Do you know what you are paying for your energy bill?

So many of us just pay our energy bill without ever looking at what we are actually paying for! What do we actually pay for with our bill? Is the plan we currently have a good deal? Sometimes energy bills can be full of complicated jargon that can be difficult to understand. That is why we are here to help! This article will provide you with the information you need in an easy to understand format about the different parts of your energy bill, and what you need to start paying attention to!

Energy Pricing

The dollar amount that you pay for on your energy bill is made up of a number of different components. Your electricity payments cover a number of costs including:

1. 1. Wholesale pricing
2. 2. Retail costs
3. 3. Network costs
4. 4. Wholesale pricing

What is wholesale pricing? It is the bare costs it takes to generate your electricity. Wholesale costs are the same for all energy providers. However, they change from time to time, depending on supply and demand. About one third of your energy bill is to cover wholesale costs for your energy provider.

Retail Costs

These costs are added to your energy bill to cover retail services supplied by your energy provider. These types of services can range from speaking to a consultant on the phone to having your bill sent out via post. Approximately 10 percent of your bill is to cover retail costs. Next time you are speaking to a customer service representative from your energy provider, make sure you get your value for money!

Network Costs

Network costs cover the charges of transporting and distributing your electricity from the wholesaler to your home or business location. This may also include covering the costs needed to build, maintain, and operate electricity wires and gas pipes. Both of these types of tasks are quite costly, hence why network costs make up about half of overall energy bill cost. Costs for this are so high due to power stations being located a long distance away from where the energy is required to be used (either in your home or business).

Green Costs

Green costs come to a total of 5% of your total energy bill cost. This is added to your bill to help fund government programs that support the development of renewable energy, as well as helping you save energy. Saving energy means you will save on your power bill in the long run! Some of these government programs that you might be familiar with are solar panel instillation rebates. For more detailed information on this, visit the Australian Energy Regulator.

Types of Energy Bill Plans

Did you know you can also get different types of energy plans too? Some can be more cost effective than others. Different types of energy plans are not just going to a different energy provider or retailer. There are two types of energy plans:

1. 1. Market retail plans
2. 2. Standard retail plans

Market Retail Plans

Having a market retail plan means your electricity costs are set by your energy retailer and can change at any time. However, your energy provider must tell you at least 5 days before prices changer, whether they are increasing or decreasing. The advantage of having a market retail plan is that your energy provider can sometimes offer discounts or fixed prices for a certain period of time. With this type of energy plan, it is important to keep an eye on the price of your bill regularly, as well as keeping up to date with different energy retailers offers, as there might be a different plan with a lower overall tariff rate. Get in touch with us for help on this.

Standard Retail Plans

Standard retail plan prices are often set by the government, but this can depend on where you live. Generally, these plans can be slightly more expensive than market retail plans. However, standard retail plans can’t change their prices as often. Although standard retail plans aren’t offered the same discounts as market retail plans, it is still beneficial to look into these types of energy plans, particularly if you have resided in the same location for several years. Get in touch with one of our energy experts to see if standard plan is better for you.

So why does my energy bill keep getting more expensive?

It is important to check your bill regularly for this reason! Your bill may have increased for a number of reasons, including:

• – Changes in price from your retailer. Check the price per unit of electricity (kWh)
• – Your energy bill might have seasonal tariffs. This means you could be paying different prices at different times of year
• – You could owe money from your last energy bill
• – Have you changed the way that you’re using your energy? Make sure that you are cooling your house in a cost-effective way. Open some windows rather than turning the air conditioner on

If you are still unsure of why your bill keeps increasing, talk to one of our energy experts – you may need to implement an energy monitoring system.