Calculating your bill

Your unit rate and standing charge

Your bill is based on how much energy you use during a certain period. We calculate it by combining the unit rate you pay for your energy with your standing charge, described below, factoring in how much energy you’ve used.

Unit rate – the cost you agreed with your energy supplier for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of gas or electricity you use, which could be fixed or variable.

Standing charge – a fixed daily cost you pay in addition to the unit rate regardless of how much gas or electricity you use. This is to cover running costs like metering, maintenance of the pipes and cables that supply energy to your home and keeping your home connected to the energy network. It’s the cost of having a gas or electricity supply. Think of it as a line rental, but for energy.

Standing charges apply to both gas and electricity and will vary by supplier, where you live, how you pay and what meter you have. Generally, homes in more rural locations - where the gas or electricity supply has to travel further from where it’s generated - have higher standing charges.

What is a kilowatt hour (kWh)?

A kilowatt hour (kWh) measures how much energy you’re using per hour. One kWh equals a thousand watts of energy. You’ll be using watts of energy on all the appliances you run including heating and lights. If it’s on it is using energy – even on standby!

Receiving accurate bills

To receive accurate bills based on your actual usage, you’ll need to submit a meter reading to us. We’ll prompt you when it’s time to submit one and you’ll have five days to do so.

We’ll calculate how may kilowatt hours you’ve used based on the meter readings you’ve provided, comparing your current reading to you previous reading. We’ll then generate your bill and send it through to you. If you haven’t been able to provide meter readings we’ll estimate your bill based on your previous usage.

How to reduce your energy usage

There are many ways to reduce your energy usage, like turning your thermostat down by 1 degree or installing thermostatic radiator valves so you can control the temperature in each room. Why not view our handy guide of energy saving tips.

Another way you can control your energy usage is by installing a smart meter. Use your smart energy monitor to see how much energy you are using in pounds and pence and only pay for the energy you use. You can also track your usage in our app.

Or why not join our PeakSave scheme? PeakSave rewards you for shifting their electricity usage to times when there’s less demand, or more renewable electricity available on the grid, supporting a greener energy supply. Find out more on our PeakSave page.

What is an average bill?

According to Ofgem, the average British household has 2.4 people living in it and uses 2,700 kWh of electricity and 11,500 kWh of gas. This works out at 242 kWh of electricity and 1,000 kWh of gas per month.

Of course, this is just the average consumption for a household of between 2-3 people. The more gas or electricity you use, the higher your bills will be. It also assumes you’re using a mix of gas and electricity, but if your home uses only electricity, you’d expect your electric consumption to be higher.

No one wants to pay more than they need to for energy. Having a rough idea of how much energy you should be using and average costs may help to estimate your bills and compare prices with other energy providers.

My meter reading wasn’t accepted

Sometimes we won’t be able to accept your meter reading because it doesn’t match with your recent energy usage. For example, your reading may be lower than a previous reading for your property or may be much higher than we were expecting.

If this happens, we just need you to check your meter again and re-submit another reading to us. If you are having trouble reading your meter we can send an agent to your home who will be able to do this for you.

Can I change how often I’m billed?

If you pay on receipt of your bill we promote monthly billing because it makes paying your bills on time easier – this way your bill should be a smaller and a more manageable amount each month. However you can request to move to quarterly if you’d prefer.

If you pay by Direct Debt you can change how often you are billed by speaking to one of our agents.

Can I change when I get billed?

Your billing date is dependent on when you joined us or when you moved over to our new billing system. You can request to change your billing date if you’d like to. However, please note that your billing date is not your payment date which is always due 14 days after the bill is produced.

What are revised charges?

Revised charges are shown on your bill if we receive a new meter reading that shows we have previously over or under-estimated your energy use. We will then present the updated charges in your latest bill.