Estimated bills

Noticed an estimated bill?

 

Estimated bills happen when Power and Water can't access your meter. It means they can't supply us with an accurate read, so they estimate one based on your past usage.

 
The top reasons for this are usually:
If you have a dog on the property near your meter box.
If your gates are locked.
If anything is obstructing the entrance. This could be overgrown bushes or rubbish.

What can you do to help?

Purchase an authorised lock
Power and Water issue locks that help you to secure your business while ensuring they can access your meter.
Submit a meter read
If Power and Water have left a meter read card in your mailbox, you'll need to respond within 48 hours.
Move your meter
If you've tried everything but your meter location just isn't working, you can speak to a licensed electrical contractor about relocating it.

Frequently asked questions

Estimated usage is based on:

  • If we have 12 months of usage history for your property: your previous usage recorded over the same billing period last year;
  • If we don't have sufficient billing history for your property: the average usage of a similar property using electricity for the same purpose (business).

Your bill will show if it was based on an actual or estimated read in the 'Invoice details' section on the front page.

Power and Water will return to your property and safely take an accurate read. They then supply us with the information and we adjust your bill.

In cases where your meter read was estimated because the meter failed to record your usage accurately as confirmed by a meter test, we may rebill your account for a maximum of two billing periods, using the information provided by the metering network provider.

Please remember that you have an obligation under the Customer Contract to give safe and easy access to your meter at least once a year to the metering network provider (Power and Water). Failure to provide access could lead to your electricity being disconnected.

 

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