How to Read Your Electric Bill and Understand Every Charge in 2025

Your electric bill contains critical information for managing energy costs and comparing suppliers. While bill formats vary by utility, all bills from AEP Ohio, PECO, Eversource, and other utilities include the same core components:

• Account information
• Meter readings
• Usage data
• Itemized charges

In deregulated states, your bill separates:

• Supply (generation) charges — What you can shop for
• Delivery (distribution) charges — What stays the same

Understanding this separation is essential for comparing competitive electricity rates. Your bill also serves as a legal document showing your consumption history, payment status, and important notices. Taking ten minutes to understand each section empowers you to identify savings opportunities and catch billing errors.

The top of your electric bill displays essential account details. Key information to locate:

• Account number — Your unique identifier needed when switching suppliers or contacting your utility
• Service address — Where electricity is delivered (may differ from mailing address)
• Rate class — Typically "Residential" or "RS" for home accounts
• Meter number — Identifies the specific meter at your property

If you have multiple meters or addresses, verify you're reviewing the correct account. ⚠️ Security tip: Keep your account number confidential — scammers use this information to switch your service without permission.

Your bill covers a specific billing period, usually 28 to 32 days. Understanding service dates:

• "From" and "To" dates — Show exactly which days are included in this bill
• Helps you track usage patterns across seasons
• Bill arrives after the billing period ends — charges reflect past usage

Payment information:

• Due date — When payment must be received to avoid late fees
• Grace period — Most utilities offer some flexibility
• Late charges — Typically 1-2% of your balance

Payment options to consider:

• Automatic payment — Never miss a due date
• Budget billing — Even payments throughout the year

Your bill shows meter readings that determine your electricity usage. How to calculate usage:

1. Find "Previous Read" — Meter position at billing period start
2. Find "Current Read" — Meter position at billing period end
3. Subtract previous from current = Your kWh usage

Reading types:

• "Actual" reads — Smart meters transmit readings automatically
• "Estimated" reads — Used when meter couldn't be accessed (next actual read adjusts)

Typical residential usage in OH, PA, MA:

• 600-1,000 kWh monthly
• Varies by home size, weather, and appliances

Tip: Tracking your monthly usage helps identify unusual consumption patterns.

Supply charges (also called generation or energy charges) cover the cost of producing electricity. In deregulated states, this is the portion you can control by choosing a competitive supplier. Default rates if you haven't chosen a supplier:

• Ohio — Standard Service Offer (SSO)
• Pennsylvania — Price to Compare (PTC)
• Massachusetts — Basic Service

If you have a competitive supplier, their name appears on the supply portion of your bill. How to calculate your supply rate:

1. Find total supply charges
2. Divide by kWh used
3. Result = Your effective supply rate

This is what you compare against competitive offers. Note: Some suppliers add monthly service fees shown separately from the per-kWh rate.

Delivery charges (also called distribution or transmission charges) cover moving electricity from power plants to your home. What delivery charges pay for:

• Power lines
• Substations
• Transformers
• Meters
• Utility customer service

Key fact: Unlike supply charges, delivery charges are regulated and don't change when you switch suppliers. Your utility (AEP Ohio, PECO, PPL Electric, Eversource, National Grid) collects delivery charges regardless of your electricity supplier. Delivery charge components:

• Fixed customer charge — Monthly fee for being connected
• Variable charges — Based on your usage

Shopping tip: Since delivery stays constant, focus your comparison shopping on supply rates only.

Your bill includes various taxes and regulatory fees beyond basic supply and delivery. Types of additional charges:

• State and local taxes — Apply like other purchases
• Utility riders — Fund specific programs

Common utility riders:

• Renewable portfolio standard charges
• Energy efficiency program fees
• Transmission cost adjustments
• Low-income assistance funding
• Infrastructure upgrades

Key facts:

• These charges are regulated
• They apply regardless of your supplier choice
• You can't avoid these charges

Shopping tip: When comparing suppliers, focus on the supply rate since taxes and riders apply equally to all suppliers.

To compare supplier offers accurately, calculate your current rates. Calculate your total blended rate:

1. Find your total bill amount
2. Divide by kWh usage
3. Result = Your blended rate (includes supply, delivery, taxes, fees)

Calculate your supply-only rate:

1. Find just the supply charges
2. Divide by kWh usage
3. Result = Rate to compare against supplier offers

ElectricRates.org automatically calculates your potential savings — Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts customers save an average of $521* per year. Typical residential rates in OH, PA, MA:

• 12-20¢/kWh total
• Supply = 40-60% of that amount

Important: If a supplier offers 6¢/kWh, that replaces only your supply portion, not your entire bill.

Most bills include a 12-month usage history showing your consumption patterns. What the graph reveals:

• Summer spikes — Air conditioning usage
• Winter spikes — Electric heating or holiday lighting
• Seasonal variations — Normal patterns for your home

How to use this data:

1. Total your monthly kWh for a full year
2. Calculate your baseline consumption
3. Use annual usage (not one month) to compare supplier offers

Watch for anomalies:

• Unusually high months might indicate equipment problems
• Could signal weather extremes or billing errors
• Worth investigating if patterns don't match your habits

Review your bill monthly to catch errors that could cost you money. Common errors to watch for:

• Estimated reads that seem unreasonably high
• Rate doesn't match your contract terms
• Wrong meter number — You may be paying for someone else's usage
• Duplicate charges or unfamiliar fees
• Incorrect switch date or rate after changing suppliers

Billing errors happen more often than consumers realize. If you spot an error:

1. Contact your utility or supplier immediately
2. Explain the discrepancy clearly
3. Most disputes can be resolved with a phone call

Best practice: Catch errors within 1-2 billing cycles for easiest resolution.