Back to Virtual power plants

Amber SmartShift review

Electricity retailers
Amber
Key points
Cost optimised charging and discharging at wholesale rates. You can override their control.
Costs
$25/month in addition to other unspecified fees which may be payable from time to time.
Customer benefits
Electricity in and out at the current wholesale rate (for a 30 minute window), optimised for cost savings. Using their calculator for various postcodes in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide produced claimed savings of between 10% and 20% – with energy in at ~$0.30 and out at ~$0.04c
Approved batteries
1KOMMA5°, AlphaESS, Anker, BYD, Enphase, Fronius, Hive, Neovolt, REA Powerbank, Sigenergy, SolarEdge & LG Chem Resu, Sungrow, Tesla. In beta: GivEnergy, FoxESS, Redback
Approved inverter
1KOMMA5°, AlphaESS, Anker, BYD, Enphase, Fronius, Hive, Neovolt, REA Powerbank, Sigenergy, SolarEdge & LG Chem Resu, Sungrow, Tesla. In beta: GivEnergy, FoxESS, Redback
Limitations
No more than 2 charge/discharge cycles in a 24hr period. You can set the charging and discharging via an app, based on the available price, you can also set the minimum charge to remain in the battery. You can use the app at any time to override the settings and charge or discharge the battery.
Discharge limits
Variable at your discretion
Termination terms
With 14 days notice in writing. If you terminate your retail energy supply contract with Amber, which you can do at any time. With 30 days notice if Amber "materially breaches the agreement".
Terms and conditions
cdn.prod.website-files.com/65bcfbd87eded73b1edd9413/684a41e134c704cdcd95f771_SmartShift%20Terms%20%26%20Conditions%20(version%20June%202025).pdf
Privacy policy
cdn.prod.website-files.com/65bcfbd87eded73b1edd9413/684fc576168be5fb13b47321_Amber%20Electric%20Privacy%20Policy%20(version%20June%202025).pdf

Subsection 1

Battery and inverter required
Battery and inverter installer
N/A
Battery and inverter supplied
Battery and inverter source
N/A
New South Wales
Victoria
Queensland
South Australia
Western Australia
ACT
Tasmania
Northern Territory
New South Wales VPP incentive
South Australia REPS
Western Australia DEBS
N/A
App
Life support
Matthew Steen CHOICE whitegoods team leader
Matthew Steen

Matthew Steen is the Director of Reviews and Testing, which conducts all the testing for CHOICE. He has had a long and storied history in the consumer movement. Matthew is driven to work at CHOICE for its constitutional mission and its dedication to making Australia more fair, safe and just. Matthew represents CHOICE as a council member on the Standards Australia Council. He is also responsible for CHOICE lowering its environmental footprint. Find Matthew on LinkedIn.

Matthew Steen is the Director of Reviews and Testing, which conducts all the testing for CHOICE. He has had a long and storied history in the consumer movement. Matthew is driven to work at CHOICE for its constitutional mission and its dedication to making Australia more fair, safe and just. Matthew represents CHOICE as a council member on the Standards Australia Council. He is also responsible for CHOICE lowering its environmental footprint. Find Matthew on LinkedIn.

Avatar photo
Chris Barnes

Chris Barnes is a Senior Project Officer. He manages the product reviews that are done outside of CHOICE with external labs or data sources. This includes solar panels, electric heaters, air purifiers and detergents. Chris also manages our testing services through our commercial arm, Test Research, and he is CHOICE’s NATA authorised representative for our lab’s formal accreditations. Chris is involved with the standards committee for air conditioners. And he works with government and industry in areas such as product safety and regulation. In over 20 years at CHOICE, Chris has managed lab teams for a wide range of products, including children’s products, kitchen appliances, laundry appliances, garden power tools and more. Chris has a Science degree from the University of Sydney.

Chris Barnes is a Senior Project Officer. He manages the product reviews that are done outside of CHOICE with external labs or data sources. This includes solar panels, electric heaters, air purifiers and detergents. Chris also manages our testing services through our commercial arm, Test Research, and he is CHOICE’s NATA authorised representative for our lab’s formal accreditations. Chris is involved with the standards committee for air conditioners. And he works with government and industry in areas such as product safety and regulation. In over 20 years at CHOICE, Chris has managed lab teams for a wide range of products, including children’s products, kitchen appliances, laundry appliances, garden power tools and more. Chris has a Science degree from the University of Sydney.