What to do when you get a shock energy bill

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Nothing gives you that sinking feeling quite like an unexpectedly large bill. Even if you know your next bill is looming, it still manages to sweep you off your feet when you open that letter in the mail or click open that email. Given their variable nature, energy bills are typically the worst offenders in shocking us to our core.

At a time when many Australians are concerned about cashflow – and electricity rates only ever seem to get higher – Canstar Blue has produced this quick guide to help you understand that shock energy bill, and your next steps.

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Could the bill be wrong?

You might be clinging onto hope that your energy bill is wrong, but it’s extremely unlikely. Sure, energy bills have been wrong in the past, but in the vast majority of cases, your bill will be accurate. That might not be what you want to hear, but it’s the reality. Unfortunately, you really did use that much power!

That said, it’s worth understanding a bit about how your bills are calculated, just in case something goes wrong, or maybe you have an ‘estimated’ bill. When you get an energy bill, it will have been produced in one of the following ways:

• Quarterly meter reading: Someone visits your property to read your energy meter so your provider can give you an accurate bill.
• Monthly accurate bill: If you have a smart meter, your energy provider will receive a monthly review of your energy usage for accurate billing.
• Monthly estimated bill: If you don’t have a smart meter, but your provider has monthly billing, you may receive a monthly estimated bill based on your typical usage, or an amount picked by your provider.

You may also have agreed to an amount to pay each billing period with your energy provider as part of a bill smoothing plan. But in this case, the bill shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

If you’re thinking about calling up your energy company to ask why that bill so high, it’s a good idea to know which of the above bill types you have received.

• If you’ve received a quarterly bill after a physical meter reading, there may be a slight chance that the meter reader got their numbers mixed up. While unlikely, you could check the meter yourself and report the figures to your provider so they can cross-reference them with what they have.
• If you’ve received a bill that was derived by your smart meter, it’s quite unlikely that this would be wrong. But once again, you can ask your provider to check again.
• If you’ve received an estimated bill and you’re convinced it doesn’t accurately reflect the energy you’ve consumed over the last month then this is worth discussing with your provider in case your bill estimates can be adjusted.

The only other type of meter reading you’re likely to receive a bill for is a ‘special meter reading’ in the event you’re switching providers between standard meter readings, or you’ve just moved into a property and are now taking over responsibility for the bills.

Still think your power bill is wrong? See the steps you can take to dispute it in Canstar Blue’s billing guide.

Why would my bill be so high?

So, if you’ve accepted that your shock energy bill is probably accurate, it’s time to think about how you ended up with such a high bill. We’ve listed some reasons why this might be the case below:

• Your energy rates have increased: Unfortunately, this is a reality of energy retail. Your provider may have increased its charges without you realising – and now you’re paying for it.
• Your plan’s benefit period (i.e. discount) has ended: If you had a plan with a discount for things like paying on time or by direct debit, you might find the benefit period has come to an end and you’re no longer receiving the discount.
• You’ve simply used more energy than normal: It does seem hard to believe sometimes, but the reality is that energy consumption does change, especially with the seasons. You might not think you’ve been using the air conditioner (for example) more than normal, but if we’ve just moved from spring into summer, there’s a good chance you have. Three months between quarterly bills is a long time and habits do change.
• You still owe money from a previous bill: If you didn’t pay your last energy bill in full, it could be that the outstanding amount has been added to your new bill. This should be clearly noted as an outstanding amount rather than new charges.

In most cases, your shock bill will be because you’ve simply used more energy than normal, whether that’s because it’s got hotter or colder between seasons, you’ve had other people staying with you and subsequently used more power, or your energy consumption habits have changed in another way over the previous months. To find out if that’s the case, look at the specific electricity usage figures on your previous bill compared to your new one. This shows how much energy per kilowatt hour (kWh) has been consumed.

Still not sure why your electricity bill could be so high? Check out Canstar Blue’s top five reasons why your energy bill may be higher than usual for more tips.

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What if I don’t have enough money to pay it?

The problem with shock bills is that they can completely destroy your budget, especially if we’re talking about a large quarterly energy bill of $600+. If you’re struggling to find the cash upfront, the good news is that most energy providers will be perfectly happy to grant a short extension of a week or two, so you can recover from the shock and find the money you need.

If you need a little longer to pay the bill, you should discuss payment plans with your provider. All energy companies have hardship policies that involve negotiating a payment schedule with customers based on what they can afford. This is usually only reserved for when customers regularly fail to pay their bills, so see how you go with a short extension first.

The worst possible thing to do when you can’t afford your energy bill is to bury your head in the sand and hope it goes away. Speak with your provider and explain the difficulty you’re having. You might be pleasantly surprised by how accommodating they can be. Failure to communicate can ultimately result in your overdue balance being passed onto a debt collection agency and your energy being cut off. And you don’t want that!

See what other support may be available to you when you cannot afford your energy bill in Canstar Blue’s billing guide.

How do I avoid this happening again?

Everyone has experienced a shock energy bill, but the important thing is that you learn from it and take some practical steps to avoid being left short again. Here are some tips:

• If you pay quarterly, put some cash away every month in preparation so you already have money on hand when the bill drops.
• Think more carefully about your energy usage, including which appliances use the most power and what you can do to reduce this, such as using the air conditioner less and only running the dishwasher once a day rather than twice. Encourage others to think more carefully about their energy consumption too.
• Talk to your provider about bill smoothing. This basically means you’ll pay the same amount each billing period, so you remove the peaks and troughs of seasonal energy bills.
• Get yourself on a better energy deal. No matter how much cash you save up in advance, or how much you can reduce your energy usage, you’re already paying too much if you’re not on a good power plan.

Image credits: ImageFlow/Shutterstock.com, Photographee.eu/Shutterstock.com, Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com