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Every request needs one location. The most specific one wins. distributor can also be combined with postcode, city or state to narrow them to one network, for example ?postcode=2620&distributor=evoenergy. If the network doesn’t serve that location, you get 400 distributor_location_mismatch, with the networks that do.

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Why the network matters

In Australia, business electricity prices depend on the distribution network that supplies the site, not just the state. Each network has its own network charges and its own Default Market Offer or Victorian Default Offer. That’s why the API resolves every location to one or more networks before costing plans.

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Postcodes

The API maps each postcode to the network or networks that serve it, using the postcode coverage retailers publish with their plans. 2,221 postcodes are covered.
  • One network: the response is for that network.
  • Two or more networks (for example 2620, split between Evoenergy in the ACT and Essential Energy in NSW): location.ambiguous is true, an ambiguous_location warning explains it, and plans from every network are returned, ranked together. Each plan’s network says which it applies to. To narrow it down, ask for the NMI, or the network named on the bill, and pass it as distributor.
  • No network (WA and NT postcodes): 422 out_of_coverage.
location.suburbs lists the suburbs in the postcode.

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NMI

The NMI identifies the site’s network directly, so it’s the most reliable location. It’s printed on every electricity bill, and the bill extraction API returns it.

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Cities

Capital cities use the ABS Greater Capital City areas (so sydney is Greater Sydney, and canberra is the ACT). Regional cities use ABS Significant Urban Areas. A city’s rates cover every network serving at least 10% of its postcodes; networks serving only a few boundary postcodes are named in a fringe_networks warning. Some city slugs have short forms: gold-coast and newcastle work as well as gold-coast-tweed-heads and newcastle-maitland. See Supported networks, cities and states for every slug.

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States

state covers every network in the state, ranked together, with a multiple_networks warning. NSW has three networks, Victoria five and Queensland two. WA and NT aren’t on the National Electricity Market and return 422 out_of_coverage. When a response covers several networks, each network has its own benchmark. summary.best_vs_benchmark_pct gives the largest saving on any of them, for “up to X% less than the DMO”.