Unusual high electricity bill

[Vivian1]

I have just received my three-month electricity bill, and it is extremely high—$851 for a one-bedroom apartment. This amount makes no sense given my circumstances: I have not used air conditioning at all during this period, and my apartment does not even have a heater.

I have contacted AGL customer service multiple times. At first, they agreed to arrange a meter investigation by an electrician. However, I keep receiving text messages afterward stating that the investigation could not be completed, asking me to call back. Each time I call, I am told I must hire my own licensed electrician at my own expense, which seems unreasonable considering the unusual circumstances.

One AGL staff member even informed me that there was an unexplained spike in electricity usage on Thursday, 14/08/2025 between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.—but no one was home at that time. This clearly indicates that something is not normal with the meter or the supply.

Given this situation, shouldn’t AGL take responsibility for sending an electrician to properly investigate the meter, rather than requiring me to pay for it privately?

I would appreciate your urgent clarification and support on this matter.

[SYED_AGL · Accepted solution]

Hi @Vivian1 

Thanks for reaching out, and I’m really sorry to hear about your experience — I can understand how frustrating this must be.

Before we move forward with any investigation, there are a few important things we need to check:

Is the reading on your bill an actual read or an estimate?

If you live in an apartment, are you familiar with your meter and do you have access to it?

Do you know if there is a smart meter installed at your property?

AGL can definitely raise a meter investigation request with your local distributor. However, please keep in mind that if no fault is found during the inspection, there may be a significant charge — as the technician will be dispatched by your area’s energy distributor, not directly through AGL.

If you're unsure about any of the above or need help checking, feel free to let me know — I’m here to assist you step by step

[Vivian1]

1.Is the reading on your bill an actual read or an estimate?

Answer :  on my bill it says ''Electricity charges are based on an actual meter reading''. 

2. If you live in an apartment, are you familiar with your meter and do you have access to it?

Answer : My meter is locked and I am not familiar with it. I also don't have access to it. You will need keys to get access to the meter. 

3. Do you know if there is a smart meter installed at your property?

Answer:  Yesterday I phoned AGL staff and one of the staff checked for med and informed me that it is a smart meter installed at my property

[Vivian1]

According to the bill I received, my average daily usage is recorded at 25.39 kWh, which seems unusually high for my household. In my apartment, the only major appliances that contribute significantly to electricity consumption are a clothes dryer, a refrigerator, and a computer. Even with heavy dryer use, these should not reasonably account for such a high daily usage. 

Furthermore, I believe there may be issues with either meter misreads or estimated billing. My usage levels do not reflect my actual consumption, and this discrepancy requires urgent investigation.

Another issue is the inconsistency of AGL’s billing projections. Since May, the projected charges for May–August have consistently displayed around $800 every time I logged into the AGL app. However, this projection has now suddenly dropped to $300, which raises serious concerns about the accuracy and reliability of AGL’s billing system.

I request that AGL:

1. Conduct a full investigation into my meter readings. 
2. Provide a clear explanation for the discrepancy in billing projections.
3. Ensure that any incorrect charges are corrected and adjusted promptly.monthly usage

[Lester]

Hi Vivian, I'm not an AGL rep, just a long term customer, but I might give you some things to check.

Firstly, having a smart meter, that does not require reading as such, the data is uploaded to the electricity supplier (your DNSP) who gives that the AGL for charging you for power used.

There really isn't much that can make a bill suddenly jump, if your usage has not markedly changed.

What might have happened, is :

You annual contract may have ended, and you might have been moved onto a basic plan that's dearer.

You might have been moved from a fixed (single) tariff to a TOU (Time of use) or with a demand tariff.

Your power tariffs / daily supply charge would have certainly increased on July 1st, with nationwide increases approved by the AER, though these were generally limited to about 15% more in some states / regions.

  * Most of the above will have seen a letter or email from AGL to advise the changes. *

Your usage did increase for an unknown reason, faulty HWS, fridge, other appliance that is on all the time.

You MIGHT have a faulty meter, it's not unknown to happen, but very, very rare.

I think it's best to do a little more investigating your side, a few things that will take you maybe 20 minutes . . .

Can you get your last bill that you feel had the reasonable $ charges, heck get the last couple of bills before this one.

Open them up together on the kitchen table and check : 

The plan type is the same, usually top right of 2nd page under 'Summary of your energy plan'.

What tariff you are on (single, TOU, TOU with demand etc), usually shown above 'New charges & credits'. 

Compare avg daily usage for same period last year which on my bills is to the left of that.

Check usage tariffs are same, you will likely see on the last bill the split difference for pre July 1st, and after that date.

Check daily supply charge has changed, it too likely went up July 1st.

There will be SOMETHING in the above vastly different if your last power bill jumped significantly, and it should be easy then to work out what the problems is and attempt to rectify it.

Changing plan, comparing retailer options / pricing, though most retailers are pretty close I have found, always make sure lower tariffs are not offset by higher supply charges.

Best of luck with it, let us know what you find.

[Vivian1]

Hi Lester, 

Thank you for your reply. I requested AGL to send an electrician, and when they finally came, it was discovered that my meter had been mixed up with my neighbour’s who lives upstairs. Mine is on G14 and my neighbour's unit number is 114, which explained such a high electricity bill. 

[Lester]

There you go !

One out of left field . . . so it'll be pretty easy to sort out with the present and any pas bills wrongly allotted can be reversed ?
The neighbours are not going to be happy !!