Amber’s wholesale pricing model means that we pay you the true wholesale value of your exports if you export electricity to the grid from your solar and/or battery. If you export at times when the wholesale price is high you’ll earn a lot, but if you export at times when wholesale prices are low you’ll earn less.
When we apply our quarterly Bill Guarantee at the end of each quarter, if you have earned more than 3.3 c/kWh on average for your exports across the period we will take this into account when evaluating your average usage cost and any payments you may be eligible for under this guarantee.
What is Amber’s Quarterly Bill Guarantee?
Like other retailers, we publish regulated Energy Factsheets which clearly state our promises around usage prices.
Because our wholesale pricing model is a little bit different from regular retailers, our energy factsheets also represent our guarantee. We guarantee that your total quarterly bill with us will never be more than the prices quoted in your applicable Energy Factsheet. We run this comparison for you at the end of each quarter and credit your account with the difference if necessary.
We'll take you through a few examples of how this guarantee works if you have solar and/or a battery below.
To read more about our Quarterly Bill Guarantee click here.
How does the Quarterly Bill Guarantee work with solar?
Let’s go through a couple of examples showing how we’d compare two different hypothetical customers’ quarterly bills against our guarantee at the end of the quarter. You can use these principles to calculate how you’re stacking up against our guarantee at any point during your time with Amber.
Example 1: Solar, no battery
Meet Sudeep. He's in Newtown, Sydney (postcode 2042) on the Ausgrid network. He has solar but no battery, so he can only export during the day when prices tend to be lower, and draws from the grid at peak times.
Over the quarter:
- ⚡ He used 1,250 kWh from the grid at an average wholesale price of 40¢/kWh
- ☀️ He exported 250 kWh at an average feed-in price of 2¢/kWh
His Amber bill:
- Usage: 1,250 kWh × 40¢ = $500
- Solar earnings: 250 kWh × 2¢ = $5
- Total bill: $500 − $5 = $495
Guarantee check: The maximum wholesale usage rate in Sudeep's Energy Factsheet is 25¢/kWh (example rate, updated quarterly).
- Factsheet usage cost: 1,250 kWh × 25¢ = $312.50
Because Sudeep earned less than 3.3¢/kWh on his exports, the guarantee is based on usage only.
His actual bill ($495) was higher than the factsheet rate ($312.50), so he gets a credit:
$495 − $312.50 = $182.50 credit ✅
Example 2: Solar and a battery
Meet Michelle. She's in the same area as Sudeep, but she has both solar and a battery. The battery lets her store excess solar and export it when wholesale prices are higher, and avoid drawing from the grid at peak times.
Over the quarter:
- ⚡ She used 500 kWh from the grid at an average wholesale price of 37¢/kWh
- ☀️ She exported 1,000 kWh at an average feed-in price of 5¢/kWh
Her Amber bill:
- Usage: 500 kWh × 37¢ = $185
- Solar earnings: 1,000 kWh × 5¢ = $50
- Total bill: $185 − $50 = $135
Guarantee check: The maximum wholesale usage rate in Michelle's Energy Factsheet is 25¢/kWh, and the expected solar feed-in rate is 3.3¢/kWh.
- Factsheet usage cost: 500 kWh × 25¢ = $125
- Expected solar earnings: 1,000 kWh × 3.3¢ = $33
- Guarantee threshold: $125 − $33 = $92
Michelle earned more from solar than the expected rate ($50 vs $33), so that surplus is factored in. Her actual bill ($135) was $43 above the guarantee threshold ($92), so she gets a credit:
$43 credit ✅
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