Your Bulb Energy Bill Explained
Regardless of who your energy supplier is, there's a lot of important information in any bill, and it helps to know how to make sense of it. And when it comes to energy bills from Bulb Energy, that still holds true.
You need to know what's what on your bill so that you can contact your energy supplier, and also if you are thinking of switching to a different energy supplier.
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What does an example of one of Bulb's energy bills look like?
Before walking you through Bulb's bill, let's begin with an example of one of their bills. Yours should look similar to the sample bill below:
1. Payments and balance
Your payments and balance overview is just a snapshot of what you’ve paid and whether you’re in debit or credit. It’s best to find yourself in credit over the warmer months, and then this accounts for your higher usage when it’s cold. Your monthly payments are chosen based on your annual usage, and should see you in credit at the right time.
2. Projections
Bulb highlights your projected annual spend based on usage information. This leads on to information about the cheapest tariffs available from this supplier.
3. Tariff recommendations
If you could be saving money by switching to another Bulb tariff then you’ll find that information here. Bulb highlights the cheapest similar tariff (for example, a green tariff), followed by the cheapest overall tariff. Get in touch with them if you want to switch.
4. Member support
Bulb has provided a page that’s dedicated to member support. In comparison with some bills, this is very clearly laid out and easy to scan for the information you might need. You can see a range of contact details, as well phone numbers in the event of a gas emergency or electricity supply fault. There are also clear details on the right regarding complaints procedure.
5. Tariff name
This is simply the name assigned to your fixed or variable tariff. It usually includes the month and year that the tariff ends, and after that you’ll move onto the supplier’s default tariff and probably pay more. It’s a date worth remembering!
6. Payment type
This is a reminder of how you pay your bill, so if you see ‘Direct Debit’ then you know the payment comes out automatically. If you’d like to change this then get in touch with your supplier.
7. Termination fee (or exit fee)
This is important information, as it warns you about any cost to exit your contract. If you want to switch during your contract and there is an exit fee, you’ll almost certainly have to pay it. Some deals don’t have an exit fee, leaving you free to switch at any time for no cost.
8. Estimates
On the left you’ve got estimated readings which have been used for the bill. This simply means that actual readings were not supplied.
The estimates on the right let you know how much gas and electricity your supplier expects you to use. You can use this information when you compare energy deals and you are asked for your annual consumption, or you can do it based on how much you spend.
9. Energy usage and cost
Here you’ll see your energy usage and cost, which is based on estimated meter readings in this case. There are two different parts to your cost of energy - your unit rate and your standing charge. These are combined to create the cost of gas and electricity.
10. Electricity supply number (MPAN)
This is your electricity supply number, or Meter Point Authentication Number. You’ll usually find it has an ‘S’ before it, and, as with the gas number, it can be handy to know where to find it.
