Unless you've made huge inroads into your energy usage during the year, the chances are you'll be on standby for bigger bills this winter than last.
Although the Government stepped in to prevent householders having to pay Ofgem's eye-watering price cap of £3549 for average use from October 1, the new price guarantee of £2500 is still more than £600 higher than last October's average price cap of £1277, even after the £400 energy rebate is taken into account.
Assuming you pay by monthly direct debit, this should mean that the average family will be paying around £50 more per month for their energy, once the rebate is applied to your account. But remember the energy price guarantee only lasts until April and the rebate's £66/£67 per month energy rebate credits stop on March 1.
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The £2,500 annual price for a typical household is based on a direct debit customer using 12,000 kWh (kilowatt hours) of gas and 2,900 kWh of electricity a year. A kilowatt hour is a unit of energy used to calculate your bill. However, most households aren't typical, and your bill depends on how much energy you actually use. Things like the number of occupants, the type of property and how energy efficient it is all make a difference.
However, if you suddenly get an unexpectedly big bill, it's important to know how to challenge it with your supplier.
The most important thing to remember is that consumers are protected against back billing of more than a year by Ofgem rules, which mans that your energy supplier can't charge you for gas or electricity used over a year ago if you were incorrectly billed, or not correctly informed beforehand.
Incorrect billing also includes situations where a supplier should have increased your direct debit because it was set too low originally and you have been using more energy than you have paid for, but the rule does not apply if you have obstructed or prevented accurate billing, for example, by not allowing your meter to be read.
Remember that you will generally use more energy than you pay for in winter months and less energy than you pay for in summer months, but your energy company should reassess your payments regularly to check that you are on track for your projected usage and inform you of any adjustments that need to be made.
If you do receive a big back bill then you should contact your energy provider and remind them that you are protected by the back-billing rules and only need to pay for the energy you have consumed within the last 12 months.
If you are unsure if your bill is correct, call your provider's customer service team in the first instance, who will be able to talk you through your bill in more detail. If you don't get a satisfactory answer at that point, you should write to your supplier, via post or email, explaining why you think your bill may be incorrect, along with an up-to-date meter reading and any evidence you have to back it up.
In your letter, you should ask your supplier to provide you with evidence of meter readings and rates being charged for different periods. Ensure you keep a record of all evidence and communication too.
If you are worried that you may be paying too much for your energy, it's always worth submitting an additional meter reading and asking your provider to confirm how much you should be paying.
How you read your electricity meter depends on which type of meter you have. If you have a smart meter, your energy provider should be receiving regular meter readings automatically, but remember the in-home display which shows you how much energy you are using is NOT your meter. Your smart meter should be in the same place as your your old meter was housed, and this should also be regularly checked to make sure the meter tallies with your bills.
How to read your meter
There are three types of standard electricity meters: Single rate, two rate and dial meters.
Single rate: Read the numbers from left to right. Don't include any numbers in red or after a decimal point, when you submit them to your energy provider.
Two-rate: These are usually used for economy 7 or economy 10 tariffs, and can be a little more complicated to read as they are used to give readings for two different tariffs, usually one for your day usage and one for night usage. If you have a digital two rate meter, you should be able to change your settings to show you your 'rates', with Rate 1 for your peak energy consumption, and Rate 2 for off-peak.
Dial: These are the oldest type of meter and can be the most confusing, although they are simple to read once you know how. Read the dials from left to right, ignoring any numbers in red. When a pointer is between two numbers, record the lower number, and if it's between 9 and 0, you should record the number as 9. When the pointer is directly on a number, check the next dial to the right. If the dial on the right reads 8 or 9, then you should lower the reading for the dial with the pointer directly on the number.
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