Australia relies on dispatchable supply (usually coal and gas-fired power) to keep the grid running under heavy load during summer. This is good because it means we get to keep our lights on and avoid blackouts.
The not so good? Some of the most polluting and expensive generators in Australia exist purely to capitalise on stretched supply, charging exorbitant prices to bring the grid into balance.
By reducing your usage during price spikes, you'll not only save on your power bills, you'll also keep more money out of the pockets of these expensive and dirty generators.
Here's the beautiful thing about being an Amber customer.
You have the power (pun intended) to shift your electricity usage for a couple of hours during price spikes. This helps out the grid while reducing the profits that go to fossil fuel generators.
This is exactly what happened during the price spike of January 14, 2020 in VIC. While the rest of the market was using more electricity during the spike (hence the spike!), our Amber customers in VIC were using less, helping keep the lights on for everyone in Australia AND avoiding fossil fuels.
If Australians can "share the load" by using power throughout the day, rather than all at the same time, we'll be much closer to a grid that can be fully powered by renewables - a grid that won't need to rely on fossil fuel power.
This is the reason why we started Amber: to give customers the power to scale back their energy usage at times when power is expensive and dirty, so they can save even more and help reduce Australia’s reliance on fossil fuel power.
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