Blog

By: Citlali Dominguez

So you just moved into your new apartment, and you’re having trouble reading your utility bills. Don’t panic, CUB is here to help! 

We’ll start with electricity! A simple way to understand your bill is, supply + delivery + taxes & fees = amount due. Supply, what you pay for the actual electricity, takes up about a half to two-thirds of your bill. Delivery, about a third to a half of your bill, is what you pay ComEd to get the electricity to your home.  

Electricity usage is billed by the kilowatt-hour (kWh)— roughly enough power to run a typical window air conditioning unit for an hour.

Check out the sample bill provided by ComEd:  

Let’s break it down: 

1. In section 1 you will see your personal information: name, address, and phone number. Make sure your information is correct.
2. In section 2 you will see the issued date, which means the date that your bill was created. This section also will include a personalized account number, due date (when the payment is due), and amount due (the amount owed to ComEd). 
3. Section 3 shows your total usage over that past 13 months. Each month displays how many kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity were used. You will also see a bolded word that reads Actual. This means the utility read your meter that month. ComEd sometimes estimates your usage for the month, but that shouldn’t happen with modern meters that can be read remotely. So if it ever does say “estimated,” contact ComEd. 
4. Section 4 is not as scary as it looks! The first long section demonstrates your average energy usage and temperature for that current month. It also shows how much your usage has increased, percentage-wise, since the year before. The box on the bottom left shows last month’s average energy usage and temperature. The box on the right shows the average energy usage and temperature of last year.
5. Section 5 shows the supply section, which is the cost of your electricity usage for that month. Here you will see the company that supplies your electricity–either ComEd or an alternative electricity supplier. In this case the bill says “ComEd  provides your energy.” (Beware of bad supplier deals. If a company other than ComEd is listed here, make sure to check what per-kWh electricity supply price you’re paying and how it compares with ComEd’s price, which should be listed on your bills as the “Price to Compare” in the “Updates” section on the back page. It’s likely that ComEd will have the lower supply rate. )
6. Section 6 shows the delivery cost, which is the cost of delivering energy to your apartment for that month. This section will always list ComEd as the company that delivers your electricity–even if a different company is listed as your supplier in the Supply section of your bill. 
7. Beneath the big circle that is in the middle of your ComEd bill you will find the cost of taxes and fees. 

See that wasn’t so bad! Now let’s tackle the back of your electricity bill! It should look similar to the example below.

Don’t let the back intimidate you! We’ve already covered section 1, so let’s move forward!

1. Section 2 shows your address and your electric choice ID. This is different from your account number or meter number. You would only need to use your electric choice ID if you plan on participating in Community Solar or purchase electricity supply from a different company than ComEd. 
2. In Section 3 you will see your meter information. A meter is the device that records how much energy you are using. In this section you should focus on your meter number, which is a personalized number that is used to identify your meter, and your electricity usage. Again, your bill should always say Actual. 
3. The charge details show the start and end date of the period covered by your monthly bill. 
4. Section 5, 6, and 7, breaks down your supply, delivery, and taxes & fees in detail.
5. Section 8 shows you how much ComEd or an alternative supplier is charging you per kWh. In the sample bill, the price is out of date. Your bill will have the current ComEd price, or you can get it at this state of Illinois website. If you happen to have a different supplier you can use this information to compare prices.
   

While going with an alternative supplier can be a gamble, ComEd has a few programs that may help you save money, such as Hourly Pricing and Peak Time Savings. Community Solar–a program that allows you to enjoy the benefits of solar power, without installing panels at your home– is another great choice. 

If you would like more information about your electricity bill, CUB’s website has helpful resources, including Making Sense of Your Electric Bill. 

Okay, now let’s read our gas bill! Below is a sample provided by Peoples Gas.

Before we start, you should know that gas is billed by the therm. A therm is a unit of heat energy. One therm is roughly the amount of gas needed to run a typical residential furnace for one hour. Your gas meter measures the volume of gas in cubic feet, which is converted to therms on your bill. 

If you have an alternative gas supplier, the company’s information will appear below the messages section. If there is no company in that section, then your supplier is Peoples Gas. As with electricity, there are a lot of bad deals being peddled by alternative gas suppliers. Beware: It’s likely that the gas utility–Peoples Gas–is your best bet for supply. 

Similar to your electric bill, your gas bill can be boiled down to a simple equation – “supply + delivery + taxes & fees = amount due” – with supply a half to two-thirds of your bill and delivery one-third to a half. 

 Let’s get started! 

1. Section 1 is where we find Peoples Gas contact and emergency numbers
2. In section 2 we see the bill date, which is when the bill became available online, your account number, next meter read date, amount due, and the due date. 
3. Section 3 shows your name and address.
4. Section  4 displays the account summary, including  the billing period, average therms used per day, and the price of gas (a.k.a. purchased gas adjustment) for the current month, previous month, and the same month a year back. Followed by graphs that show your monthly usage and your monthly cost over the past 13 months.
5. Section 5 shows your previous balance (last month’s bill) and your current balance.
6. Here we can see the details of the gas service, you will see your meter ID, total gas usage, below that you will see the breakdown of delivery charges and taxes, as well as your gas service total at the bottom. Remember, Peoples Gas owns all the pipes, so you will always pay that company to deliver the heating fuel to you, even if you choose another company as your gas supplier.
7. Sections  7, 8, and 9 showcase the check you can mail to Peoples Gas, you can now make payments online and can enroll in automatic payments. 

Note: Gas utilities should read a customer’s meter at least once every other month. In the months your gas utility doesn’t visit your home, it will estimate your usage based on last year’s usage for the same month, adjusted for weather. Check your bill to make sure your usage is not being estimated more than two months in a row. If it is, call the utility and find out why. 

The back provides definitions of terms that are on your bill as well as financial assistance, payment and safety information. You can view a sample of the back of the bill on the Peoples Gas website. 

If you would like more information about your gas bill, visit CUB’s gas page, which includes the fact sheet, Making Sense of Your Gas Bill!

Please feel free to reach out to CUB if you run into any unresolvable issues with your utility. Our consumer hotline is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.