Thinking about switching to Localvolts, or just getting started?
This support page will help you understand how our marketplace puts you in complete control of your energy choices — from setting your own prices to choosing who you buy from and sell to, all with transparent pass-through costs and no exit fees .
Use the real time 5 minute price data from Localvolts to time your energy usage, charging, and selling decisions. You can do this manually through the marketplace or automate it using smart devices integrated with the Localvolts API.
Your Localvolts invoice includes the same charges as most other retailers. The difference is that we itemise every cost so you can see exactly what you are paying for. Each item on your bill is a cost that we have already paid on your behalf. We pass them through to you without any markup.
The most significant costs are electricity and network fees and charges from your local network provider. And then there are other costs such as metering fees and certificates.
For a more comprehensive list, have a look at this blog post about the Localvolts bill.
There are no joining fees, setup charges, or upfront costs to become a Localvolts customer .
You can switch to us completely free – no connection fees, no account establishment charges, and no special equipment needed. Your existing electricity meter works perfectly fine with our system.
Once you’re connected, you’ll only pay for the electricity services you use: your daily service fee (starting at $1.10/day for residential customers), the energy you purchase, and standard network charges that every electricity customer pays regardless of their retailer.
You can also leave us anytime without any exit fees or penalties if Localvolts isn’t right for you .
Yes. You must be connected to the grid in the National Electricity Market of Australia to buy and sell electricity.
It’s hard to compare “rates” directly because Localvolts is an open electricity marketplace, not a fixed‑tariff retailer—prices are set by participants and can change every 5 minutes, so outcomes depend on your usage, preferences, and the market rather than a single rate.
Our current estimate is that we will be able start serving Victorian customers in the first half of 2027.
Grid connected customers in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania can join Localvolts. Victorian residents have to wait until we receive our electricity licence from the Essential Services Commission.
You can set up an auto-renewal process where the system continues to place buy and sell orders on your behalf without any further action required. You only need to go through the process once to set up your preferences with auto-renewals enabled. (We suggest that you set your auto renewals to a short-ish time frame, e.g. one week, so you can easily make changes).
If you are buying and selling directly from the wholesale market, then you do not need to do anything. Our system will default to the real wholesale price if no trades are set.
Through the Localvolts marketplace, you can buy excess solar energy directly from your neighbors and sell your surplus solar generation to other local customers, creating a community energy network that bypasses traditional retailers.
Yes. Anyone who consumes electricity can join. As a consumer, you can choose who you buy electricity from and at what price. You might support your local community, or decide to support suppliers based on the environmental impact of the generators.
Localvolts is just as much about providing you choice and control over the electricity that you consume, as it is about creating a fair market for producers to sell their excess energy.
You will still be with your previous electricity provider until the transfer is complete. That usually happens a few days after you register.
Yes, the Localvolts marketplace is available to Localvolts customers only. You need to be a Localvolts customer to participate in peer-to-peer energy trading.
Normally the time between when you registering and when you are given access to your Localvolts account should be about one week.
All imported energy in excess of your original matched quantity is bought from the wholesale spot energy market operated by the Australian Energy Market Operator.
If you imported less energy than originally agreed, then you will pay for the actual (reduced) quantity of energy at the agreed matched price.
Your physical electricity supply will not be affected in either case.
You will need:
- Your Medicare card for identification purposes
- Your National Meter Identifier (NMI)
- Your property details
- Contact information
- For business customers: Australian Company Number (ACN) or Australian Business Number (ABN) and a recent electricity bill
Yes
Your National Meter Identifier (NMI) is a unique 10 or 11-digit number that identifies your electricity connection point. You can find it on your electricity bill, usually near your address or meter details. It may be labeled as ‘NMI’, ‘MIRN’, or ‘Connection Point’.
Yes. All sellers in our marketplace provide energy from zero greenhouse gas emissions sources. As the Localvolts marketplace grows, so does the supply of renewable energy, making it easier for you to buy more green energy.
If there is no peer-to-peer energy available, you will buy from the wholesale spot energy market operated by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). This energy is sourced from a mix of generators producing varying levels of emissions.
All battery systems are compatible with Localvolts. Regardless of your battery brand or model, you can connect to our marketplace and participate in energy trading.
Please note that Localvolts does not offer battery control or optimisation solutions. If you are looking for help in this department we suggest you visit our partners page to find a solution.
No, you don’t need a smart meter. Localvolts accepts all types of accumulation and interval meters – no special metering is required. Your existing utility meter will work with Localvolts.
Energy prices can be both positive and negative – this is normal in electricity markets. When prices are negative, you earn a credit for consuming energy and incur a cost for exporting energy. Wholesale prices can be negative during periods of low demand and high production.
Yes, we provide comprehensive developer documentation for our API. The API guide includes technical specifications for endpoints such as GET /market/stats and GET /customer/interval for retrieving data, and POST /customer/interval for submitting data. The documentation covers authentication requirements, special commands, and includes practical integration examples such as Home Assistant configuration in the appendix.
To connect with other customers and learn more about our API, visit our community forum.
Our market is built for everyone and we are working to bring on a diverse group of buyers and sellers. Currently, all sellers are households.
Our main offering is the flexible marketplace model where you have control over your energy pricing rather than traditional fixed tariffs. Through the marketplace, you can set your own buy and sell prices, choose your preferred suppliers, trade energy with specific people or communities, and access wholesale spot market pricing. This gives you much more flexibility than conventional tariff structures, allowing you to create a pricing arrangement that works best for your specific energy needs and preferences.
However we offer standard offer rates for residential and small business customers under the Standard Retail Contract, which are published annually from July to June.
The existing power grid and industry structure is organised for large generators to make energy and have it delivered via high and low voltage networks to consumers – it is a unidirectional model where the industry makes all the decisions.
With consumers becoming active participants, the power networks will have to adjust to bi-directional energy flows – this is more a mindset issue for the networks in our opinion; the engineering is not that hard. The power networks’ role is essential in the new energy world; they just have to adapt a bit.
Our view is that anyone who uses the grid must pay for it, and our business model ensures that this happens. The debate will be around for what services, and how much? We will help in this by providing full transparency – no more bundled prices allowing some people to make up their own facts.
As for the large generators, well, they’ve had the market to themselves for long enough; they’ll have to learn to share.
We do not sell solar panels. You will need to set up your own generator before selling electricity via the Localvolts marketplace.
No. The Western Australian electricity law does not allow small customers to choose their electricity supplier, hence you cannot buy and sell electricity on Localvolts marketplace until there is a change in the law.
Our marketplace is accessed through our web platform, which provides real-time data and allows customers to buy and sell electricity through their browser. Whilst we don’t have a standalone mobile app available for download on iOS or Android app stores, our web platform is built with a responsive design, and will work on your mobile phone in a similar way to a mobile app.
Here’s now to install a shortcut to make your Localvolts marketplace easier to find on your mobile device.
- Open Safari and go to https://market.localvolts.com/
- Tap the Share button (a square with an upward-pointing arrow) at the bottom of the screen.
- Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.
- Edit the name for your shortcut if you’d like, then tap Add.
- Open Chrome and navigate to https://market.localvolts.com/
- Tap the three dots in the top right corner.
- Select Add to Home screen.
- Name your shortcut and tap Add