How does Amber work for customers with solar?

Amber treats you like a big solar generator, meaning your Feed-in Tariff varies along with the wholesale price of energy.

If you receive a Premium FiT from the government, we'll pass that through to you, and add our FiT on top.

Read more about our Minimum FIT here.

How Amber's fluctuating FiT works

• When the wholesale price is low, your FiT is also lower. When the wholesale price is high, you get a higher FiT.
• When the grid is oversupplied with energy, the wholesale price of energy can occasionally drop into the negative range, meaning that you are debited a for your exports. The minimum possible FiT is -$1.00.
• But when the grid is undersupplied, your FiT can skyrocket up to $15/kWh. This is similar to how commercial operators are compensated for their generation, where supply and demand rules the day.

Benefit from sky high demand

• A few times a year, the wholesale price of electricity goes through the roof. This happens mainly on the hottest days of Summer, when aircons around the nation are running full bore and putting strain on the grid.
• Meanwhile, rooftop solar is absolutely drenched in sunlight, helping to meet all the crazy demand. It’s at these times that your FiT can skyrocket. We see many customers with solar briefly earning a Feed-in tariff in excess of $1 per kWh during periods of peak demand.

We 💚  Negative Bills

• Since we charge a flat membership fee, we can focus on getting your bills as low as possible. For our solar customers, we know that negative bills are the dream. If your bill is negative with us, first, we’ll both punch the air with excitement. Then you can choose whether to have the credit amount deposited into your bank account, or applied as a credit to your next bill. 

Can my FiT be negative?

• The wholesale FiT can occasionally dip into negative territory when there is too much supply in the grid. We've written a more detailed FAQ here on how to why negative FiT occurs and how to best manage it. You can also check out our blog posts on this here and here!

Got a battery? 🔋

• Most people with a battery tend to only need power from the grid late at night or early in the morning. These are the times when the wholesale price of energy tends to be at its cheapest, because demand is low and wind generation is often high.
• Meanwhile, you'll be able to use your battery power during peak times when demand on the grid is higher and the wholesale price tends to be more expensive.
• Amber's SmartShift™ technology can automatically optimise household batteries to charge and discharge battery energy to align with the wholesale price with the aim to minimise customer costs. Head to our SmartShift page to learn more and see if your system is compatible by clicking here.