Everything you Needed to Know about Gas and Electricity part 1
Unless you live in a mud hut in the middle of nowhere, the chances are you'll use electricity. You will probably also use gas, for heating your water and central heating. Most of us take it for granted that we have to pay the prices we're charged, and when the prices go up we heave a sigh and alter our budget accordingly. But are we giving up too easily?
Electricity bills are charged in kWh units – kilowatt-hours – and each unit costs an amount in pence. The electricity provider counts how many units you've used, adds on a daily standing charge and VAT, and this is your bill. Gas is worked out in a similar way, and billed accordingly. Most people will use more electricity than gas. If you have a two-tier bill, such as Economy-7 (unit charges go up or down depending on the time of day), it may be worked out in a different way – check with your supplier if you're curious.
It's worth keeping an eye on your bills as sometimes they can be incorrect – you may find you're paying for units you haven't used. You could be billed according to an estimated reading instead of what you've actually used – if you think this is the case, take a meter reading, phone your supplier and ask them to update their records. You can easily check if your meter readings are correct by looking at the kWh figure on your last bill and comparing it to the kWh figure on your meter – if there's a substantial difference give your supplier a call.
There are many other reasons why an electricity or gas bill might be wrong – another common one is encountered by people who live in blocks of flats. If the meters for each flat are all clustered together in one place, the meter reader may have recorded amounts from someone else's meter on your file – you would end up paying for someone else's usage. Again, it's easy to check by comparing your bill and your meter.
It's worth calling your supplier to make sure all the details they have about you are correct. If they have you recorded as being on one tariff and you're actually on another, this could affect your bills dramatically. If they've been overcharging you because of an administrative error you could be eligible for a refund.
As gas and electricity prices change, you need to make sure your bills change too. Compare electricity prices on your bill with the current published tariff, and question any discrepancies as soon as you can. If you're mistakenly getting cheap electricity because your bill hasn't been adjusted, you could end up with a hefty back-dated bill.
About the Author: J Tillotson is a financial author in the UK with a particular interest in saving energy
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Print Article | Download PDF | 35 views | Sep 15 2008
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