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As well as telling you how much you owe and the date you need to pay it by, energy bills give you a lot of information about how you use power and what you pay for it.
These details can be very useful for cutting down on energy usage and costs. They can also help you decide if switching to a different plan or provider will give you a better deal. So if you want to save money on your energy costs, here's how to get the details from your next bill.
While there is a lot of information on any electricity or gas bill, the main details to check include:
We took a look at a sample bill from AGL and brokedown how to read it
This information includes your address, name, plan and any statement numbers necessary for the retailer to identify you and your account. This information might need to be cited to your retailer if you speak with them on the phone.
This is likely the largest and clearest section of your bill. This is how much you owe your retailer, how to pay it, and the payment deadline.
This can tell you about your average electricity usage per month (in kilowatt hours (kWh)), how much your electricity cost for each month and how this compares to last year’s usage.
This data is often average-usage data retrieved from the Australian Energy Regulator.
This information tells you the period for which you’ve been charged (the billing period), and when next payment is due. Since this information is key to your bill, it might also be found on the front of the bill.
Near these values might also be information regarding your current contract and set of tariffs. This information is key to learning more about the way you are charged for electricity.
This includes information about your electricity provision including your address, your energy plan or contract, your electricity meter’s unique identification number (NMI=National Meter Identifier) that may need to be cited when speaking with your provider, and details about your energy usage at the beginning and end of the period etc.
Since receiving payment is the bill's main purpose, options for how to pay including direct debit, mail, BPay, PayPal, cheque etc. may appear on both sides.
This section often provides contact details for further information, including how to change plans and what to do if you are going to move.
Source: AGL
This information includes your address, name, plan, and any identifying numbers necessary for the retailer to identify you and your account. This information might need to be cited to your retailer if you speak with them on the phone.
This is likely the largest and clearest section of your bill. This is how much you owe your retailer, how to pay it, and when to pay it by.
This can tell you about your average gas usage per month (in megajoules (MJ)), how much your gas cost for each month and how this compares to last year’s usage.
This information tells you the period for which you’ve been charged (the billing period), and when the next period ends. Since this information is key to your bill, it might also be found on the front of the bill.
Near these values there may also be information regarding your current contract and set of tariffs. This information is key to learning more about the way you are charged for gas.
This includes information about your electricity provision including your address, your Meter Identification Reference Number (MIRN) that might need to be cited when speaking with your provider, your energy plan or contract and details about your energy usage at the beginning and end of the period etc.
Since payment is largely the purpose of the bill, it may appear on both sides with payment options including direct debit, mail, BPay, PayPal, cheque etc.
This section often provides contact details for further information, including how to change plans and what to do if you need to move.
About a quarter of your flat fees cover the cost of generating your energy. About half of your fees go towards the distribution grid that got the power to your home or business. The final quarter of your fees go towards government initiatives and to the retailers’ admin fees.
You can learn more about tariffs in our guide to energy fees.
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