URL: /api-reference/overview

---
title: 'Overview'
description: 'Documentation for the Open Electricity REST API - Australian Electricity Market Data'
icon: 'webhook'
---

## Introduction

The Open Electricity API provides programmatic access to Australian electricity market data, including real-time generation, demand, price information and historical data across the National Electricity Market (NEM) and Western Australian Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM).

## Data Licence

Unless stated otherwise, the data provided by the Open Electricity API is licensed under [CC BY-NC 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) (non-commercial). See the [full licence](https://platform.openelectricity.org.au/license) for attribution requirements and commercial licensing options.

## Authentication

All API endpoints require authentication using an API key. You'll need to include your API key in the Authorization header of your requests:

```bash
Authorization: Bearer your_api_key_here
```

To obtain and manage your API key, please [register for an account](https://platform.openelectricity.org.au) at the Open Electricity Platform.

## Base URL

The base URL for all API endpoints is:

```
https://api.openelectricity.org.au/v4
```

## Response Format

All responses are returned in JSON format. Successful responses will have a 2xx status code and follow this structure:

```json
{
  "version": "4.0",
  "created_at": "2024-03-20T10:00:00Z",
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    // Response data
  ],
  "total_records": 100
}
```

## Error Handling

Errors are returned with appropriate HTTP status codes and include detailed error messages:

```json
{
  "error": {
    "code": "validation_error",
    "message": "Invalid parameters",
    "details": [
      {
        "loc": ["parameter_name"],
        "msg": "Error description",
        "type": "error_type"
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

Common error status codes:

- `400` Bad Request - Invalid parameters or request
- `401` Unauthorized - Missing or invalid API key
- `403` Forbidden - Insufficient permissions
- `422` Validation Error - Invalid input parameters
- `500` Internal Server Error - Server-side error