Understanding Your Bill

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Help Centre

All topics

Understanding Your Bill

Where are my usage details or meter readings?

Usage details are displayed on the 2nd page of each bill.

Reports can be generated on Business Online. 

Why is my bill estimated?

We issue you a bill on the same day every month/2 months; As your meter is only read up to 4 times a year by the meter operator (NIE T&D), we have to estimate your consumption to ensure that you get your bill when you expect it.

Sometimes we will have an actual meter read but your bill may also contain some estimation. This is because we issue your bill on the same date every month/2 months and the read mightn't cover the full billing period. We’ll estimate your consumption from the actual meter read date to the end of your billing period.

This does not apply to Max Demand or Interval customers as your bills are not estimated. 

How do I check the balance on my account?

You can check the balance on your account at any time by logging into your Business Online account. If you’ve just made a top-up payment, please allow up to 3 working days for this to be reflected in your account.

If you don’t have access to your Business Online account you can find out your balance by contacting our dedicated Customer Service Team. 

What other charges might I be billed for?

Disconnection and reconnection charges 

Description Explanation Cost (ex-VAT)
De-energisation fee (non-payment) Disconnection due to non-payment £109.00
De-energisation fee (other than non-payment) All other disconnections £109.00
Re-energisation fee (non-payment) Reconnection where property was disconnected due to non-payment £109.00
Re-energisation fee (other than non-payment) All other reconnections £109.00

Electricity meter and service charges 

Description Explanation Cost (ex-VAT)
Meter exchange charge Cost of changing your meter type e.g., from Standard to Economy 7. This doesn't apply the first time you change your meter type. £323.00
Investigate physical metering Includes meter faults, damage and other problems. Charged only if you requested it and no problems are found. £75.00
Special reading If you request a technician to read your meter i.e., in the instance you're unable to read it £37.50
Special reading (dispute) If you dispute a meter reading and request a technician to come and read your meter. You will only be charged if no problem with the original reading can be found. £56.50

Additional Details

Find out more about connection, metering and service charges from Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE), which owns and operates the electricity transmission and distribution network. 

How long do I have to pay my bill?

You have 14 days to pay your bill from the date it was generated. This is shown as 'Payment Due' on the front of your bill.

If your circumstances have changed and you’re having trouble paying your bill, please let us know as soon as possible to avoid any unnecessary charges.

If you’re a direct debit customer, make sure to do this at least 5 days before your payment due date so we can stop your direct debit from being initiated. 

Northern Ireland Electricity Pass-Through Charges 2023/2024

Charges in your electricity contract include both the SSE Airtricity energy supply charges and Utility Regulator approved Pass-Through charges. As you can see in your contract, the SSE Airtricity energy supply charges will follow the agreed contractual risk management strategy e.g. fixed energy price, for the duration stipulated in the contract, and Pass-Through charges will only change with approval by the Utility Regulator.

The only differences in the charges set out below are the result of the Pass-Through charges change, which have been approved by the Regulator for 2023/2024.

The Pass-Through charges applied by NIE Networks, System Operator for Northern Ireland (SONI) and the Single Electricity Market Operator (SEMO) for the 2023/2024 period have now been set, and the changes to your contract prices are noted below. Additional charges have been introduced by I-SEM, these are shown below.

The net adjustments will be applied to your bill from 1 October 2023.

What are Pass-Through Charges?

Electricity Suppliers in Northern Ireland pay multiple different regulated charges and levies which they in turn must pass on to their customers through their billing and rates. Regulated charges for the use of the electricity distribution and transmission network in Northern Ireland and a levy known as the Public Service Obligation (PSO) levy are set by NIE Networks and the System Operator for Northern Ireland (SONI). The maximum amount recoverable is approved by the Utility Regulator. Other regulated costs, including capacity payments, are associated with the Integrated Single Electricity Market (I-SEM) and are set by the Single Electricity Market Operator (SEMO) and the maximum amount recoverable is set by the SEM Committee. Usually NIE Networks, SEMO and SONI set these charges, and the Regulator approves the charges, on an annual basis.

Pass-Through charges are applied equally to all suppliers.

Pass-Through charges include

  • Transmission Use of Systems (TUoS)
  • Distribution Use of Systems (DUoS)
  • Public Service Obligation (PSO)
  • System Support and Services (SSS)
  • Supplier Capacity Charges price
  • Difference payment socialisation multiplier
  • Residual Error Volume Price
  • Currency Cost price and currency Adjustment charge factor
  • Collection Agency Income Requirement (CAIR)
  • Market Operator Charges (MO)
  • Imperfection Charges
  • Northern Ireland Renewable Obligation (NIROC)
  • Availability Charges
  • Standing Charge
  • Reactive Charge
  • Demand Capacity Charge*

How will the changes in Pass-Through costs impact my premises? 

The level of Pass-Through charges applicable to your premises and the change in these costs from 1 October 2023 depends on Use of System (UoS) Code linked to your premise(s) which is explained on your advisory letter. All supply points connected to the electricity network have a connected UoS code. The UoS code is assigned by NIE Networks to the premise based on the network connection characteristics and metering configuration.

Dependent on the UoS code for the premise(s), the net adjustment to your current rates from their current level are detailed in the table below.

SSE Airtricity’s pricing proposal set out the Pass-Through charges that were used to calculate the tariffs. For any customers now coming towards the end of their contract term, the renewal quotation will reflect the 2023/2024 Pass-Through charges and we won’t need to further update your bill.

Half hourly metering - net change to tariffs from 1st October 2023

Half hourly metering net change to tariffs from 1st October 2023

Non-Half Hour Metering - Net Change To Tariffs From 1 October 2023

Tariff Type Uos Code Description £
Popular

T031



T035

Standing Charge £ per day

£ per kWh

Standing Charge £ per day

£ per kWh

+0.0408

+0.0151

+0.0875

+0.0086

Nightsaver T032 / T034

Standing Charge £ per day

£ per kWh Day

£ per kWh Night

+0.0408

+0.0187

+0.0008

Weekender T033

Standing Charge £ per day

£ per kWh Normal

£ per kWh Low

+0.0408

+0.0238

+0.0031

You can find a brief explanation of the changes in the Regulated Charges for 2023/2024 “Regulated Entitlement Values" which is on the Utility Regulator’s Website: www.uregni.gov.uk/publications/2023-2024-regulated-entitlement-values-information-note (uregni.gov.uk). The I-SEM tariff components are explained on the SEMO committee website: www.semcommittee.com/news-centre/sem-tariffs-and-charges-decision-paper-202324-tariff-year.

If you would like us to send you a copy of the detailed charges, have any questions about your new tariffs or any other aspect of your service from SSE Airtricity, we’re here to help. Please call us on 0345 602 9857 for large business customers and 0345 266 1787 for small, medium and enterprise Business customers.
Thank you for choosing SSE Airtricity as your chosen electricity supplier.

Kind regards,
Business Energy
SSE Airtricity

*Customers who have demand capacity charge as Pass-Through within their contract

When will my direct debit be taken out of my account?

Your direct debit will be taken out of your account 14 days after your bill is issued. This is shown as the 'Payment Due Date' on your bill.

Any extra non-direct debit payments you have made up to 5 days before the Payment Due Date will be taken off the balance of your direct debit; payments made after this will be credited to your next bill. 

What is a standing charge?

Standing charges are a combination of the fixed charges associated with providing electricity and gas network services and a share of the supply costs in servicing your account. They may vary by supplier. 

I don't think the amount on my bill is right - what should I do?

First check your consumption:

It could be that your previous bills have been based on estimated reads and this one is based on an actual meter read. Look at the back of your bills under the Usage Details section. If meter readings are estimated, they'll be clearly marked with (E). If your account has been estimated for a period of time, an actual meter read may mean a larger or smaller than expected bill. This is because your account may have been under or overestimated for a period of time and this bill is correcting that.

Is this bill based on an estimated read? If so, read and submit an actual meter read and we will cancel (reverse) this bill and re-bill you using these actual reads.

What period does the bill cover? Your current bill may cover a longer or shorter period than your previous bills. If so, you should check if the daily charge in this bill is in line with previous bills. This is calculated by dividing the total value of the bill by the number of days the billing period covers.

Have you changed the way you use electricity? Your energy consumption can increase for lots of reasons, for example fitting new appliances or machinery, extending your premises or changing your business hours.

The time of year can also impact the amount of electricity you use.  

Northern Ireland Renewable Obligations cost (ROCs) adjustment and Climate Levy Change (CCL)

ROCs changes

From 1 April 2023, the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation Cost (ROCs) decreased from 19.3% to 18.4% ROCs per MWh of electricity supplied. The buyout price for each ROC increased from £52.88 to £59.01.

These changes equate to an increase of 0.065 pence per kWh (£0.0007 per kWh).

We’ll apply the increased pass-through costs to your bill from 1 April 2023. For more information on this see OFGEM website. 

Climate Change Levy (CCL)

There has been no change to CCL in 2023, so the decrease effective from 1 April 2021 is still applicable. CCL decreased from 0.811 pence to 0.775 pence (£0.00811 to £0.00775) per kWh.

These changes equate to a decrease of 0.036 pence per kWh (£0.00036 per kWh). Further details on this change can be found here.

SSE Airtricity expects the next change in pass-through costs to be from 1 October 2023, which will arise from the annual review of inter alia transportation and distribution use of system charges, Single Electricity Market (SEM) costs and the Public Service Obligation (PSO) levy.

Should you have any queries about your new tariffs or any other aspect of your service from SSE Airtricity, please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Service Team, who are available Monday to Friday 9am-5:30pm on webchat here, by email at businessenergy@sseairtricity.com or by phone at 0345 266 1787.

What is a 'Reversal'?

A 'Reversal' takes place when you were previously issued a bill for the wrong amount. This can happen when:

  • We calculated your bill using an estimated reading, but later received an actual reading that was lower
  • The meter reading that was submitted and used to calculate your bill was incorrect
  • Your bill was charged at the wrong rate

If this happens, we’ll correct it on your next bill by ‘reversing’ (or refunding) the whole amount for the incorrect bill. This will appear on your bill as:

  • ‘Invoice Reversed: xxxx’ and
  • ‘Invoice Reversed: xxxx – VAT’ 

Where xxxx will be the invoice number from the incorrect bill.

We’ll then ‘charge’ the new correct bill amount, which is just the same as calculating the difference. This will appear as extra line items on your bill but it doesn’t mean you are being charged twice.

Any credit or debit due will be then be applied to your overall bill.

Have a question?

Our Customer Service Team is here to help

Phone 
0345 266 1787

Monday to Friday
9am-5:30pm