Your bills explained - Npower

Your Bill explained PDF8Step 1: Working out how much energy you’ve usedWe start with your last meter reading (or our estimate of your last reading). If you’re a new customer, we’ll use youropening meter reading – but in both cases, we’ll compare those numbers to the most up to date figures we have foryour account.For electricity, the difference tells us how many units of energy you’ve used in Kilowatt hours (kWh). We can then workout how much money you’ve spent.For gas, the readings are in ‘therms’. We’ll do a calculation to work out the equivalent number of kWh, and show youthat figure on your bill. We show you how this calculation is made in the “Jargon Buster” section of your bill.Step 2 – We check which tariff you’re onWhichever tariff you’re on, for gas or electric, we have to charge you for two things. First, there’s a standing charge.That’s calculated equally on a daily basis, together with a single unit rate in pence per kWh so that we can work outthe cost of electricity you’ve actually used – this is why it’s better if we have up to date meter readings, so that we cancharge accurately.If you have an Economy 7 tariff, you’ll see a separate rate for units used during the 7-hour cheaper night rate period(usually between 10pm and 8.30am).Step 3 – We add in any discounts, debits and creditsAfter we’ve worked out how many units you’ve used, and how much we need to add on to cover the cost of supplyingyour energy, we check to see if you owe us money from a previous bill or if you’ve made any payments recently.- If you usually pay the full amount when you get your bill, we’ll show you how much you need to pay now.- If you pay by Direct Debit, we’ll look at your last statement and add on your total energy charges for this period.After we’ve taken off regular payments and any Direct Debit discounts, we can see what the balance is – but that’sfor information only. We’ll carry on taking payments from your bank account as usual.- From time to time, we’ll also review your account – and then change the Direct Debit if we think you’re buildingup a debt, or paying us too much.- If you pay via a prepayment meter, we’ll summarise the payments you’ve made and show them as a comparisonwith the account charges. Again, that’s for information only – you do have to carry on crediting your meter as normal.However you pay us, we’ll add credits or debits to your bill as soon as we can to help you stay on top of yourenergy costs.And if there’s something you’re not sure about, we’re always happy to run through the details with you or offer energysaving tips that could help you reduce the amount you spend..npm9919/RF13920/07.13