Why Is My Electricity Bill So High? 8 Causes to Check

The short answer

Most unexpectedly high bills come from one of a handful of causes, and only some of them are mistakes. Read the meter line and the units before the amount: if the units rose, the cause is consumption, a long billing cycle or an estimated reading. If the units did not rise, the cause is almost always a tariff rule or an adjustment line — the 200-unit rule, a slab edge, the fuel price adjustment or a quarterly adjustment.

The causes, in the order to check them

An estimated reading

If the bill says the reading was estimated, the units are a guess based on earlier usage. Compare the current reading printed on the bill with the number on your meter. An estimate that runs high is the most fixable cause on this list.

A longer billing cycle

The reading dates are on the bill. A 38-day cycle produces more units than a 28-day one at the same daily use, and can be enough on its own to push a household over 200 units.

You crossed 200 units — this month or recently

Protected rates need six consecutive months at or under 200 units. One month over bills that month as unprotected and keeps you there for six months. At 150 units that is about Rs 5,471 a month instead of Rs 2,365, even though usage fell.

You moved up a slab above 200

Unprotected consumers get no slab benefit, so the whole month is charged at the rate of the slab the total falls in. Going from 300 to 301 units moves every unit to the 301–400 rate: about Rs 12,130 becomes Rs 13,422.

The fuel price adjustment

FPA is set close to monthly and relates to fuel costs one or two months earlier, charged per unit. A high FPA month raises the bill without any change in your use, and it can also be negative.

A quarterly adjustment

Quarterly tariff adjustments arrive in blocks, which is why some bills jump once every three months.

Arrears or a late payment surcharge

An unpaid or late-posted amount from the previous bill is carried forward, with the surcharge if the due date passed. Check the arrears line before anything else if a payment was recent.

More consumption than you thought

Cooling dominates Pakistani summer bills. Compare with the same month last year, not last month — consumption is strongly seasonal.

Check your bill in five minutes

1. 1

   Look the bill up

   Open the official bill with your reference number at the top of this page, so you are reading the utility's current record rather than an old paper copy.

2. 2

   Compare the reading with your meter

   If the printed current reading is higher than your meter shows today, or the reading is marked estimated, that is your case. Photograph the meter.

3. 3

   Count the days and the units

   Note the reading dates and the units billed, then compare the units with the same month last year.

4. 4

   Look at your last six bills

   If any of them went over 200 units, you are on unprotected rates for six months. That alone explains many sudden increases.

5. 5

   Run the numbers

   Enter the units and this month's FPA into the calculator. If your bill is far above the estimate, the difference is in arrears, adjustments or the reading — and that is the part to question.

If the bill really is wrong

An estimated or wrong reading, a wrong tariff category and a detection bill are all genuinely disputable. The FPA rate and the slab rates are not — they are set nationally. Start with your company's helpline or sub-division office, take a complaint number, and pay the undisputed part of the bill while the dispute is open so the connection is not put at risk.

Questions