Australians caught out by electricity bill jargon could pay hundreds in added costs

Households struggling with rising energy bills are paying more than they should be for their electricity.

By not reading up on the finer details of their bills they are often paying avoidable charges and excessive fees, a new report warned.

And with more Australians tipped to work from home well into summer – when the use of cooling spikes – experts are imploring households to do their homework to incur some much-needed savings.

Findings from consumer comparison website Finder revealed nearly three in 10 households – the equivalent of 5.1 million Australians – have little to no understanding of their electricity bill and how jargon-like terms contribute to their payments.

Over a third of households (34 per cent) were unable to cite how much energy their household was using, while 9 per cent would not know where to find that information in their paperwork.

More concerning, Generation Z had significantly weaker levels of bill literacy (9 per cent) compared to Baby Boomers (57 per cent).

Finder insights manager Graham Cooke said confusion over important terms in an electricity bill could see households stung with hundreds of dollars in excess costs.

But there is a simple fix.

Continue reading about how you could be paying too much in added costs.

First published on www.thenewdaily.com.au and republished with permission from The New Daily. For the full article visit The New Daily website.