Energy bill terms
Do you know what kWh means? Or the difference between a prepayment meter and a credit meter?
Here is a glossary of key terms related to your energy bill.
Actual bill – a bill generated using actual meter readings either from a smart meter or provided by the user or a meter reader.
Dial meter – an old-style type of meter that has clock faces reading left to right. Electric has five digits to read, and gas has four.
Economy 7 – a tariff that charges the user two different unit rates. Seven cheaper off-peak hours overnight and 17 more expensive on-peak hours in the day. You will have two readings to take. Read our Economy 7 leaflet for more details.
Estimated bills – a bill generated when an actual meter read is not possible. The supplier estimates the
reading based on average previous usage and time of year.
Imperial meter – measures gas usage in cubic feet or ft³.
In-home display – a small handheld device that comes with a smart meter. You can use it to view energy
usage in kWhs, pounds and pence and set budgets.
kWh – stands for kilowatt hour and is measurement of how much energy you use.
Metric meter – measures gas usage in cubic meters or m³.
Price cap – the maximum amount energy suppliers can charge you for each unit of energy and standing charge if you’re on a standard variable tariff. Note this limits the cost per unit and NOT the total energy bill.
Prepayment electric key – lets you ‘top up’ your electric traditional prepayment meter at a shop. Plug the key into the meter and the topup is added to the credit balance.
Prepayment gas card – lets you ‘top up’ your gas traditional prepayment meter at a shop. Plug the card into the meter and the topup is added to the credit balance.
Prepayment meter – a meter that needs to be ‘topped up’ before you use it either at a shop with a key or card, or online for smart prepayment meters.
Priority Services Register – provides support for vulnerable customers. Go to www.thepsr.co.uk or your supplier.
Retrofit – improvements on an existing building to improve its energy efficiency, making them easier to heat, able to retain that heat for longer, and replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy.
Smart meter – a meter that sends accurate readings to your supplier automatically. Your bills will be accurate, not estimated. Read our smart meter leaflet for more.
Smart prepayment top-up cards – allows you to ‘top up’ your smart prepayment meter at the shop. The credit should be automatically added to the meter.
Time of use tariff – rates vary based on the time of day, offering cheaper electricity during off-peak hours and higher prices during peak demand. These tariffs require a smart meter.
Traditional meter – a meter that is non-smart. You must provide a reading to your supplier or have a meter reader do it on your behalf.