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How to handle an unexpectedly high electricity bill
How to handle an unexpectedly high electricity bill
Written by
Rachel Gregg
Edited by
Ellie Garran
Reviewed by
Julia PaszkaCompare Electricity & Gas Plans
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Long story short
Your bill can jump for more than one reason
Seasonal heating or cooling, rising rates, estimated reads, old appliances and unpaid charges can all push your electricity bill higher than normal.
Checking your bill details can help spot mistakes
Match your meter and account details, look for estimated usage and compare your current charges with past bills before calling your provider.
Small changes can help bring your bills down
Comparing plans, using off-peak power, upgrading inefficient appliances and checking rebates can all help reduce your electricity costs.
Why is my electricity bill so high?
Seasonal changes, estimated readings, rising rates, inefficient or faulty appliances and unpaid charges from past bills can all explain why your electricity bill is higher than usual. If you haven’t made any drastic changes to your lifestyle or the way you use energy, then one or more of these reasons could be the core factor. To find out why your bills are high, it’s important to understand your energy usage and have a deeper look at your bills before calling up your provider.
Seasonal changes
More time with the air conditioning on in summer and heating in the winter can mean different levels of energy use from more recent bills. Depending on where you live, you might find that you need extra heating and cooling appliances throughout the year, which could mean a rise in your bill.
For homes in winter Victorian energy bills are commonly seen to rise to combat those frosty winter days. While Queensland bills can see a rise during summer to keep their homes cool.
Inefficient or faulty appliances
If your appliances aren’t energy efficient or don’t work as well as they should, it could mean paying for power that doesn’t benefit you. For example, a fridge from 1999 could use 40–60% more energy than a newer energy-efficient model. Investing in energy-efficient appliances could make a difference to your bills in the long run.
Unpaid charges from previous bills
If you have unpaid charges from a previous bill, they’ll be carried over to your current one. This can explain the jump in price.
If you do have any outstanding charges, it should say so on your current bill. You can also look through your previous bills and payment records to double-check this.
Incorrectly estimated charges
Receiving an estimated bill can mean you’re accidentally overcharged on your bill. An estimated bill is when your meter can’t be read by your provider and they make an estimate of how much your usage would be by looking at past usage data. You’ll know if you’ve received an estimated bill, since your provider legally must have the letter ‘e’ or the word ‘estimated’ next to the usage charge. If they do charge you too much, you should be credited on your next one.
To fix an estimated bill, you can submit your own meter reading, or self-read, which your provider will then fix and apply to your current bill. If you want to stop estimated bills from ever becoming a problem, the best solution is to install a smart meter. These can be read remotely every 30 minutes and can offer more tariff types to your home too.
Rising rates
An increase in your electricity rates can be the reason behind a higher bill. Your energy retailer should notify you of any price change before they take effect, giving you time to review your plan or compare other electricity plans that could better suit your needs (iSelect can help with that). Electricity prices are often reviewed around the start of the financial year when comparison prices are updated by regulators. In New South Wales, South East Queensland and South Australia, this is known as the Default Market Offer (DMO) which is a comparison price set by the Australian Energy Regulator. In Victoria, it’s called the Victorian Default Offer (VDO). Wholesale costs, network charges, environmental costs and retail operating expenses influence these comparison prices.
For 2026–27, annual prices under the DMO vary by location, with some states expecting increases of around 1.4%, and others seeing a decrease by up to 7.2%, according to the Australian Energy Regulator. While the DMO only applies to standing offer contracts, electricity providers may change or raise rates on market offers in response to these comparison prices. In Victoria, the 2026–27 VDO decreased by an average of 5% from 2025–26, according to the Essential Services Commission.
Helpful tip
When it comes to cutting electricity costs, the biggest wins often come from the appliances that use the most power. Things like heating, cooling, electric water heaters, clothes dryers and pool pumps can make a much bigger difference than smaller changes, like remembering to unplug your phone charger every day. Reducing your heater temperature settings or checking if your pool pump can move to a controlled-load tariff can be more effective than turning off every standby switch.
Julia Paszka
General Manager – Utilities & Credit Cards
What if my electricity bill is wrong?
If your power bill is wrong, or you think it might be, you should double-check the details before contacting your electricity provider. First, check that the account number matches your meter number to make sure the bill is actually yours. If the number doesn’t match what’s on your bill, take a photo and contact your energy provider. If it is your meter, you should consider whether any seasonal factors, like winter heating, or unique factors, like new appliances or a longer billing period, might’ve bumped up the price. If things still don’t look right, call your provider and ask them to explain why you’ve seen an increase in your bill price.
If you’ve contacted your energy provider regarding an incorrect bill and you’re not happy with how they resolved it, you can escalate the issue by reaching out to your state or territory’s energy ombudsman service.
What else can I do to help reduce my electricity bill?
Turning off appliances at the wall, using off-peak power, paying your bills on time and comparing providers regularly can all help to reduce your electricity bill. Unfortunately, you can’t do much about electricity and natural gas price rises, but small energy-saving tips can make a difference to your final bill.
- Turn appliances off at the wall: Some appliances use up electricity even when you’re not actively using them, like TVs. Getting in the habit of turning things off at the wall can have a big long-term impact on your energy consumption and bills.
- Switch to LED lights: LED lights use significantly less electricity, reducing your overall bill. If you can, switching to LED lights could save up to 75% on your lighting costs. If you’re renting and you can’t change to LED bulbs, you could get some LED standing or table lamps to use instead of the property’s overhead lights.
- Compare providers with iSelect: Comparing regularly can mean keeping an eye out for any energy plans that could work better for you, whether that’s a lower price or a pricing structure that works better with your usage habits. With iSelect, you can compare a range of electricity providers to see if there’s a better match for you.
- Get your fridge temperatures right: Making sure your fridge and freezer are at the right settings and are sealed properly can help them run more efficiently. The ideal temperature is 3°C for your refrigerator and –18°C for your freezer. Lowering your thermostat can help lower those continuous running costs.
- Try to use electricity in off-peak times: If you have a smart meter, you should be able to use a time-of-use tariff. This means you can take advantage of cheap off-peak periods. While you might not be able to use all your power during off-peak periods, using timers for appliances like dishwashers and washing machines can help you shift over and make a difference in your overall energy costs. Your specific peak and off-peak periods will depend on your energy distributor.
- Make sure you have the lowest rates: If you haven’t looked at your energy plan in a while, you might be paying more than you need to. Get in touch with your current energy provider to see if they can offer you a better deal. Just be sure to check whether any deals have limited lifespans, leading to them increasing in price after a certain point. You may also be able to access concessions or rebates depending on your circumstances and location to help reduce the cost of your energy bills.
- Pay your bill on time or ask for an extension: Some providers offer discounts for paying on time. Set up reminders in your calendar to pay your bill on time, or you can use direct debit. If you’re unable to pay the bill when it’s due, you may be able to negotiate an extension or payment plan with your energy provider. This can help you avoid paying late fees on top of your bill.
Am I eligible for an energy concession or rebate?
Holding the right concession card, like a healthcare concession or pension card, and meeting any other criteria will mean you’re eligible for an energy concession or rebate. Each energy rebate and concession will have different criteria to meet and different levels of support, so whether you are actually eligible depends on how you meet these. With high energy bills impacting more homes affected by cost-of-living pressures, the Australian Government has created various energy concessions and rebates to help ease the financial burden. These concessions and rebates are administered through state and territory governments.
Where can I compare electricity providers?
Save hours on research time by comparing online from a range of plans and brands with iSelect. A better value electricity plan could be just around the corner.
Get started on comparing energy plans today!
Save time and effort by comparing a range of energy plans with iSelect
iSelect does not compare all energy providers or plans in the market. The availability of plans may change from time to time, depending on who iSelect’s providers are and what plans they make available to iSelect. Not all plans made available from iSelect providers may be compared by iSelect either due to commercial arrangements, area or availability, so not all plans or providers compared by iSelect will be available to all customers. Some plans and special offers are available only from iSelect’s contact centre or website. Energy plans are available only for properties located in eligible areas of Victoria, New South Wales, South East Queensland, South Australia and ACT. Click here to view iSelect’s range of providers.