Electricity Providers
| Provider | Country | Pricing Type | API Auth Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amber Electric | Australia | Dynamic 5-min & 30-min | API Token |
| Localvolts | Australia | Dynamic 5-min (real-time wholesale) | API Key + Partner ID |
| Flow Power | Australia | AEMO Wholesale | No |
| Globird / AEMO VPP | Australia | Static + Spike Detection | No |
| Octopus Energy | UK | Dynamic 30-min | No for public price API; optional API key/account for Saving Sessions |
| EPEX Day-Ahead | EU (DE, AT, BE, NL, DK, SE) | Hourly day-ahead | No (free API) |
| NZ TOU | New Zealand | Static TOU (3-tier) | No |
Dynamic pricing with 5-minute and 30-minute resolution. Current prices update every 5 minutes; forecasts are available at 30-minute resolution.
Setup:
- Get an API token from app.amber.com.au/developers
- Select Amber Electric during PowerSync setup
- Enter your API token
- Select your Amber site
Amber provides three price forecasts for each interval. PowerSync uses these to build the time-of-use schedule that gets sent to your battery and to plan the optimization schedule.
| Setting | Description | Effect on Optimizer |
|---|---|---|
| Predicted (Default) | Amber's best estimate of the actual price | Balanced — charges and exports based on most likely prices |
| Low | Lower bound estimate — prices expected to be low | Optimizer sees cheap future prices → more willing to export now, less eager to charge |
| High | Upper bound estimate — prices expected to be high | Optimizer sees expensive future prices → holds charge for anticipated peaks |
When to change it:
- If the optimizer is not exporting during peaks (holding battery when it should sell), try Low — it sees lower future prices, making current peak prices look better by comparison
- If the optimizer is exporting too early (selling before peak arrives), try High — it holds charge expecting even better prices later
- If you're happy with how the optimizer behaves, leave it on Predicted
Configure in: Settings > Electricity Provider > Amber > Amber Forecast Type
PowerSync can also track actual metered Amber usage costs when usage tracking is enabled. This creates sensors for yesterday's billed cost, yesterday's estimated battery savings, month-to-date billed cost, and month-to-date battery savings. These values come from Amber usage data rather than the live price forecast, so they are useful for reconciling the daily cost estimate against your bill.
You can use PowerSync automations to switch the Amber forecast type automatically based on time of day.
Example: Hold charge during solar, export aggressively at peak
Create two automations in the mobile app:
-
Morning switch to High — Trigger: Time 7:00 AM → Action: Set Amber Forecast Type → High
- During solar hours, the optimizer expects high future prices and holds battery charge from solar rather than exporting at low midday prices.
-
Afternoon switch to Low — Trigger: Time 3:00 PM → Action: Set Amber Forecast Type → Low
- Before evening peak, the optimizer now sees future prices as low, making the current peak look relatively more attractive — encouraging export now.
The forecast type change takes effect immediately. PowerSync triggers a schedule sync after updating the setting, so your battery receives the new pricing within seconds.
Action: Automations > Add Action > Amber Forecast Type → select Predicted, Low, or High
Real-time wholesale pricing with native 5-minute resolution. Localvolts provides marginal import and export prices with up to 24 hours of forward forecast data.
Setup:
- Obtain your API Key and Partner ID from Localvolts
- Select Localvolts during PowerSync setup
- Enter your API Key, Partner ID, and NMI (National Meter Identifier)
- Configure export boost and chip mode settings (optional)
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| API Key | Your Localvolts API key (keep this secret) |
| Partner ID | Your Localvolts Partner ID |
| NMI | Your 10-digit National Meter Identifier. Use * for all authorized NMIs. |
- Prices are fetched every 5 minutes from the Localvolts API
- All features work seamlessly: Smart Optimization, TOU schedule sync (where supported by your battery system), curtailment at negative prices, export boost, and chip mode
- Forward forecast is limited to ~24 hours (the optimizer pads beyond this with the last known price)
- AEMO spike detection can be configured independently for price spike exports
- Localvolts does not include Amber's spike status field. To get automatic battery discharge during NEM price spikes, enable AEMO Spike Detection separately.
- If no import or export activity occurred in a forecast period, the price is treated as 0.0 c/kWh.
- Localvolts is a NEM provider, so PowerSync can still use AEMO dispatch events as the settlement trigger for schedule refreshes.
Uses AEMO wholesale pricing directly — no API token required. Prices update every 5 minutes from the AEMO dispatch feed. You can optionally provide an Amber API token as an alternative price source.
| Source | Description |
|---|---|
| AEMO Direct (default) | Fetches wholesale prices directly from AEMO. No API key needed. |
| Amber API | Uses your Amber Electric API token for pricing data. |
| Region | Export Rate (Happy Hour) |
|---|---|
| NSW1 — New South Wales | 45 c/kWh |
| QLD1 — Queensland | 45 c/kWh |
| SA1 — South Australia | 45 c/kWh |
| VIC1 — Victoria | 35 c/kWh |
| TAS1 — Tasmania | No Happy Hour |
Flow Power bills using: Final Rate = Base Rate + PEA
PEA adjusts your rate based on when you consume relative to wholesale prices:
- Cheap wholesale (e.g. midday solar) → negative PEA → you pay less than the base rate
- Average wholesale → PEA near zero → you pay roughly the base rate
- Expensive wholesale (e.g. evening peak) → positive PEA → you pay more than the base rate
When a network tariff is configured, PowerSync calculates PEA accurately using the current wholesale price, your network's time-of-use charge, the 30-day wholesale average (TWAP), and the 1.7 c/kWh benchmark adjustment (BPEA) — all including GST. This matches how Flow Power calculates your actual bill.
If no network tariff is configured, PowerSync uses a simplified version based only on the wholesale price, TWAP, and BPEA. Less accurate but still gives the optimizer a useful price signal.
PowerSync tracks the 30-day time-weighted average wholesale price automatically. On a fresh install it uses 8.0 c/kWh as a starting estimate until enough data is collected (about an hour). If you know your current TWAP from your Flow Power bill, you can set it manually in the options flow to skip the warmup period.
Flow Power pays a fixed export rate during Happy Hour (5:30pm - 7:30pm daily). Outside Happy Hour, export is valued at 0 c/kWh. The optimizer uses these rates automatically.
PowerSync can look up your network tariff rates automatically. This is used for:
- The v2 PEA formula (more accurate pricing)
- The Network Tariff sensor (shows current time-of-use network charge)
- The Amber Comparison sensor
During setup, select your DNSP (Distribution Network Service Provider) and tariff code:
| Region | Available DNSPs |
|---|---|
| NSW1 | Ausgrid, Endeavour, Essential |
| QLD1 | Energex, Ergon |
| SA1 | SAPN |
| VIC1 | Powercor, CitiPower, AusNet, Jemena, United |
| TAS1 | TasNetworks |
If your tariff isn't available, you can enter manual rates (flat or time-of-use) with peak/shoulder/off-peak periods and other fees.
Connect your Flow Power kWatch portal account to get actual billing metrics directly from Flow Power. This requires your portal email, password, and SMS MFA verification.
Once connected, PowerSync creates sensors for your actual account PEA, LWAP, TWAP, demand, and DLF — updated every 30 minutes.
Setup:
- In PowerSync options, select Connect Flow Power Portal
- Enter your Flow Power portal email and password
- Enter the SMS MFA code sent to your phone
- Portal data will appear as sensors within a few minutes
Portal sessions persist across HA restarts. If the session expires, re-authenticate via the options flow.
When network tariff is configured, PowerSync creates an Amber Comparison sensor showing what you would pay on Amber Electric for the same wholesale price. The default markup varies by region (NSW: 4.2c, QLD: 4.0c, SA: 4.2c, VIC: 4.0c) and can be customised in the options flow.
| Option | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| NEM Region | Your grid region (NSW1, QLD1, VIC1, SA1) | NSW1 |
| Price Source | AEMO Direct or Amber API | AEMO |
| Network Tariff | Your DNSP and tariff code | — |
| Base Rate | Your Flow Power base rate in c/kWh (from your plan) | 34.0 |
| PEA Enabled | Enable dynamic PEA pricing adjustment | Yes |
| Custom PEA | Override the calculated PEA with a fixed value from your bill | Auto |
| TWAP Override | Manually set TWAP instead of dynamic tracking (c/kWh) | Auto |
| Amber Markup | Markup used in Amber Comparison sensor (c/kWh) | Region default |
| Manual Network Rates | Enter flat or TOU rates manually instead of using the tariff library | Off |
| Sensor | Unit | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Flow Power Import Price | $/kWh | Current import rate (Base Rate + PEA) |
| Flow Power Export Price | $/kWh | Export rate — Happy Hour rate or 0 |
| Flow Power TWAP 30-Day Average | c/kWh | Rolling 30-day wholesale average |
| Flow Power Network Tariff | c/kWh | Current time-of-use network charge (v2 only) |
| Flow Power Amber Comparison | $/kWh | Equivalent Amber Electric price (v2 only) |
These sensors are only available when the Flow Power portal is connected:
| Sensor | Unit | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Flow Power PEA (Actual) | c/kWh | Your actual PEA from Flow Power billing |
| Flow Power PEA 30-Day | c/kWh | 30-day rolling PEA |
| Flow Power BPEA (Benchmark) | c/kWh | The benchmark PEA target |
| Flow Power CPEA (Customer) | c/kWh | Your customer PEA (LWAP - TWAP) |
| Flow Power PEA Import | c/kWh | Import-only PEA |
| Flow Power LWAP | c/kWh | Load Weighted Average Price |
| Flow Power LWAP (Actual) | c/kWh | Actual LWAP from billing period |
| Flow Power TWAP (Portal) | c/kWh | TWAP from portal (compare with dynamic TWAP) |
| Flow Power Avg Spot Price | c/kWh | Average Regional Reference Price |
| Flow Power DLF (Site Losses) | — | Distribution Loss Factor for your site |
| Flow Power Avg Demand | kW | Your average demand |
| Flow Power Max Demand | kW | Your maximum demand |
Static pricing with AEMO spike detection for VPP participation. No API token required. See Advanced Features for details on automatic discharge during price spikes.
Static time-of-use pricing for NZ electricity retailers. No API token required — rates are entered during setup from your plan details. All rates in NZD cents per kWh.
| Retailer | Plan | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Octopus Energy NZ | Standard TOU | 3-tier peak/shoulder/off-peak with TOU export rates |
| Electric Kiwi | Standard TOU | 3-tier pricing (Hour of Power selected via Electric Kiwi app) |
| Contact Energy | Good Weekends | Free electricity on weekends |
| Contact Energy | Good Nights | Free electricity 9pm-midnight every night |
| Contact Energy | Good Charge | EV-focused with cheap overnight rate |
| Custom NZ TOU | Any plan | Enter your own rates for any NZ retailer |
Standard NZ TOU periods (used by most retailers):
| Period | Weekdays | Weekends |
|---|---|---|
| Peak | 7-9am, 5-9pm | — |
| Shoulder | 9am-5pm | 7am-9pm |
| Off-Peak | 9pm-7am | 9pm-7am |
- Select New Zealand TOU as your electricity provider
- Choose your retailer (or Custom for any NZ plan)
- Select your distribution zone (Vector, Wellington, Orion, Powerco, Unison, Aurora, or Other)
- Review and adjust the pre-filled rates for your plan (or enter rates manually for Custom)
- Peak, Shoulder, Off-Peak import rates (NZD c/kWh)
- Peak and Off-Peak export rates (NZD c/kWh)
- Daily supply charge (NZD c/day)
| Zone | Region |
|---|---|
| Vector | Auckland |
| Wellington Electricity | Wellington |
| Orion | Canterbury |
| Powerco | Waikato / Taranaki / Manawatu |
| Unison | Hawke's Bay / Rotorua / Taupo |
| Aurora | Otago / Southland |
| Other | Any other network area |
- Rates are stored as a time-of-use tariff schedule
- The Smart Optimizer uses your TOU rates to calculate optimal charge/discharge schedules, with weekday-only peaks handled automatically
- If you have a Tesla Powerwall, the TOU schedule is synced to the Powerwall for native tariff-aware behaviour
- Rates can be updated anytime via the integration options flow (Settings > Devices & Services > PowerSync > Configure)
- Electric Kiwi Hour of Power is not modelled in the TOU schedule — select your free hour via the Electric Kiwi app as usual
- Contact Good Weekends uses a 0 c/kWh rate for all weekend hours — the optimizer will prefer weekend consumption
- Contact Good Nights uses a 0 c/kWh rate for 9pm-midnight — the optimizer may shift load to this window
- Template rates are approximate starting points — always verify against your actual plan rates
Hourly day-ahead electricity pricing for European markets. Uses the free EPEX Predictor API which sources data from ENTSO-E and Energy-charts.info. No API key or account required.
| Code | Region |
|---|---|
| DE | Germany |
| AT | Austria |
| BE | Belgium |
| NL | Netherlands |
| SE1 | Sweden (Zone 1) |
| SE2 | Sweden (Zone 2) |
| SE3 | Sweden (Zone 3) |
| SE4 | Sweden (Zone 4) |
| DK1 | Denmark (Zone 1) |
| DK2 | Denmark (Zone 2) |
- Select EPEX Day-Ahead (EU) as your electricity provider
- Choose your bidding zone (e.g. BE for Belgium, DE for Germany)
- Enter your surcharge — fixed network fees, levies, and other per-kWh charges (ct/kWh)
- Enter your tax percentage — VAT applied on top of the total price (e.g. 21 for Belgium, 19 for Germany)
- Optionally set a fixed export rate — your feed-in tariff in ct/kWh. Leave at 0 to use the wholesale price for export valuation.
| Option | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Bidding Zone | Your EPEX electricity market region | DE |
| Surcharge | Fixed additional charges per kWh (network fees, levies, etc.) | 0 ct/kWh |
| Tax % | VAT percentage applied to the total price | 0% |
| Fixed Export Rate | Feed-in tariff in ct/kWh (0 = use wholesale) | 0 ct/kWh |
- Prices are fetched every 30 minutes from the EPEX Predictor API
- Surcharges and tax are included in the returned prices — no manual calculation needed
- Hourly intervals are automatically expanded to 5-minute resolution for the optimizer
- All features work seamlessly: Smart Optimization, TOU sync, curtailment at negative prices, export boost, chip mode
- Day-ahead prices are typically published around 12:00-13:00 CET for the following day
- The API includes both published and predicted prices — predictions update as new data becomes available
- If you have a fixed feed-in tariff from your energy supplier, enter it as the Fixed Export Rate so the optimizer accurately values exports
- All prices are in euro cents per kWh (ct/kWh)
- This provider does not include AEMO spike detection (that is an Australian NEM feature)
Full support for UK users with Octopus Energy dynamic tariffs.
| Product | Description |
|---|---|
| Agile Octopus | Dynamic half-hourly pricing based on wholesale rates |
| Octopus Go | EV tariff with cheap overnight rates (00:30-05:30) |
| Intelligent Octopus Go | Smart EV/battery tariff with dispatch-aware off-peak |
| Octopus Flux | Solar/battery optimized import/export tariff |
| Intelligent Octopus Flux | Smart battery optimized tariff |
| Octopus Tracker | Daily wholesale price tracking |
- Half-hourly pricing
- Automatic TOU sync to all supported battery systems
- Regional pricing via GSP (Grid Supply Point) selection
- Negative price handling
- Export rates: auto-discovered from your Octopus account, or uses Outgoing Octopus as default
- BottlecapDave integration bridge (v2.4.1+): When HomeAssistant-OctopusEnergy is installed, PowerSync reads rates directly from it — avoiding double API calls and getting your actual export tariff automatically
- Saving Sessions auto-join (v2.4.6+): Works with both Direct API mode and BottlecapDave's integration
- Saving Session sensors expose whether an event is active, the next known session, and the converted reward rate.
- Select Octopus Energy (UK) as your electricity provider
- Choose your product (Agile, Go, Intelligent Go, Flux, Tracker)
- Select your GSP region (A-P) — find this on your Octopus bill
- (Optional) Configure Saving Sessions — choose Direct or Entity (Dave's integration) as source
| Code | Region |
|---|---|
| A | Eastern England |
| B | East Midlands |
| C | London |
| D | Merseyside and North Wales |
| E | Midlands |
| F | North Eastern |
| G | North Western |
| H | Southern |
| J | South Eastern |
| K | South Wales |
| L | South Western |
| M | Yorkshire |
| N | South Scotland |
| P | North Scotland |