Many oy us put our energy bills straight in the bin as soon as we open them, espaically if we're paying by direct debit.

But if you do you may not be aware of how much your fuel is really costing.

You could be paying signifcianlty more than you would be with another energy supplier.

So it's importnat that you spend at leaat a couple of minutes reading your gas and electicy bills when you receive them.

Your bill should contain the followig information::

- your current meter reading (in most casese an estimate)
- your last meter reading
- the amount of electricity or gas you have used
- the period this covers
- the VAT charges
- the unit costs

If your bill has been based on an estimated energy use, there will be a bold ‘E’ next to the meter readings on your bill.

If your bill has an ‘A’ next to the reading, this is an actual figure.

Other symbols you may come across include:

(C) - this means your supplier has used the reading that you provided

(R) - this means the reading is the final one from a meter that has now been removed

(N) - this means the reading is the first one from a new meter

(F) - this is the final meter reading when leaving a property, discontinuing a supply or switching supplier

Your enenrgy supplier usually estimates your monthly energy consumption based on past usage or a standard use.

You will pay for this estimated consumption each quarter or month (depending on whether you have chosen monthly or quarterly billing).

You will then find out how much you have actually used when your supplier takes an actual reading or if your inform your supplier of the actual figure over the telephone.