Updated on November 26, 2025
You invested in solar. A solar battery too. You’re generating clean energy from your rooftop, using less from the grid, and feeling good about it.
But your export credits are small. Your feed-in tariff has dropped. And in some cases, you’re being charged to send power back to the grid.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Retailers are still playing the same game they always have: buying your solar power for cheap and selling it back to your neighbour at higher rates.
This article will show you how Amber flips the script on energy. Amber gives you access to wholesale energy prices, helping you make money from your battery and giving you more control over your power than ever before.
At PSC Energy, we love companies like Amber. They’re leading the charge to save customers money with solar batteries. We’re here to give you a little education about a company that’s earning significant payouts for its customers.
In this article, you’ll learn about the following:
- Why Traditional Energy Retailers Are Failing You
- What Amber Is and How It’s Different from Energy Retailers in Australia
- How Amber Energy Helps You Make the Most of Your Solar Battery
- Is Amber Energy Right for You? What You Need
- Common Questions and Concerns About Amber Energy
- FAQ: Amber
By the end of this article, you’ll know what Amber is and whether you want to investigate it further. Let’s get into it.
Why Traditional Energy Retailers Are Failing You
If you’re a homeowner with rooftop solar, you’ve probably noticed that the numbers on your energy bill aren’t particularly rewarding. We’re talking about the feed-in tariff.
A feed-in tariff is the rate you receive for exporting your excess solar energy to the grid.
Not long ago, receiving $0.20 or even $0.30 per kilowatt hour was common, depending on your location and provider. However, many households are seeing those rates fall to less than $0.05 today.
In some regions, customers receive no payment at all for their exported solar. And in the most frustrating scenarios, some solar users are being charged to send their clean energy to the grid.
Traditional energy retailers make money by doing one thing: buying energy cheaply and selling it back to you at a markup. That includes the solar energy you export to the grid.
Here’s how it works:
- You send your excess solar into the grid.
- Your retailer buys it from you at a low feed-in tariff (or sometimes pays you nothing).
- They sell that same energy to your neighbours at full price.
It’s a great model for them. Not for you.
And when energy prices spike (which they do a lot lately), retailers lock in prices months in advance and profit off the difference. Meanwhile, your bill climbs, leaving you wondering why your solar system isn’t saving you more.
This is why you’re seeing headlines about negative feed-in tariffs and the “sun tax” for solar households.
If you’re interested in solar batteries, you might want to check out the following article titled, Are Solar Batteries Worth It in NSW? PSC’s Ultimate Guide for 2025.
What Amber Is and How It’s Different from Energy Retailers in Australia
What is Amber?
Amber is an Australian energy company that works very differently from most energy retailers. A typical energy retailer charges you for every kWh of electricity you use. Amber doesn’t do that.
Instead, they give you access to the real-time wholesale price of electricity. Instead of playing the energy retailer game, they turn you and your battery into an energy retailer.
Amber doesn’t add a markup to your usage. They don’t make more money when you use more power. Instead, you pay a simple monthly subscription fee, usually between $22 and $25. That’s it.
No hidden fees. No confusing contracts. Just a fair way to buy electricity at the real price.
What’s the Wholesale Energy Market?
The wholesale energy market is where electricity is bought and sold in real time. Unlike fixed-rate energy plans (where your price stays the same no matter what’s happening in the grid), wholesale prices change every 30 minutes.
These price changes depend on supply and demand:
- When there’s plenty of renewable energy in the grid, like on sunny, prices can drop really low.
- When demand is high, like during hot evenings when everyone turns on their air conditioning, prices can spike, sometimes jumping to 10 or even 15 times the average.
With Amber, you’re no longer locked into a rate set months ago by your retailer. Instead, you get direct access to these changing prices, just like the big energy companies do.
That means you can:
- Use power when it’s cheap (like running your dishwasher or charging your EV during the day when solar is strong)
- Sell power from your battery when prices are high and earn more for your energy
Think of it like playing the stock market but with electricity. Buy low. Sell high. All automated in the background by SmartShift. We’ll get into this in the next section.
It’s a smarter, more flexible way to manage your power, and in many cases, it can save you money or even help you earn from your solar and battery setup.
Most traditional energy retailers were built around a very different kind of household, one that uses energy from the grid and pays a flat rate every quarter.
Amber was created specifically for solar and battery households. Everything about their model is designed to help you get more out of the system you’ve already invested in.
If you’re interested in learning a bit more about feed-in tariffs, you might want to check out the following article titled, Understanding Feed-In Tariffs and Their Limitations.
Power up your savings. Click here.
How Amber Energy Helps You Make the Most of Your Solar Battery
If you already have a battery or you’re thinking about getting one, there are two reasons to own one: independence and savings.
You want to rely less on the grid. And you want to make the most of the solar you generate.
Amber helps with that.
From Backup to Revenue Stream
When most people install a home battery, they think of it as a simple backup. It charges up during the day from excess solar and then powers the house at night. But in a lot of homes, that’s as far as it goes.
Amber makes your battery much smarter.
Using SmartShift, Amber’s intelligent battery control system, your home battery becomes more than just a storage device. It becomes a small-scale, automated energy trader that knows how to read the market and respond in real time.
I know what you’re thinking: I’m not technically savvy. How could I possibly do all of that? Don’t worry, SmartShift is like an AI battery assistant that monitors your solar system for you.
Here’s what that looks like:
SmartShift watches the wholesale energy market in real time. It checks prices every 5 minutes and tracks when energy is cheap and when it’s expensive.
When prices are low, especially during the middle of the day when there’s lots of solar in the grid, SmartShift tells your battery to charge, either from your panels or directly from the grid, if the cost is low enough.
When prices spike, usually in the early evening when demand is high, SmartShift discharges your battery. It sends that stored energy back to the grid, where it can earn a high feed-in tariff, sometimes 10 to 20 times higher than your standard tariff.
Your battery is no longer just powering your lights and appliances. It’s helping you earn real money.
It’s a smarter way to use a tool you already have. Instead of charging and discharging on a fixed routine, SmartShift uses data and automation to do it when it makes the most financial sense.
You didn’t just install a battery; you installed a source of passive income.
You’re in Control (If You Want to Be)
Not everyone wants to hand over complete control of their battery. With Amber, you’re not locked into automation. You can stay as hands-on (or hands-off) as you like.
Here’s how it works:
Let SmartShift run automatically – If you’re the set-it-and-forget-it type, SmartShift can quietly optimise your battery in the background. It will decide when to charge and discharge based on real-time energy prices without you lifting a finger.
Take over whenever you need to – Want to control your battery before a storm or planned outage manually? Just pause automation and switch to manual mode. Your battery will hold power for your home instead of sending it to the grid.
Customise how your battery is used – You can prioritise your household first, then only trade excess energy. Or you can prioritise trading energy. It’s your choice.
You don’t need to be an energy nerd to benefit from Amber’s system. But if you are the kind of person who likes graphs, data, and fine-tuning your setup, the Amber app gives you powerful tools and detailed insights to do precisely that.
If you’re interested in learning a bit more about the price of solar batteries, you might want to check out the following article titled, How Much Are Solar Batteries? A Full Breakdown of Prices, Rebates, and Value in 2025.
Let’s talk solar savings. Click here.
Is Amber Energy Right for You? What You Need
There are a few situations where Amber might not be a perfect fit. At least not yet:
- Your battery is too small. If you’ve only got 5–6 kWh of storage, you may not have enough to power your home and trade with the grid.
- Your inverter can’t be controlled. Amber needs to control both your battery and solar inverter to get the most out of the system.
- Your energy use is low or mostly at night. If you’re hardly using power during the day and your system has nothing to store or shift, there may not be much benefit.
- You don’t want automation. If you’d rather your system do its thing without optimisation or control, Amber’s smart features might feel like overkill.
If you’d like to learn a bit more about what solar batteries are on the market, you might want to check out the following article titled, 6 Best Solar Batteries on the Market.
Ready to go solar? Click here.
Common Questions and Concerns About Amber Energy
It’s normal to have questions when you hear words like “wholesale prices,” “real-time energy trading,” or “negative feed-in tariffs.” Let’s answer the questions you’re probably thinking about right now.
Isn’t wholesale pricing risky?
It can sound that way at first. Prices go up and down every 30 minutes, which sounds unpredictable. But here’s the key difference:
Amber doesn’t just drop you into the deep end. If you’ve got solar and a battery, you’re already protected from most of the price volatility because your system powers your home and sells when it’s profitable. Amber also adds a safety net: a bill guarantee.
If your average power cost over 90 days is higher than the government’s default market offer (DMO), Amber will refund the difference. No fine print. No catch.
Will I really make money or just ‘save’ money?
Both.
Your solar already helps you save by using less grid power. But with Amber + SmartShift, you can also make money by exporting from your battery at the right times.
Real customers have earned hundreds, and in some cases over $1,000 a year, just by letting Amber manage their system. It’s not a guaranteed income—it depends on market conditions—but it’s a real and proven upside that most energy retailers don’t offer.
What if something goes wrong?
If your battery loses internet, it just goes back to acting like a regular battery, powering your home. You don’t lose power. You don’t get a surprise bill.
You just miss that trading window, which is annoying but not dangerous. And again, the bill guarantee is there as backup.
Is this going to be too complicated for me to manage?
Nope.
Amber handles the smart stuff for you. If you’re the “set it and forget it” type, SmartShift runs in the background and does the work.
If you like to tinker, the app gives you visibility and control. You can:
- Let Amber control everything
- Pause it and take over manually
- Preserve your battery charge if you’re going away
You’re in control but you don’t need to be an energy expert to benefit.
If you’re interested in learning a bit more about the VPP portion of the battery rebate, you might want to check out the following article titled, NSW Battery VPP Rebate Explained: What You Need to Know.
Get started with solar. Click here.
Final Thoughts: Empowered, Not Exploited
Traditional retailers still operate on outdated models designed to benefit them, not you. They pocket the margin. They limit your control. And they offer you cents for the energy you produce while selling it back to your neighbours at a premium.
Amber flips that.
It’s not about loyalty programs or gimmicky discounts. It’s about full transparency, real-time pricing, and helping you make the most of what you’ve already got, whether that’s a solar system, a home battery, or an EV in the driveway.
At PSC Energy, we’re finding ways to help our customers save money. We team up with solar companies like Amber when we believe they will provide value to you. They’re worth a call.
It’s a smarter way to take control of your energy.
If you’re interested in learning a bit more about the federal solar battery rebate, also known as the Federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program, you might want to check out the following article titled, What the 2025 Federal Election and the Government Rebate Means for Solar Batteries in Australia.
Click here for a free solar quote.
FAQ: Amber
What is Amber Energy and how does it work with solar panels and batteries?
Amber Energy is an Australian energy retailer that lets you buy and sell electricity at the real wholesale price instead of a flat retail rate. You pay a simple monthly subscription and Amber passes through the live market price for every kilowatt hour.
If you have solar panels, Amber pays you the wholesale price for the energy you send to the grid. If you also have a solar battery, Amber can charge and discharge your battery at times when prices move up and down. That way your home can earn money as well as save it.
Amber focuses on homes with solar and batteries. Traditional retailers built their plans for homes that only buy power from the grid. Amber flips that model so your solar and battery do more work for you, not for your retailer.
How is Amber Energy different from a normal energy retailer in Australia?
A normal energy retailer buys power on the wholesale market, then sells it to you at a higher fixed rate. They pay you a low feed-in tariff for your solar exports, then sell that same energy to your neighbour at full price. Their profit grows when you use more power at higher margins.
Amber works very differently.
You pay a flat monthly subscription, usually between $22 and $25. In return, Amber passes through the wholesale price of power with no usage markup. They do not make more money when you use more energy.
You see the actual price of electricity every 30 minutes in the Amber app. When prices drop, you can use more power or charge your battery. When prices spike, your battery can
What is Amber Energy Australia and how does it work with solar panels and batteries?
Amber Energy is an Australian energy retailer that gives you access to real-time wholesale electricity prices. Instead of paying a fixed rate for every kilowatt hour, you pay a flat monthly subscription fee and then you buy and sell power at whatever the wholesale market is doing at that time.
If you have solar panels, Amber passes through the wholesale price for both the energy you use and the energy you export. If you also have a home battery, Amber can control when your battery charges and discharges so you use power when it is cheap and sell power when it is expensive.
Amber connects to your solar inverter and battery through its SmartShift technology. SmartShift watches prices and market conditions and then runs your battery like a tiny energy trader. Your system can lower your bills and it can also earn income when prices spike. Amber builds its whole model around solar and battery households, not around old-style grid-only usage.
Why are traditional energy retailers not rewarding my solar exports?
Traditional energy retailers make money by buying low and selling high. That simple idea sits at the heart of the problem for most solar households.
Here is what happens with a typical plan:
- You export excess solar from your roof into the grid
- Your retailer buys that energy from you at a low feed-in tariff
- That same energy goes back out to your neighbour at a full retail price
The gap between your feed-in tariff and your neighbour’s usage rate is the retailer’s margin. When wholesale prices spike, retailers often lock in cheaper bulk prices in advance and keep more of that difference for themselves. Your bill can stay high even when you produce a lot of your own power.
Feed-in tariffs have also dropped over time. Many homes used to see 20 to 30 cents per kilowatt hour. Now plenty of people see less than 5 cents, and some see nothing at all. In a few regions, there are even negative feed-in tariffs or “sun tax” settings where you can get charged to export power.
The retailer model works well for them. It does not always work well for a solar owner who wants fair value for rooftop energy.
What is a feed-in tariff and why has my rate dropped so much?
A feed-in tariff is the rate your retailer pays you for each kilowatt hour of energy that your solar system exports to the grid. It is separate from the rate you pay when you use energy from the grid.
Feed-in tariffs have dropped in many parts of Australia because:
- There is more solar on rooftops than ever before
- Midday electricity supply from solar can be very high
- When supply is high and demand is normal, wholesale prices fall
Retailers respond by cutting feed-in tariffs. Some offer very low export rates. Some offer no payment for exports. In a few cases, they add extra charges when too much solar flows into the grid during certain times of day.
For a household that invested in solar panels and maybe a battery, this can feel unfair. You are producing clean power that helps the grid, but the payment for that power has shrunk. Amber tries to fix this by letting you access the actual wholesale price instead of a flat export rate set by your retailer.
What is the wholesale energy market in Australia?
The wholesale energy market is where generators sell electricity to retailers in real time. Prices in this market change every 30 minutes. They move up and down based on supply and demand across the grid.
A few key points about the wholesale market:
- Prices drop when there is lots of cheap renewable energy, such as strong solar or wind
- Prices rise when demand is high, such as hot evenings when everyone runs air conditioning
- In extreme conditions, prices can spike to 10 or even 15 times the normal level
Most households never see these price moves. Your retailer buys in this market and then offers you a fixed or semi-fixed plan. You pay the same rate all day, no matter what happens behind the scenes.
Amber gives you direct access to these real-time prices. You can use electricity when it is cheap and export from your battery when it is expensive. You see the true price signal that big energy companies use. Your solar and battery can then respond to that signal in a smart way through Amber’s app and SmartShift controls.
How does Amber’s subscription pricing model work?
Amber does not mark up your usage. Instead, Amber charges a flat monthly subscription fee, usually between $22 and $25. That fee covers access to their platform, live price data, and smart control tools.
After that, Amber passes through:
- The wholesale energy price for every kilowatt hour you use
- The wholesale price for energy you export from your solar and battery
There are no loyalty schemes built around high usage. Amber does not make more money when you use more power. Its revenue does not depend on volume. This means your interests line up better with theirs. They want your system to run efficiently so you stay happy with the service and keep the subscription.
This model suits solar and battery households because your goal is not to use more grid power. Your goal is to use as much of your own solar as possible and make smart choices with what you export and when.
How does Amber’s SmartShift technology control my solar battery?
SmartShift is Amber’s intelligent control system for solar batteries and inverters. It acts like an AI assistant for your home energy system. It monitors prices and your system status and then decides when to charge and discharge the battery.
SmartShift does several things:
- Checks wholesale prices every few minutes
- Watches your solar production and household usage
- Predicts when prices are likely to be high or low
- Sends control signals to your battery and inverter
When power is cheap, often in the middle of the day, SmartShift tells your battery to charge from your panels and sometimes from the grid if the price is low enough. When prices spike in the evening, SmartShift discharges your battery to the grid to capture high export rates.
You can also set rules. You may tell SmartShift to keep a certain amount of charge for your own evening use or for storm backup. You can choose how much to prioritise home supply versus trading. SmartShift then works inside those limits.
You do not need to sit there watching graphs. SmartShift handles the day-to-day decisions. You step in only when you want to change your settings or switch to manual control.
Can Amber Energy help me earn money from my solar battery?
Yes. Amber can help your solar battery act as a small revenue source as well as a backup system. Your solar already saves you money by cutting your grid usage. With Amber and SmartShift, you can also earn extra income from exports at high-price times.
Here is how it can work:
- Your battery charges when prices are low or when you have lots of spare solar
- Amber holds that stored energy until prices rise
- When demand climbs and prices spike, your battery exports power to the grid
- You receive a high feed-in rate that tracks that spike instead of a flat low tariff
Some customers have earned hundreds of dollars a year from this trading pattern. A few have seen returns over $1,000 in a year. The exact result depends on battery size, local prices, and how often spikes occur.
It is important to note that there is no fixed guarantee of income. The market changes. Some periods are quieter. Others are very active. The key idea is that your battery can respond to price signals in a way that a simple fixed self-consumption setup cannot.
Is wholesale pricing with Amber risky for my energy bills?
Wholesale pricing can sound risky because prices move every 30 minutes. People worry about price spikes and scary bills. Amber tackles this concern in a few ways.
First, if you have solar and a battery, you already shield yourself from many spikes. Your panels produce power in the day. Your battery covers part of your evening use. You are not exposed to the full impact of grid prices in the same way as a home with no solar.
Second, Amber offers a bill guarantee. If your average energy cost over a 90-day period ends up higher than the government’s default market offer, Amber refunds the difference. This gives you a clear safety net.
Third, SmartShift works to avoid using grid energy when prices are extreme. It aims to charge your battery at low-price times and discharge at high-price times. That behaviour both reduces risk and increases your chance of profit.
No system can remove every bit of risk. Markets always move. But Amber’s model uses your solar and battery as protection and then adds controls and a guarantee on top.
What happens if the internet drops or something goes wrong with Amber control?
Your battery and solar system do not stop working if the internet fails or if something interrupts Amber’s control link. The system falls back to acting like a normal solar and battery setup.
In that situation:
- Your solar still powers your home during the day
- Your battery still charges and discharges based on its basic settings
- Your home does not lose power just because Amber cannot talk to the system
The main impact is that you may miss trading opportunities while the connection is down. The battery will not time its exports to match price spikes during that period. That is frustrating, but it is not dangerous.
You still have the backup of Amber’s bill guarantee over a 90-day window. If conditions push your average cost above the default market offer, Amber refunds the difference. So a short disruption to trading does not destroy the overall value of the service.
Is Amber Energy too complicated for non-technical people?
You do not need to be a technical person to use Amber. The system is designed so that most of the complexity lives behind the scenes.
For a “set and forget” user, the experience looks like this:
- You connect your home to Amber
- SmartShift takes control of your compatible inverter and battery
- The app manages when to charge and discharge
- You open the app from time to time to check savings and see price patterns
If you enjoy data and control, the app gives you more detailed tools. You can:
- See live and historical prices
- Track exports and usage patterns
- Change how aggressively your system trades with the grid
- Pause automation and switch to manual control
You can keep it simple or you can dive deep. Both options exist in the same platform. The goal is that you feel in control without needing to oversee every decision yourself.
What kind of solar and battery setup do I need for Amber to work well?
Amber works best with a certain kind of home energy setup. It is important to check a few conditions before you sign up.
You get the most value if:
- You have a decent-sized solar system with good daytime production
- You have a home battery with enough capacity to both power your home and trade
- Your inverter and battery are compatible with Amber’s control systems
- You have a stable internet connection at home
If your battery is small, such as 5 to 6 kilowatt hours, there may not be enough stored energy to both cover your home and export a meaningful amount during peaks. You may still benefit from wholesale prices, but the trading side will be limited.
If your inverter cannot be controlled remotely, Amber cannot run SmartShift properly. In that case you might still use Amber for wholesale buying and selling, but you miss out on most of the automation.
If your energy use is very low or happens mostly late at night, there may be less room for optimisation. Amber works best when there is regular solar generation and flexible usage to shift around.
Who is Amber Energy best suited for?
Amber is built with solar and battery households in mind. The ideal customer usually looks like this:
- Owns a rooftop solar system that produces a solid amount of excess power
- Has a home battery or is planning to install one
- Wants more control over how and when they buy and sell energy
- Is unhappy with low feed-in tariffs or negative export charges
- Is open to using automation to trade energy in the background
It can also suit people who own or plan to own an electric vehicle, because they can charge the EV when wholesale prices are low and still keep the battery for trading.
If you have no solar and no battery, Amber can still offer wholesale prices, but you will not have the same protection from price spikes. The real power of Amber shows up when your solar and battery can respond to the market on your behalf.
How does Amber help with low or negative feed-in tariffs and “sun tax” concerns?
Low feed-in tariffs and talk of “sun tax” come from the way traditional retailers and networks manage high solar exports. When midday solar floods the grid, the market price drops and some settings penalise exports at those times.
Amber helps you respond to this environment in a few ways:
- You export when prices are high, not just whenever your system happens to be full
- SmartShift charges from the grid when prices are low, rather than exporting into a weak market
- Your battery can hold energy through low-price periods and wait for better prices later
You are no longer stuck with a flat low feed-in tariff that ignores what is happening on the grid. Your system becomes more active and strategic. That does not erase the policy issues around solar exports, but it gives you better tools in the current rules.
How can I get started with Amber if I already have solar and a battery?
If you already have solar and a battery, the path into Amber is usually straightforward.
The general steps look like this:
- Check whether your inverter and battery are compatible with Amber and SmartShift
- Confirm that your internet connection near the inverter is reliable
- Sign up with Amber and transfer your retail account
- Link your system through the Amber app or through installer support
- Choose your automation settings and let SmartShift start managing your battery
If you are not sure about your battery size, your inverter type, or your suitability, a good first step is to talk with your solar installer or energy consultant. They can help you confirm whether your current setup can connect to Amber and whether any upgrades would make sense.
From there, Amber’s model can help you use your existing system more aggressively for both savings and earnings, while bill guarantees and smart controls reduce the risk of moving away from a flat-rate plan.
