Here is a checklist to help you understand how you're being charged for your energy use.
Your home
Seasonal
Heating your home in winter and cooling your home in summer increases your energy usage. Compare your bills from the same time of the year to track these periods where your usage is typically higher.
Additional people
Visitors, housemates, a new baby, or even school holidays, could mean that more people are at home, increasing energy usage.
Monitor usage
Keep track of your energy usage by looking at your “Daily Average Use” every quarter. You can find it in the “Electricity usage and greenhouse gas emissions” section on your bill.
By setting up My Account you can view your usage over time. If you have a smart meter, depending on the type of meter installed at your property, you can view your usage on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or, where sufficient usage history exists, annual basis. All usage data is available to view within 72 hours of consumption.
Hot water system
Your hot water system also contributes to your energy usage. Reducing the amount of time spent in the shower and washing your clothes in cold water could reduce your consumption throughout the year.
Appliances
Have you recently purchased a new or larger model of an existing appliance? Are there any faulty or old appliances around your home? These appliances could be using more energy. To find out how much energy your appliances use go to energyrating.gov.au.
Renovations or extensions
It is common for energy usage to increase during the construction stages. And once the renovation is complete, your new space may include more lights and power points, and may use more energy to heat and cool.
Moving house
If you have moved recently, your new home might be larger or less energy efficient than your old home. It may also have different types of heating or cooling installed that may use more energy than at your old home.
Review your bill
Estimated bill
Is your bill estimated? When the meter reader hasn’t been able to access your meter or provide us with your meter data, your bill is estimated. To check if you have been issued an estimated bill look for “Estimated Reading” on the front page of your bill.
If your meter is not a smart meter, then you can submit your own meter reading.
Supply charge
Review the supply charge shown on your bill to understand how it is changing over time. These costs relate to the delivery of your energy via poles and wires and the associated investment and maintenance costs. The costs are fixed in dollar terms per day and differ for people in different locations because the delivery costs vary. These are the costs that EnergyAustralia pays to the distributors which we pass through.
Previous bill
Is there a balance that’s been carried forward from your previous bill?
Concessions & discounts
Check your entitlements to, and expiration of, rebates, concessions and discounts. See if they’ve been deducted from your total costs in the “Your electricity/gas and service calculation” section of your bill.
Energy tariffs
Energy tariffs can change from time to time. We will always contact you if there is a change in your tariff. You can find your tariff in the “Your electricity/gas usage and service calculation” section of your bill.
Bill period
How many days are you being billed for? Check that you’re comparing bills with the same number of days in a billing period. If you’ve recently moved house, your first bill may be for a shorter than usual bill period depending on the meter read cycle and when you moved.
Solar tariffs
In most cases, the solar energy you generate doesn’t fully off-set your energy usage, especially in winter due to shorter days and poorer weather.
This can also be because there may be a mismatch between when you generate solar energy and the time of day when you use the most energy. A battery storage system allows you to store electricity from your solar panels when the sun is shining, so you can use the stored power at another time. Our team of energy experts can tailor a battery storage system to suit your household needs.
It may also be worthwhile to check your solar feed-in tariff hasn’t changed. As with energy tariffs, we will always contact you if there is a change in your solar feed-in tariff.
Electricity & gas meters
Is your meter number correct?
Ensure that the meter number on your bill matches the meter number on the meter.
If you notice there is a discrepancy please chat with us online or give us a call on 133 466 (Monday to Friday, 8.00am – 6.30pm AEDT).
Additional assistance
Energy tips
For tips on how you can save energy and lower your bills.
Are you on the best energy plan?
Check if you're on the best plan.
Need help understanding your bills?
Look at our bill guides.
Financial assistance
If you’re having difficulty paying your energy bills we can help you with a range of payment options or government assistance if you’re eligible.