My Monthly Bill
My Monthly Bill
Why do you bill monthly?
In the past, we used to bill quarterly for electricity, and every two or three months for gas. This made budgeting difficult for customers and the billing experience lumpy and uneven. For example, if you use $100 of electricity every month and $100 of gas every month, you might have received a bill like this:
| Month | Cost | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| January | $000 | No meter read yet no bill |
| February | $000 | No meter read yet no bill |
| March | $600 | 3 months electricity + 3 months gas |
| April | $000 | No meter read yet no bill |
| May | $000 | No meter read yet no bill |
| June | $600 | 3 months electricity + 3 months gas |
To help smooth out the billing for the months when we don’t receive an actual gas meter read from your local distributor, we will use an estimate based on your previous usage instead. This means you will receive a bill that looks more like this:
| Month | Cost | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| January | $200 | Estimate |
| February | $200 | Estimate |
| March | $200 | Wash out when actual read received |
| April | $200 | Estimate |
| May | $200 | Estimate |
| June | $200 | Wash out when actual read received |
Smaller more regular billing makes managing bills easier. Importantly we always use the actual reads to make 100% sure you only ever pay for the energy you consume, only in a smoother way.
Why do you have to use an estimate for monthly billing?
Your local distributor reads your meter and provides us with the meter data every two or three months depending on the meter type. To smooth things out we will estimate your meter read, and make the necessary adjustments as the actual read comes in so that you only pay for the energy you’ve used. You can track your meter reads and see the history of the estimates and actual reads in your “my account” portal. If you haven’t already registered click here. Its free and gives you 24/7 access to all your account and billing information.
How do you calculate an estimate?
The estimate of your usage is based on your property’s previous usage pattern. The estimate will always balance out the when the actual meter read is taken by your local distributor and we’ve made the necessary adjustments. In the end you will only pay for the energy you’ve used.
What if an estimate is wrong?
We take care to estimate as accurately as possible, but estimates can vary. However, your bill will always even out when the next actual meter read is done. Any incorrect estimate would either be a bit lower or higher that it should be, but once the next actual read is done, we immediately adjust your account with the actual read to ensure that you only pay for the energy you’ve used.
Example: imagine the last three monthly reads on your meter were 8200, 8300, 8400. That means you used 100 units every month for three months. Let’s imagine you pay $1 per unit. You should be billed for $100 each month. This equals $300 for all three months together. However; imagine your second month’s read was overestimated incorrectly, and we used an estimate read of 8350. You would have been billed like this: 100 units in month one, 150 units in month two, but only 50 units in month three. This still equals $300 for all three months together. The actual read always ensures that any over or underestimate is washed out.
Can an estimate read cause bill shock?
Actual reads are always best, read how you can avoid bill shock and get the most accurate bills here.
Can I provide my own meter read?
Yes, if you prefer to read your own meter, just snap a photo of the meter and send it to CustomerService@GloBirdEnergy.com.au Please make sure to clearly capture both the meter read and the meter number. Please also mention your GloBird account number in your email to us. We will happily use your read to create your bill.
I don’t want the convenience of smoother monthly bills; can you bill me every two months instead?
Most of our best value gas plans come with monthly billing, however we may have another energy plans with different rates with longer billing cycles. Call us on 13 3456 to discuss and we will help find the best plan for you.