Understanding your utility bills


Bills for things like electricity or gas can appear complicated at first, but understanding your bills is really important – especially if you’re thinking of changing your supplier so you can save money. That’s why we’ve included an example of a typical utility bill below and explained what each of the different parts of the bill really mean.

Example front of a utility bill

What does each section mean?

Account number

This number is unique to you and your account with the supplier. Your supplier will use your account number to find your details on their system if you ever need to talk to them.

Bill breakdown

This is where you’ll find a summary of your bill with all the charges, discounts and VAT included.

Total payment due

How much you need to pay.

Date information

The date your bill was issued.

Contact information

How to get in contact with your supplier if you have any questions about your bill or if you’d like to pay over the phone.

Account details

This lets you know about any of the recent payments you’ve made and when they happened.

Example back of a utility bill

What does each section mean?

Total charges

The total amount to pay after all charges and discounts have been taken into account.

Meter point reference number

This is a unique number for gas customers that’s usually on the back of a bill.

In case of emergency

Numbers you can call in case there is an electricity or gas related emergency. This might be a loss of supply or you think there’s a gas leak.

Minicom service

These are the details of a service for anyone who’s hard of hearing.

Calculating your gas charge

This is a break down of your costs and shows you how to work out the amount you owe on your bill.

Customer complaints

How to contact the supplier if you have a complaint.

You may be familiar with your money coming in now, but you might still struggle to live within your means. Our next page outlines some ways to
Control your debt >>

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The learndirect team