Expert Insights on Solar, Batteries and Power Bills

From this July, most of the electricity networks Amber operates in will start offering two-way tariffs, which will change how much you're paid for exporting solar or battery power depending on the time of day, offering evening export bonuses of up to 15c/kWh on top of normal rates. On paper, it sounds like a massive win for battery owners. But quicker than you can say "did someone say bonus rates" traditional energy retailers are already working behind the scenes to pocket those export rates for themselves and cut battery owners out of the deal. If you think missing out on a two-way tariff designed to reward smart energy use sounds lousy, read on to find out what’s actually changing, how big energy companies are trying to exploit it, and how you can ensure your battery works for you - not your retailer.

We've made the decision to close Charge HQ - a decision we didn't take lightly. Since Amber acquired Charge HQ, co-founder Jay Banyer has brought deep EV expertise and a lean, agile mindset that's shaped how our teams build. We're grateful for everything he's contributed.

If you’ve ever tried to figure out if you're on the right energy plan for your battery, you already know the drill. You open a few retailer websites, line up the offers and within about ten minutes your eyes glaze over. The numbers don't sit side by side. The terms don't mean the same thing. And the harder you look, the less confident you feel. You’re not missing something. The complexity of trying to compare plans is entirely by design.

Solar Sharer Offer, the government's new scheme giving households in NSW, SEQ and SA three hours of free electricity every day around midday, launched today, 1 July 2026 - and we think it's a step in the right direction. Now that it's live, we want to share how it will work with Amber. We cover what Solar Sharer actually is, how the rates compare across each network region, what Amber's offer looks like and who the scheme is well suited to.

We've been talking a lot lately about the loyalty tax. A fair question has come up in response - including from some of our own community. Amber gives out referral credits when you join through a friend. Isn't that just a new customer discount wearing a nicer outfit? Aren't we doing the exact thing we criticise? It's a reasonable question. So let's go through what the loyalty tax actually is, how our referral credits work, and why the two aren't the same.

If you recently heard news that benchmark electricity prices were dropping, then opened an email from your retailer telling you your charges are going up, you're not alone. Hundreds of Aussies have been hitting social media lashing out at their retailers and the rate-rise notices they’ve been receiving ahead of 1 July, saying the opposite. Let's dive into why this is happening.

You put a battery on the wall because you wanted more from your energy: more independence, a smaller bill, and a system that pays itself back sooner rather than later.You did the research. You weighed up the brands, the sizes, the warranties, maybe spent a few evenings deep in forums working out which inverter played nicely with what.So is your battery actually doing everything it could be doing?

Welcome back to our monthly look under the bonnet of Australia's largest residential V2X trial. From mid-May to mid-June, the fleet tested a simple idea: can it still save money when wholesale prices stay flat? Short answer, yes.

You’ve seen the ads - "Get $ off the price of your battery", "Enjoy this $ credit on your first bill". All you have to do is connect your battery to their Virtual Power Plant (VPP) - a little side hustle where retailers pool thousands of home batteries together and control when they charge and discharge for additional financial gain.It feels like a win. For the first year, maybe it is. Then the fine print in your VPP starts earning its keep, and you realise the deal was never really built around you.Here's how the play works, so you can spot it before you sign.

If you're anything like us, there's nothing more satisfying than watching your battery bring down your energy bill. But unless you work at Amber, that's probably where your interest in energy pricing ends. Unfortunately that's exactly what your retailer is counting on. Every year around May, the Australian Energy Regulator quietly publishes a document called the Default Market Offer. It's dense, it's dry, and it sets the benchmark for what retailers can charge.

You did the smart thing. You got a battery, you're generating your own power and you're sending the excess back to the grid for a bit of cash. You're not just another household at the mercy of an energy retailer anymore. You're ahead of the game. Trouble is, a battery doesn't make you immune to the loyalty tax. You've done the hard part, your bill's already dropped and switching feels like one more job you'll get to later. Retailers know all that, and they're counting on it.

It's been a big 12 months at Amber. More households are getting solar, adding batteries and switching to EVs, and that means more people coming to Amber to make the most of it. We grew fast last year, faster than our support team could keep up with, and some of you waited too long to hear back from us. So we invested heavily in the team, tools and systems to fix that.