Manage Bill Smoothing

Bill Smoothing calculations, managing payments and cancellations.

Bill Smoothing gives you peace of mind by spreading the year's estimated energy costs into consistent, even payments. Learn how your bills are calculated, how to mange payments and what to do if your service is cancelled.

Looking for information on eligibility and set up? head to Bill Smoothing: about, eligibility and set up.

Bill Smoothing forecast and calculations

When you're on Bill Smoothing, you'll receive both bills and review letters.

You can expect review letters twice yearly in line with your billing cycle. They'll detail how your energy use is tracking against our yearly forecast. If your actual energy use is different to our forecast, the review letter will show how your payments can be adjusted to match your use.

Your bill includes details about your usage charges, fees, discounts and concessions.

When you sign up to Bill Smoothing you'll receive a welcome pack letter confirming your instalments and predicted usage for the year ahead.

How your Bill Smoothing is calculated

  1. To calculate your first annual Bill Smoothing cycle, we look at the payment amounts from your previous billing history.
  2. If you're new to AGL or don’t have a usage history of a full 12 months, we'll substitute any usage history we have for you over the last 12 months with data on other customers or households like yours.
  3. We use this data to estimate your payment amounts from your last bill date plus one day, to cover any upcoming bills for the next annual cycle, which could be up to 16 months.
  4. Your payment amount is divided by your payment frequency – weekly, fortnightly or monthly – to find your recommended Bill Smoothing payment amount.

After your first annual cycle on Bill Smoothing, your next forecast will look at the previous 12 months’ data only.

Your account will be in credit if you’ve paid for more energy than you've consumed. You can request your credit to be rolled over at any six month review, or by managing your Bill Smoothing arrangement in My Account.

To rollover your credit in My Account:

  1. Under Bill Smoothing, select the bill you want to review
  2. Select the fuel type that has your Bill Smoothing arrangement and follow the prompts.

If there's a credit balance, you can contact us to obtain a refund or leave it on your account. A credit balance will not be a factor when calculating a renewed Bill Smoothing payment amount.

Need help to rollover your credit? Contact us.

Bill Smoothing payments

Your payment frequency can be changed to weekly, fortnightly or monthly based on what's convenient for you.

Your payment amount may be changed if your actual usage differs from our estimate. If your payment does change, we will notify you in writing of the new amount and when it will commence.

If you've recently received a Bill Smoothing review, you can view and select a payment option in My Account or the AGL app.

Did you know that by submitting your own meter readings you can help make your bills more accurate and consistent? Submit a meter read.

Setting up Direct Debit with Bill Smoothing is the best way to make your billing easy. Once set up, your payment amount is automatically deducted from your nominated bank account at your nominated payment date.

If you have Direct Debit set up, make sure your account has sufficient funds for the bill amount to be paid. Bank transaction fees and Government taxes may also apply.

To keep monthly payments predictable, we set payments on the same date per month within the first 28 days of the month for customers who pay monthly and the same day of the week for weekly and fortnightly payments.

For credit card payments, we only accept Visa and Mastercard. A payment processing fee may apply (GST inclusive).

To set up a Direct Debit for your energy bill using your nominated savings, cheque, credit card or PayPal account, log in to My Account

Learn more about Payment options.

If you're unable to make an upcoming payment, we can help you stay on track by applying a payment break or holiday.

If you miss a payment without notifying us, your arrangement might be cancelled.

Check your Bill Smoothing details and payments online in My Account, the AGL app or alternatively, contact us.

To let us know you're unable to maybe a payment, contact us.

You can take one month off your Bill Smoothing payments each year. We’ll simply smooth that amount over the remaining months of your 12-month term.

For example, if you make your Bill Smoothing payments weekly, you can take four weeks off individually or consecutively.

It’s up to you when and how you’d like to take your payment holiday. To arrange a Bill Smoothing payment holiday, contact us.

Moving home

If you're on Bill Smoothing and moving home we'll help make the process a little less stressful.

We’ll create a new Bill Smoothing account for your new address, along with a new forecast to improve the accuracy of your suggested payment amounts.

Once you’ve reached the move out date for your current address, we’ll cancel Bill Smoothing for that account.

To let us know you're moving home, contact us.

Ending Bill Smoothing

Your Bill Smoothing could be cancelled for a number of reasons such as missed payments or an outstanding debt. We'll send you a letter to let you know if your Bill Smoothing has been cancelled.

Upon cancellation, if your account is in debit, you’ll need to pay the outstanding amount. If your account is in credit, you will be eligible for a refund.

Has your Bill Smoothing been cancelled and you'd like to get it set up again? To get back on Bill Smoothing, contact us.

If you no longer wish to pay via Bill Smoothing, give us at least three business days’ notice prior to the due date of your next Bill Smoothing payment.

Towards the end of each annual Bill Smoothing cycle, we compare your annual energy usage against our forecast. If your actual energy use was higher than we predicted, we may ask you to make a one-off payment to get your outstanding balance to nil.

If there's no outstanding amount or if your account is in credit, your Bill Smoothing will automatically renew for the following year.

As a part of your annual review, you'll also get a confirmation letter for your next year of Bill Smoothing. This letter will outline the year ahead with your new forecast, your payment amount and nominated payment frequency.

Having trouble paying your bills?

There are financial support options to help you such as payment extensions, instalment plans and hardship programs. Learn about our financial support options.

If you’re finding it hard to pay your energy bill, there may be additional ways we can support you under our Staying Connected program.

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