Understanding Your Bill
Energy Market
Understanding Your Bill
The amount you see on your bill accounts for all the steps in a complicated process involving many players. While some areas of your energy costs are fixed, with the right knowledge and clever demand management, you are able to gain control over 95% of the charges that make up your monthly bill. You will be surprised!Your electricity rate is set by your retailer according to long term price trends determined by supply and demand signals.
Whilst the rate you agree to pay is fixed, you can choose the best conditions under which to sign your initial contract, securing a contract at a low rate.
Electricity prices also vary according to peak demand times. You will pay a higher rate for electricity when demand is high, adding to network costs in these periods. Peak demand times vary according to season and time of day and are expressed as kilowatts demanded per peak, off peak and shoulder period on your bill.
Demand management is one of the best ways to lower peak energy costs. By reducing the amount of energy demanded during peak demand times, you contribute to lower overall network costs during these periods. EnergyAction can help you manage your demand.
The tariff, or rate, set by your retailer includes maintenance and delivery, a loss factor for energy lost in the delivery and GST. What many do not know is that your tariff is negotiable. EnergyAction frequently identify instances where customers have been allocated to the wrong tariff.
Your bill will also feature a figure expressing your power factor. This is a measure of how well matched your energy input and working outputs are. EnergyAction can determine whether your power factor could be improved and fit the necessary equipment needed to do so, ensuring your energy load is all put to good use and reducing your overall spend.
Your bill also includes a charge for your retailer's costs in reaching state imposed Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme emissions reduction targets, as well as some optional, or value added services. For example, customers who opt to have a portion of your energy sourced from renewable sources will also see these costs appear on their end bill.
EnergyAction provide cost analysis of such services to ensure they do add value to your operations, and oversee their correct implementation.
For our EnergyAction monitoring customers, we provide a line by line breakdown of your bill. Using your monthly business data and estimates based on your initial requirement portfolio, we can identify any inconsistencies and provide accurate, thorough and timely responses.
This data also allows EnergyAction to perform the most accurate and detailed bill validation service available. With meticulous bill estimates, we will monitor whether your operations are running as expected and whether you are being charged correctly.
Energy spend may not be at the top of the list of priorities for most businesses. However, you will be surprised at the multitude of potential savings areas to be found, starting with the obvious: your bill.