Understanding Energy Bills
At the Business Energy Hub we want to make business energy simple to understand for everyone. So here is a simple guide on helping you understand your energy bills. If you can understand your energy bills it will really help you when it comes to finding a cheaper energy deal.
Energy Bills can be vary from supplier to supplier, but all show similar information. All energy suppliers actually have legal obligation stipulated to them by the governing body ‘OFGEM’ to ensure certain information is clear on your bill such as your contact end date, and where your energy has been generated from such as nuclear or coal etc known as fuel mix disclosure. There tends to be a lot of energy jargon, used.
Before you get a comparison and switch, it’s useful to find the following details on your bill:
- Supplier name
- Tariff/plan name
- Amount of gas/electricity you use in kilowatt hours (kWh), or failing that how much you pay per month/quarter
Whoever your supplier is, bills should contain the following pieces of information:
Meter Readings
Your bill should show you the most recent reading and the one before that, and also whether they’re estimated (shown by an ‘E’ next to the reading) or actual (‘A’ if your meter was read by someone coming to your house, or ‘C’ for customer if you submitted it yourself).
Unit rates, standing charges
Gas and electricity usage is measured in kilowatt hours (kWh). Your bill will show you how many you’ve used since your last bill and what you paid per kWh, which acts as a useful comparison. They’re not the full story however; you should also look at your standing charge, a daily fee that every supplier charges on top of your usage.
Meter Readings
Your bill should show you the most recent reading and the one before that, and also whether they’re estimated (shown by an ‘E’ next to the reading) or actual (‘A’ if your meter was read by someone coming to your house, or ‘C’ for customer if you submitted it yourself).
Unit rates, standing charges
Gas and electricity usage is measured in kilowatt hours (kWh). Your bill will show you how many you’ve used since your last bill and what you paid per kWh, which acts as a useful comparison. They’re not the full story however; you should also look at your standing charge, a daily fee that every supplier charges on top of your usage.
Meter Readings
Usually found on the first or second page of your bill. There’s hundreds of tariffs on the market, many sounding the same, so it’s really important to know the exact name of your current tariff to get an accurate comparison.
Next 12 Months Estimate
This is a quick and easy figure to see how much you paid in the past 12 months.
