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Utility Functions

The OpenElectricity client provides several utility functions to help you work with dates, timezones, and other common operations. These utilities are designed to handle the complexities of working with different electricity networks and their specific timezone requirements.

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Date and Time Utilities

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Network Timezones

The client handles data from different electricity networks in Australia, each with their own timezone:
  • NEM (National Electricity Market): AEST/UTC+10
  • WEM (Western Australia): AWST/UTC+8
  • AU (Australia): AEST/UTC+10 (default)

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Timezone Functions

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getNetworkTimezone

Get the timezone offset in hours for a specific network. 
function getNetworkTimezone(network: NetworkCode): number
Parameters:
  • network: Network code ("NEM" | "WEM" | "AU")
Returns:
  • Number representing timezone offset in hours (e.g., 10 for AEST/UTC+10)
Example: 
import { getNetworkTimezone } from 'openelectricity'

const nemOffset = getNetworkTimezone("NEM") // Returns 10 (AEST/UTC+10)
const wemOffset = getNetworkTimezone("WEM") // Returns 8 (AWST/UTC+8)

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getNetworkTimezoneOffset

Get timezone offset in milliseconds for a network. 
function getNetworkTimezoneOffset(network: NetworkCode): number
Parameters:
  • network: Network code ("NEM" | "WEM" | "AU")
Returns:
  • Number representing timezone offset in milliseconds
Example: 
import { getNetworkTimezoneOffset } from 'openelectricity'

const nemOffsetMs = getNetworkTimezoneOffset("NEM") // Returns 36000000 (10 hours in ms)

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Date Handling Functions

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isAware

Check if a date string contains timezone information. 
function isAware(dateStr: string | Date): boolean
Parameters:
  • dateStr: Date string or Date object to check
Returns:
  • Boolean indicating if the date string contains timezone information
Example: 
import { isAware } from 'openelectricity'

isAware("2024-03-15T10:00:00Z")           // Returns true
isAware("2024-03-15T10:00:00+10:00")      // Returns true
isAware("2024-03-15T10:00:00")            // Returns false
isAware(new Date())                        // Returns false

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makeAware

Make a date timezone aware by adding the network’s timezone offset. 
function makeAware(date: string | Date, network: NetworkCode): string
Parameters:
  • date: Date string or Date object to make timezone aware
  • network: Network code to get timezone from
Returns:
  • ISO string with timezone information
Example: 
import { makeAware } from 'openelectricity'

const awareDate = makeAware("2024-03-15T10:00:00", "NEM")
// Returns "2024-03-15T10:00:00+10:00"

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stripTimezone

Remove timezone information from a date string. 
function stripTimezone(dateStr: string): string
Parameters:
  • dateStr: Date string to strip timezone from
Returns:
  • Date string without timezone information
Example: 
import { stripTimezone } from 'openelectricity'

const naiveDate = stripTimezone("2024-03-15T10:00:00+10:00")
// Returns "2024-03-15T10:00:00"

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Interval Functions

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getLastCompleteInterval

Get the last complete 5-minute interval for a network. 
function getLastCompleteInterval(network: NetworkCode): string
Parameters:
  • network: Network code to get timezone from
Returns:
  • ISO string of the last complete 5-minute interval in network time (without timezone information)
Example: 
import { getLastCompleteInterval } from 'openelectricity'

// If current time is 2024-03-15T10:07:30+10:00
const lastInterval = getLastCompleteInterval("NEM")
// Returns "2024-03-15T10:00:00"

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Best Practices

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Working with Timezones

  1. Network-Specific Times: Always use the appropriate network timezone when working with dates: 
    const networkAwareDate = makeAware(localDate, "NEM")
  2. API Submissions: The API expects timezone-naive dates in network time: 
    const apiReadyDate = stripTimezone(networkAwareDate)
  3. Interval Data: Use getLastCompleteInterval for real-time data: 
    const lastInterval = getLastCompleteInterval("NEM")

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Date Validation

  1. Check Timezone Information: 
    if (isAware(dateStr)) {
  // Handle timezone-aware date
} else {
  // Handle naive date
}
  2. Network-Specific Processing: 
    const offset = getNetworkTimezone(network)
const offsetMs = getNetworkTimezoneOffset(network)

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Common Patterns

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Real-time Data Retrieval

import { getLastCompleteInterval } from '@openelectricity/client'

async function getLatestData() {
  const lastInterval = getLastCompleteInterval("NEM")
  const { datatable } = await client.getNetworkData("NEM", ["power"], {
    dateStart: lastInterval,
    interval: "5m"
  })
  return datatable
}

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Date Conversion Pipeline

import { makeAware, stripTimezone } from 'openelectricity'

function prepareDateForAPI(date: Date, network: NetworkCode) {
  // Add network timezone
  const networkAware = makeAware(date, network)
  // Strip for API submission
  return stripTimezone(networkAware)
}

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Timezone Validation

import { isAware, makeAware } from 'openelectricity'

function ensureNetworkAware(date: string | Date, network: NetworkCode) {
  if (!isAware(date)) {
    return makeAware(date, network)
  }
  return date.toString()
}