Understanding Your Electricity Bill

As energy prices rise, we’re all looking for ways to save money on our electricity bills. Energy bills are sometimes difficult to comprehend, full of numbers and jargon, it can quickly become confusing! However, it’s more essential than ever to check your energy bills, not only to stay informed and in control, but also to guarantee you’re not paying too much. 

Let’s have a look at what you need to know to help you decipher your power bill.

Unit Rates

The electricity you use is measured in Kilowatt hours (kWh). One kWh is the amount of energy that would be used if you kept a 1,000-watt appliance running for one hour. But various appliances use different amounts of energy – an alarm clock uses a lot less power than a dishwasher! Here are a few examples:

• A 50-watt alarm clock would take 20 hours to use 1 kWh
• A 100-watt light bulb would take 10 hours to rack up 1 kWh
• A 2,000-watt dishwasher would use 1 kWh in just half an hour

Your electricity provider charges by how much electricity you use per kWh. The more kilowatt hours, or kWh you use, the more you’ll pay. 

Understanding Your Electricity Bill

There’s more to your bill than the amount due. Within your bill, you’ll also find details about your household usage, meter readings, and more. This vital information gives you insights into your family’s monthly consumption and opportunities to save money and energy.

Meter Reading

A meter reading tells energy suppliers how much electricity your household is using. If your supplier doesn’t have an accurate meter reading, they’ll have to guesstimate your usage and you’re at risk of paying too much or too little if this happens. The meter reading on your bill will show the date that your meter was read, as well as your current and previous meter readings. 

The difference between your previous and present meter readings is the number of kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity you used in the billing period.

Summary of Services and Costs

Within this section of your bill, you’ll see transmission charges, generation charges, customer charges, and distribution charges. All these charges make up the majority of your bill. Each individual charge will have a different price per kWh, as detailed on your bill. These prices are calculated by multiplying your current kWh used by the rate for each charge.

If you have questions relating to a specific charge, your energy supplier will be able to give you more information. 

Your Usage

Understanding your usage profile can help you make informed decisions to save money on your electricity bill. This section is a top-level view of your household’s energy consumption patterns and is usually in two parts. Firstly, it will detail the total kWh that you’ve utilized in previous months. The other part will highlight your kWh usage for the current and previous month and the same month from the previous year. Users will learn more about their average daily usage. 

This information is vital to understand for long-term money saving. 

Something Not Adding Up?

The key thing to remember is that if you feel there’s something wrong with your energy bill, always get in touch with your provider sooner rather than later. Inaccurate bills can be a real problem for consumers, it’s better to check.