Some more thoughts a whole 5 days in…
It’s a bad time of year, but I’m yet to see electricity selling for less than 18c/kWh. Overnight hasn’t gone below 22c so far - which is when we charge the LEAF and PW2
. What rates do others see overnight?
It’s not clear if the realtime rates include the Amber 100% green power surcharge of 5c/kWh (
or thereabouts… it was disclosed at signup but I never wrote it down, and now I’m a customer, it doesn’t seem to stated anywhere in the App or their website?). I suspect the answer is no, although if the realtime prices are already including the green surcharge - which frankly it should to properly set expectation - that is much more reassuring.
I think the characterisations could be improved. The App currently says general usage is 23c/kWh and renewables at 38% with the exhortation “it’s cheap and green to use electricity right now!”. Perhaps it’s all relative, but 23c is not particularly cheap and 38% is not particularly green in my book. 38% was the national renewable average in 2023 so being average is nothing to write home about.
I don’t think they should declare the supply “green” below 50% renewable, or “cheap” unless the price is less than half the applicable peak network tariff (which for my Ausgrid tariff would be half of 30c/kWh, i.e. less than 15c/kWh).
The “Usage” Tab in the App should not just show the Usage cost, but the cost over the same period of the daily supply charges and 100% green power (if not already included in the Usage). These would be trivial to include, so customers can see a clearer breakdown and get a better idea of what the monthly bill will be.
I’ll provide the feedback to Amber, but their autoreplies always tell me how small an operation they are so don’t expect quick answers