Hey OzBargain,
After way too many late-night experiments with ChatGPT and the AER’s Energy-Made-Easy API, I’ve put together a single prompt that:
• reads your PDF bills
• works out your real usage / export profile (solar-friendly)
• pulls the live top-5 cheapest electricity and gas plans for your postcode
• nets off every incentive (bill credits, FiT top-ups, loyalty points, bundle bonuses)
• shows a combined cost table (quarterly & annual) and a stay/switch recommendation.
It’s 100 % postcode-agnostic, so it should work whether you’re in WA on Synergy or in rural NSW on Essential Energy.
IF USING A FREE VERSION OF CHATGTP AND IT DOESN'T PROVIDE MEANINGFUL RESULTS, TRY THE PROMPT ON GEMINI INSTEAD
How to use it (2-minute version)
• Start a new ChatGPT (or any other LLM) chat (any model works).
• Attach your most recent electricity and gas bills (PDFs). Giving it a full year of bills yields the most accurate seasonality, but one bill per fuel still works.
• Copy-paste the entire prompt (below) in one go and hit Send.
If the prompt can’t find solar/battery info on your bill, it’ll ask you once; answer and you’ll get:
• Electricity JSON (top 5)
• Gas JSON (top 5)
• Combined cost table with incentives baked in
• A short recommendation.
Caveats & requests for feedback
• Work-in-progress: I’ve tested on a bunch of NSW and VIC bills, but edge cases (controlled-load, embedded networks, WA/NT tariffs) might trip it up.
• Trust but verify: always cross-check the JSON rates with the BPID links ChatGPT provides. Don’t switch on the bot’s word alone.
Please stress-test it! Let me know if it mis-parses your bill, misses an incentive, or shows a retailer that’s actually gone bust.
Happy saving 💸 – and shout if you improve the prompt!
PROMPT START BELOW
Hi ChatGPT! Please act as my Energy-Plan Optimiser and do all of the following in a single conversation:
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
🔹 STEP 1 – Read my uploads
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
• Scan every electricity and/or gas PDF bill I attach.
• Extract postcode, distributor, NMI / MIRN, supply charges, usage rates, FiT,
bill-period days, total kWh import/export and total MJ gas.
• If multiple bills exist for one fuel, treat the newest bill as my current plan.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
🔹 STEP 2 – Fill any gaps
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
• Solar PV & battery:
– If inverter size or battery brand is on a bill, use it.
– Otherwise ask me once only: “Do you have solar panels or a battery?
If yes, size (kW) / brand?”
– If I don’t answer, assume none and flag that assumption.
• If any other critical value is missing, ask me once; if unavailable, make a
conservative estimate and flag it.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
🔹 STEP 3 – Build my usage model
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
• Use every bill to calculate average-daily import kWh, export kWh, and gas MJ;
then annualise (daily × 365) and note any clear seasonality.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
🔹 STEP 4 – Fetch live offers
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
• Query the AER Energy-Made-Easy API:
– Electricity ➜ fuel=ELECTRICITY&postcode=<pc>
– Gas ➜ fuel=GAS&postcode=<pc>
• Remove any retailer not currently trading (check AER licence register or the
retailer’s own site).
• Keep the 5 cheapest electricity plans and 5 cheapest gas plans
after modelling my usage/export.
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
🔹 STEP 5 – Crunch the costs
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
• For each plan (and any dual-fuel bundle) calculate net cost:
– Next 3 months (apply bill credits when paid; prorate 12-mo bonuses; value
points at 1 QFF pt = 1.2 ¢, 1 Everyday pt = 0.5 ¢, 1 Velocity pt = 1 ¢).
– Annualised cost at current rates.
• Flag plans that are cheapest only this quarter because of a one-off credit
(promo-only).
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
🔹 STEP 6 – Respond in EXACT order
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
A. Electricity JSON – top 5 plans (planId, supply, rates, FiT, incentives).
B. Gas JSON – top 5 plans.
C. Combined cost table (markdown) – best split-provider combo, dual-fuel options,
next-quarter & annual cost, $-savings vs current.
D. ≤150-word recommendation – clear stay/switch guidance.
RULES
• Cite the API pull timestamp and each plan’s planId.
• Keep output to those four sections—no extra commentary.
END OF PROMPT
Great effort but easier to use this for vic https://compare.energy.vic.gov.au/