IAMMETER Is Building a Global Platform for Dynamic Electricity Plans
IAMMETER Is Building a Global Platform for Dynamic Electricity Plans
IAMMETER is developing a new electricity plan comparison platform to help users answer a question that is simple to ask but difficult to calculate:
Based on my actual energy use, which electricity plan is the best fit for me?
The same electricity plan can produce very different results for different customers. Two households may use the same total amount of electricity in a month, yet receive very different bills because they consume energy at different times, have different peak demand, or export different amounts of solar energy.
As time-of-use tariffs, demand tariffs, wholesale-linked pricing, free electricity periods, and other dynamic electricity plans become more common, comparing a single advertised rate is no longer enough.
IAMMETER plans to use the interval energy data already recorded in IAMMETER Cloud to calculate how different electricity plans would have charged the same customer. If a site also monitors solar export, its actual export data can be included in the calculation.
The platform will apply multiple plans to the same data and billing period. Instead of seeing only an advertised rate or an estimate for a typical household, the user will be able to ask:
If I kept my current energy habits and switched to this plan, what would my bill have been for this billing period?
From Changing Energy Habits to Finding a Plan That Fits Them
Much of IAMMETER's previous work on reducing electricity costs has focused on helping users change how they consume energy under their existing tariff.
For example, users can move flexible loads into off-peak periods. Solar households can increase self-consumption instead of exporting surplus energy at a low feed-in tariff. With the WPC3700 Wi-Fi Power Controller and PV Heater Control, suitable solar surplus can be directed to a compatible resistive heater rather than exported to the grid.
The principle behind that approach is:
Keep the existing tariff and change the energy-use pattern.
The new platform adds another approach:
Keep the existing energy-use pattern and find an electricity plan that fits it better.
These approaches complement each other. A user can optimize when electricity is consumed and how solar surplus is used, while also checking periodically whether the current plan remains cost-effective.
The IAMMETER Advantage: Continuous, Detailed Data Is Already in the Cloud
Australia already has established electricity comparison services, including Energy Made Easy, and some comparison services can use bills, smart-meter records, or Consumer Data Right data.
IAMMETER is not simply building another list of plans. For IAMMETER users, continuous energy data is already being recorded in IAMMETER Cloud. Subject to the user's authorization, the platform can use this data directly as the basis for plan calculations.
This creates several practical advantages:
- users do not need to rebuild a typical load profile for every comparison;
- actual import and export interval data can be read for the relevant billing period;
- fine-grained data can be used for dynamic plans that are highly sensitive to when energy is consumed;
- multiple plans can be calculated against the same data and calculation boundaries;
- major charge components, parameters, data coverage, and estimates can be disclosed so that the result can be understood and checked.
This takes energy monitoring one step further. IAMMETER will not only show how much energy was used and when it was used; it will also help evaluate which electricity plan best matches that real load profile.
Starting in Australia, Designed for Global Dynamic Pricing Markets
The new platform is not intended to be a calculator written for one retailer or one pricing formula. Its goal is to provide an extensible tariff catalog and billing engine that can represent plans from different retailers and electricity markets.
Australia will be the first major market supported. It has conventional flat-rate and time-of-use plans as well as demand charges, controlled loads, solar feed-in tariffs, free electricity periods, and more complex dynamic pricing structures.
Two representative examples are:
- Flow Power's PEA model: the Price Efficiency Adjustment can be calculated from the customer's actual five-minute energy use, AEMO wholesale prices, the applicable network energy rate, and relevant benchmark inputs.
- Amber's wholesale pricing model: the bill is formed from AEMO wholesale prices together with applicable components such as the network tariff, distribution loss factor, and subscription fee.
Flow Power and Amber are examples of two dynamic pricing models. They do not define the limits of the platform. The same architecture is intended to support more retailers, offers, and pricing structures whose rules can be clearly represented and verified.
After the first stage in Australia, IAMMETER plans to extend this capability to more regions with dynamic electricity pricing or retail electricity choice. Market structures differ between countries, but the basic method remains the same:
- Use the customer's own interval energy data.
- Apply the locally valid tariff and billing rules.
- Compare multiple plans using the same data and billing period.
- Show the calculated results, assumptions, and data quality clearly.
Australia is therefore the starting point, not the final boundary, for IAMMETER's global dynamic electricity pricing and plan comparison platform.
Building on EFSS
IAMMETER's existing Energy Forecasting and Simulation System (EFSS) explored how historical energy data could be used for electricity cost simulation and energy strategy evaluation.
The new platform will extend that foundation by connecting directly to actual IAMMETER Cloud data, covering more complete bill components, supporting both conventional and complex dynamic pricing, and comparing multiple electricity plans on the same data basis.
The platform is currently under development and validation. IAMMETER will begin with Australia, expand the tariff catalog and calculation coverage, and share further progress as the platform develops.
Stay tuned.
