a $15 monthly subscription fee empowers you to access wholesale energy prices that drop when there are more renewables in the grid.
With the Amber app, you can save even more by shifting your usage to greener, cheaper times. And by ‘save’, we mean cash and the climate.
Renewable energy is now the cheapest form of power. Our mission is to transition Australia to 100% renewables.
Amber is a new type of energy provider designed to unlock the value of renewables. Our mission is to shift Australia to 100% renewables faster. Go beyond offsetting and use more renewable energyAmber is headquartered in Melbourne.
This exciting partnership was born out of CommBank’s recognition of the important role Amber plays in moving Australia towards 100% renewable energy - a goal we both strongly believe in. By joining forces in this partnership, we will work together to help more customers to shift their homes onto renewable power and save money on their energy bills. Commbank are also looking at how they can help save customers money with their everyday bills and commitments, and this partnership with Amber is just one of the ways they are continuing to reward their customers.
In Australia, the wholesale price of electricity is often cheapest when there are lots of renewables in the grid. With Amber, you get access to this wholesale price to help you save on power while driving additional demand for renewable energy in Australia.
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Amber for Batteries is designed to help solar and battery owners maximise the value they can get from their energy set-ups, combining machine learning and control features so you can take full advantage of wholesale pricing.
Exactly how much you will save and earn depends on what’s going on in the energy market, your energy set-up and usage. Price variability in different states plays a part in outcomes - the more variable prices are, the better it is for those with Amber for Batteries as you can take advantage of the difference (you may hear this referred to as “arbitrage”).
When there are price spikes, you can sell energy back to the grid for up to $15/kWh. When wholesale feed-in tariffs drop, SmartShift™ will generally look for ways to store/save your solar or cheap charge from the grid, so you can make the most of low prices and use your stored energy to avoid higher prices.
One of the key drivers of savings with Amber for Batteries is that you get the chance not only to save up and sell your own excess solar energy to the grid when it’s worth the most. You can also charge up your battery with cheap grid power and sell that grid power back to the grid during peak time, to make extra export earnings.
Amber passes on every cent that your energy is worth at the time when you sell it to the grid.
If you want to get a more precise idea of what your savings will be, visit our dynamic pricing page and tell us a bit more about your energy set-up, or check out our customer stories.
Amber for Batteries is designed to help solar and battery owners maximise the value they can get from their energy set-ups, combining machine learning and control features so you can take full advantage of wholesale pricing.
Exactly how much you will save and earn depends on what’s going on in the energy market, your energy set-up and usage. Price variability in different states plays a part in outcomes - the more variable prices are, the better it is for those with Amber for Batteries as you can take advantage of the difference (you may hear this referred to as “arbitrage”).
When there are price spikes, you can sell energy back to the grid for up to $19/kWh. When wholesale feed-in tariffs drop, SmartShift™ will generally look for ways to store/save your solar or cheap charge from the grid, so you can make the most of low prices and use your stored energy to avoid higher prices.
One of the key drivers of savings with Amber for Batteries is that you get the chance not only to save up and sell your own excess solar energy to the grid when it’s worth the most. You can also charge up your battery with cheap grid power and sell that grid power back to the grid during peak time, to make extra export earnings.
Amber passes on every cent that your energy is worth at the time when you sell it to the grid.
If you want to get a more precise idea of what your savings will be, visit our dynamic pricing page and tell us a bit more about your energy set-up, or check out our customer stories.
Supported home batteries can connect to the SmartShift™ algorithm remotely, so there's no need for a physical device. SmartShift™ optimises batteries to discharge at times when the wholesale price is more expensive than usual, lowering the overall cost of your energy usage. That's because you'll be using power from the grid at times when energy is cheaper and greener, and using power from your battery at times when energy is more expensive.
SmartShift™ will always keep some battery power in reserve, so it's there if you need it. You'll be able to see how SmartShift™ is optimising your battery, and how much it's saving you, using the Amber app.
Negative FiT only affects the AC-coupled battery configurations we support - like Tesla. If your solar panels connect straight into your battery - common in AlphaESS, Sungrow and all SolarEdge batteries, then we can control your solar AS WELL as your battery. If you have this setup you will have the option to select ‘Automated Solar curtailment’ in the ‘Devices’ tab in the Amber App. With this on, we will block export from solar if the price drops below 0c.
If you have an AC coupled battery like a Tesla Powerwall 2, then you may be impacted by negative FiT. Negative FiT only plays a very small role in the total package for the inverters we cannot control and the benefits of SmartShift outweigh the cost of the very occasional negative FiT. It's not an issue for inverters we have integrated with because Amber can curtail the export and turn the battery on to charge from the grid and get paid for it.
Battery warranties vary per manufacturer. Most have a maximum number of years and a maximum number of cycles. (The exception to this is SolarEdge’s battery warranty which has a 10 year unlimited cycle warranty).
Some manufacturers have different conditions depending on how the battery is used and whether the battery is connected to the internet. 2 cycles per day is very unlikely, and only theoretically possible in the Earnings Optimiser preset. The median number of battery cycles is about 1.1 cycles per day in this preset. In the Battery Booster preset it is not possible for the total number of cycles to exceed 1 per day and should be used if concerned with warranty cycle life. Consult your battery’s warranty document to determine how cycling might impact your warranty. Consider the increased savings and your personal energy situation when deciding if smartshift is right for you. Note that a battery that isn’t getting charged due to high use or insufficient solar, is unable to pay for itself.
Batteries are made to be cycled and Smartshift will find the most profitable time to do this. Energy sold to the grid at $5/kWh is better than self-consumed, avoiding a 40c charge. Energy bought from the grid at 10c is better than a battery not getting charged.
In Australia, the wholesale price of electricity is often cheapest when there are lots of renewables in the grid. With Amber, you get access to this wholesale price to help you save on power while driving additional demand for renewable energy in Australia.
In Australia, the wholesale price of electricity is often cheapest when there are lots of renewables in the grid. With Amber, you get access to this wholesale price to help you save on power while driving additional demand for renewable energy in Australia.
The competition opens on October 25 2023 and closes end of day on November 22 2023. The winner will be drawn on November 23, 2023 and announced on November 27.
All CommBank customers who use their CommBank credit card or bank details when signing up to Amber receive a minimum $100 welcome credit spread across 6 months. From time to time, CommBank will send varying offers to eligible customers, for example CommBank Yello offers.
To see if you are eligible to receive further discounts and to view your personalised benefits, visit the CommBank Yello hub in the CommBank app.
Your Week With Amber is our Amber’s newest in-app feature designed designed to give you deeper insights into how you’re tracking as an Amber customer. You’ll get weekly insights into your average wholesale rate with Amber, the average amount of energy and renewables you use, and the amount of energy you’ve used, as well as how this translates into real-world impact. To learn more about Your Week in Amber, check out our blog.
Right now, for anyone on a traditional retail energy plan - even a green energy plan - it’s very hard to actually use more green energy. We all draw power from the same grid and traditional plans don’t provide you with the tools you need - for example, live wholesale energy prices that drop when there’s more green energy in the grid, and the % of renewable energy in real time. Amber empowers you to make a choice.
During the month of February each new sign up to Amber automatically goes into the draw to win this epic prize! Once you're signed up, each successful referral will gain you an extra entry!
The prize includes a Tesla Powerwall 2 home battery, solar panels and installation. The prize value is up to $23,000.
Learn more about the competition here
Amber can estimate rates for your address on their pricing page here. These are rates for a regular wholesale customer without battery optimisation. The Feed in Tariff for an optimised battery will be considerably higher than for a non-optimised solar or solar & battery system (as your battery can discharge during high price periods). What you pay for power will generally be considerably lower also, as your home battery will protect you from evening price peaks and be charged via Evergen when it’s cheap and green.
You can have as much control as you want with SmartShift™.
This includes the option to charge, export, or preserve your battery as you like with SmartShift™’s control features, or to pick an automation mode that suits your preferences and let SmartShift™ manage your battery optimisation according to your needs.
You can also choose to switch off SmartShift™ completely at any time should you choose, with no penalties whatsoever.
Whether you are taking control of your battery yourself or the battery is being optimised entirely by Amber, you will have in-depth insights into what is happening live with your battery, and what is forecast to happen in the coming day - including what your earnings would be if you take control for a set period of time.
This is designed to help you understand and stay in control of what’s happening with your battery so you can make adjustments if and when you wish.
With Amber, you’re able to use your battery power during peak times when demand on the grid is higher, energy is dirtier, and the wholesale price tends to be more expensive. And you can save even more if you're able to control your battery to charge from the grid when wholesale prices are low, or export to the grid when wholesale prices are high.
Even if you’re not moving into your new property just yet, still click “yes” when asked if you’re moving in to your new property. All you have to do next is give us the date that you would like electricity connected at your new home. To make sure the power is connected when you arrive, it’s a good idea to choose the business day before you move in. Make sure you give us at least three business days notice before the date.
We understand home battery uptake in Australia is still low. But wholesale prices are high for everyone who uses energy, driving super profits to fossil fuel generators.
By enabling current battery owners to put more renewables into the grid today, and encouraging the 3 million households who own solar to get a battery and do the same in the near future, we can make energy cheaper and greener for everyone.
How? Three ways:
- Reduce overall reliance on expensive coal and gas in the energy system, as more renewable energy flows in
- Less market power for fossil fuel generators to influence prices too, as more energy generators step up to put power into the grid
- Cash for battery owners' energy exports offset their energy bills
You can have as much control as you want with SmartShift™.
This includes the option to charge, export, or preserve your battery as you like with SmartShift™’s control features, or to pick an automation mode that suits your preferences and let SmartShift™ manage your battery optimisation according to your needs.
You can also choose to switch off SmartShift™ completely at any time should you choose, with no penalties whatsoever.
Whether you are taking control of your battery yourself or the battery is being optimised entirely by Amber, you will have in-depth insights into what is happening live with your battery, and what is forecast to happen in the coming day - including what your earnings would be if you take control for a set period of time.
This is designed to help you understand and stay in control of what’s happening with your battery so you can make adjustments if and when you wish.
Yes! Whether you own your home or renting, you can still take advantage of Amber’s wholesale pricing.
With Amber, you’re able to use your battery power during peak times when demand on the grid is higher, energy is dirtier, and the wholesale price tends to be more expensive. And you can save even more if you're able to control your battery to charge from the grid when wholesale prices are low, or export to the grid when wholesale prices are high.
During the sign up process, a success page will appear once you hit the final sign up button and confirm that your CommBank discount has been applied. The discount will also appear in your monthly bills as a line item and will display the end date.
Yes, you have to be an Amber customer to enter the competition as it involves sharing Your Week With Amber, which is a feature only available to Amber customers. If you join Amber during the competition period, it's possible you may be able to be onboarded in time to take part. This is more likely if you already have a smart meter installed before joining. If you don't you will need to wait for your smart meter installation, as this is required in order for us to provide the usage and other metrics that are included in Your Week With Amber.
If you are moving into a property in Victoria, you must make sure the main switch on your new property is in the OFF position on the day of your planned connection. If you can’t get to your property before the connection date, it may be a good idea to ask a real estate agent or property manager to do this for you, as we will not be able to complete the connection if the main switch is ON
The big energy retailers earn their money via the retail markup they add to the price of electricity. They make more money when you use more electricity, and when your bills are higher. What’s good for them is bad for you.
We reckon we’ve found a better way to do things. We charge a flat $15 subscription fee to cover the cost of running our business, so we can focus on one thing - helping you lower your electricity bills by unlocking the value of cheap renewables. No hidden costs, no contracts, and no exit fees.
It’s only $19 a month and you can switch back out to a traditional retailer at any point if you choose.
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 $19/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.
Your FiT with Amber is always the true value of your energy on the marketplace and you’re able to track this in real-time, any time, via the Amber app. Not only can you see when prices dip and it’s cheaper to draw from the grid, but you can also stay on top of when the FiT skyrockets and you can earn big for your exports.
When it comes to taking advantage of Amber for Batteries’ battery optimisation and wholesale pricing, there are a couple of ways you can do this.
If you have one of the following compatible batteries, you can join Amber for Batteries using Amber’s SmartShift™ technology.
If you have one of the following batteries, you can join Amber for Batteries and be optimised by our partner, Evergen, in line with Amber’s wholesale pricing.
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.
This tends to be when wholesale rates are lower than retail usage rates. As a result, solar and battery owners tend to benefit from a lower average usage rate than they would typically get with a retail energy plan.
At times when wholesale prices rise, for example between 6pm-8pm when energy demand peaks, you can rely on your stored battery energy.
To understand more about how much you could save with Amber based on your energy set-up, visit our pricing page and tell us a little more about your system.
When it comes to taking advantage of Amber for Batteries’ battery optimisation and wholesale pricing, there are a couple of ways you can do this.
If you have one of the following compatible batteries, you can join Amber for Batteries using Amber’s SmartShift™ technology.
If you have one of the following batteries, you can join Amber for Batteries and be optimised by our partner, Evergen, in line with Amber’s wholesale pricing.
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.
This tends to be when wholesale rates are lower than retail usage rates. As a result, solar and battery owners tend to benefit from a lower average usage rate than they would typically get with a retail energy plan.
At times when wholesale prices rise, for example between 6pm-8pm when energy demand peaks, you can rely on your stored battery energy.
To understand more about how much you could save with Amber based on your energy set-up, visit our pricing page and tell us a little more about your system.
We estimate that if all 3 million homes with solar and no battery got a battery and exported to the grid during peak hours, we could send an additional 15 GW of renewable power into the grid.
That would mean:
- At least 50% of Australia’s peak demand being met by renewables
- The equivalent of 60 gas fired power plants the size of the Quarantine Power station in SA being displaced.
And an even bigger impact on lowering the energy costs of Aussies everywhere (solar, battery, or not!). Because renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy out there.
It would also shift millions of dollars that would otherwise go to paying coal and gas generators for their power, into the pockets of energy-generating Aussies everywhere.
If you have solar and would like to buy a battery, we can help. Shoot us your details here and we'll be in touch with info on how you can get a free quote for a battery at a competitive price.
Yes, with the hardware that is installed on site and access to wholesale market prices, Amber’s Smartshift will enable the home to enjoy the best possible financial outcome regarding their energy bill. A customer can also set limits to how much of their battery they would like Amber to be able to trade.
Your FiT with Amber is always the true value of your energy on the marketplace and you’re able to track this in real-time, any time, via the Amber app. Not only can you see when prices dip and it’s cheaper to draw from the grid, but you can also stay on top of when the FiT skyrockets and you can earn big for your exports.
Yes, you can get more opportunities to win if you share more than once. Each public share with the hashtags and mentioning Amber with our social handle will get you an additional entry. Bear in mind that Your Week With Amber updates each week and there are multiple Your Week With Amber 'cards' (including your renewables impact, usage, price and bill forecast) and so there are various options for you to consider when deciding what and when to share.
If you signed up with your CommBank payment details, we will automatically apply the CommBank promo instead (as it has a higher value for you!). However, your friend will still receive their referral credit!
While Amber offers the same 100% Carbon Neutral and GreenPower plans as other electricity providers, our model goes a step further than the rest. For a $19 a month subscription, you get access to wholesale electricity prices and the Amber app which enable you to shift more of your energy use to when power is both greener and cheaper.
Unlike other energy retailers who charge a mark-up on the energy you use, Amber makes exactly $0 on your energy usage and empowers you to go beyond offsetting. We’re so committed to our mission that the monthly fee is the only revenue we generate to run the business.
We understand changing electricity retailers is not something you do everyday. Fortunately, it is pretty easy and you won't lose power at any stage in the onboarding process!
After you have signed up online (it only takes 3 minutes), we will take care of everything for you:
1. Meter read: We contact your provider and arrange the final meter read.
2. Smart meter: If you don’t have a smart meter, we’ll get our partner to put one in for you at no cost.
3. Amber app: Download the free Amber app and start viewing live prices and get insights on your energy usage.
And if you change your mind during the 10-day cooling off period, you can easily switch back to your old retailer.
While we really appreciate your enthusiasm, this offer is only available to customers who have received it directly from CommBank and the discount code is uniquely linked to you. This means only you can redeem the discount and it’s valid only once. This offer is subject to Amber’s Terms and Conditions, and eligibility criteria. However, you’re more than welcome to invite others to join Amber by sending them this link.
If you’re already in a virtual power plant (VPP), your battery is already being automated to support the grid, by sending more renewable energy into the system at peak time.
But depending on which VPP provider you’re with, the value being generated by your battery is often going to one of the big coal and gas companies. Not only that, Amber SmartShift is the only VPP that passes on the full financial upside of exporting your energy into the wholesale electricity market, rather than taking a cut of the value you generate like most VPP providers.
SmartShift optimises solar batteries to charge from the grid when energy is greenest and price are lowest, and export to the grid when demand is peaking and prices are highest. SmartShift also offers the most control of any battery optimisation technology, with charge, discharge, and preserve battery mode - as well as the ability to switch SmartShift off completely.
If you’d like to learn more about how SmartShift can reduce your energy bills whilst helping solve climate change, reach out to us at smartshift@amber.com.au, or you can sign up here.
All energy retailers buy their electricity from the same wholesale electricity market, where prices are set every 30 minutes. The wholesale price is the true price for your usage that Amber (and other retailers) have to pay to provide you energy. The wholesale price includes wholesale energy costs (which vary every 30 mins), hedging costs, the rates charged by your local network (who own the poles and wires), metering costs and regulated charges for environmental schemes and market operations.
Whilst the pricing you see is in 30 minute blocks, 5 minute settlement was introduced recently and this provides the opportunity for our algorithms to respond quickly to price changes and save/earn you more.
The customer maintains full control over their system if they would like, they can choose when to charge and discharge their battery, or they can leave it to Smartshift to make the decisions or any combination of the two. They can also set back up percentages if they feel like they would like more or less energy kept in the battery at all times.
Nope! Unlike traditional VPPs (Virtual Power Plant), Amber’s SmartShift™ passes on the full financial upside of exporting your energy into the wholesale market and leaves you in full control of your battery too. It’s your energy, so we think you deserve to get as much value as you can out of it!
You can share to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Unfortunately we can’t track posts on TikTok so this is excluded from this competition. Also note that in order to be tracked for the purposes of ensuring your entry into the competition, the post needs to be shared to a public social profile. We are unable to track shares from private profiles.
During a period of high prices, Evergen is likely to discharge your battery to either sell energy in the market or minimise your consumption during the high price event. Evergen receives a price forecast feed directly from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) the same way Amber does to alert you of upcoming events. We use this forecast to lay out a plan for your battery that will generate the most savings.
Occasionally events do not always play out as forecast, and Evergen needs to update the plan accordingly. Over time, however, Evergen consistently earns our customers savings. As a result, we recommend against analysing minute-to-minute trading decisions and instead reviewing your bill over time (i.e. per billing quarter) to assess system performance.
Nope! Unlike traditional VPPs (Virtual Power Plant), Amber’s SmartShift™ passes on the full financial upside of exporting your energy into the wholesale market and leaves you in full control of your battery too. It’s your energy, so we think you deserve to get as much value as you can out of it!
Once your initial free-subscription period ends after six months, you’ll roll over onto the standard Amber subscription rate of $15 per month. This $15 subscription fee ensures you have direct access to Amber’s wholesale pricing and is the only way that Amber generates revenue - rather than by charging you a retail mark-up on the energy you use.
This subscription fee will automatically be charged to your linked credit/debit card. With no lock-in contracts and no exit fees, you can cancel at any time.
Having a smart meter enables you to see detailed usage data in the Amber app, which means you can be charged the exact wholesale electricity price for your usage as at each 30 minute interval, so you can be rewarded for using power at cheaper and greener times.
Without a smart meter, we can only pass through the typical wholesale rates in your area, because we can't see the times when you used power.
We attempt to install a smart meter for every Amber customer who doesn't already have one. Around 90% of the time we're able to successfully install a smart meter at no additional cost.
But for 5% - 10% of customers there may be some additional works required to create a safe environment for the meter install to take place. If this is the case, we'll explain any additional works that are required, and their cost and you'll always have the option not to proceed and to remain on a basic meter or interval meter if you choose, and will continue to receive Amber's typical wholesale rates.
We have an ROI calculator that will assist customers in Ausgrid looking to get a better feel for how they could benefit from joining Amber. We will be building calculators for other networks in the coming months. Until then there are case studies for similar customers in your region in our Installer Resources folder here.
Approx. SmartShift upside per state over the last 12 months with a 6.6kW solar and 13.5kWh battery:
Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. The wholesale market is volatile and customers generate earnings over time. And smartshift is getting smarter all the time.
SmartShift™ is automated to optimise your home batteries based on your preferences. But, you’re also able to take control of your battery via the Amber app to manually charge and discharge whenever you want.
SmartShift™ is automated to optimise your home batteries based on your preferences. But, you’re also able to take control of your battery via the Amber app to manually charge and discharge whenever you want.
You will start to notice the benefits in the second month of being connected with Amber.
The first month is considered the 'learning period' where Evergen will learn behavioural patterns, weather and load predictions to ensure you have enough charge for personal use, as well as make the most of trading your excess energy against the wholesale electricity market.
The Amber team are a useful bunch, we are always just an email away, info@amber.com.au. However, we are currently building a self service platform where you can find marketing materials, check on your successful referrals and personalised reporting.
Amber’s whole model is about going beyond offsetting, to incentivise and reward people for shifting WHEN they use power. With Amber, you are empowered to use energy when it is greenest (and cheapest).
In the meantime, the best we can all do is offset any remaining unavoidable carbon emissions from our electricity use. We have two plans to choose from to help you do that:
Through the GreenPower scheme renewable generators are awarded certificates when they generate electricity, and consumers buy these certificates to offset their consumption. This essentially gives renewable energy a price premium over dirty sources, to encourage more development of renewable sources.
The cost of 100% GreenPower scheme is an additional charge per kWh added to the price you pay for energy. Check our pricing factsheets to view current GreenPower pricing for your network.
After signing up with Amber, Evergen will start to track the usage of your home battery system against the new tariff structure and will work out the best optimisation plan, personalised to you.
Once the two week learning period is complete, Evergen’s smart battery optimisation will start making smart commands, trading your battery against the wholesale price.
None. At Amber, one of our values is transparency. We pass on the wholesale prices directly to our customers and charge a $19 monthly subscription fee. It’s that simple.
Yes. Amber doesn't have any lock-in contracts or exit fees for switching to another retailer, so you are free to leave at any stage.
Amber was founded by two Aussie mates, Chris Thompson and Dan Adams in December 2017 with the goal of using new technologies to benefit customers and build a more sustainable world. Amber is owned by Chris & Dan, Amber’s employees, and our investors.
All Amber staff are granted shares when they join the team. They are passionate about climate impact and take deep ownership and responsibility in driving Amber’s mission forward.
Amber is backed by Australia’s leading VCs (including Square Peg Capital and Main Sequence Ventures), impact-focused investors and individuals, and most recently by CommBank.
CommBank’s investment and partnership will enable us to fast-track our mission through developing our technology faster and reaching more people sooner. With a million Amber customers we could shift enough demand to replace an entire coal fired power station with wind and solar farms.
The CommBank partnership allows us to take the customer base of CommBank on the renewables journey with us: Amber will offer services and discounted pricing to CommBank customers over time and also collaborate with CommBank to provide low-cost finance for household batteries, electric vehicle (EV) chargers and other smart devices.
There are no lock-in contracts. If your customers decide that Amber isn’t for them they can leave at anytime.
Nothing in life is guaranteed. However battery owners consistently do better with wholesale pricing as they are able to draw power from the grid when energy prices are low, and export unused stored power when they’re high to maximise savings and earn the same rate for their power as big generators.
When coal and gas are burning, power is expensive and dirty. But renewable energy is now the cheapest form of energy. When the grid is flooded with cheap green energy, Amber lets you take advantage of these low prices.
