Electricity
The watt (W) is the basic unit of measuring power – it’s the rate at which an appliance is consuming energy at given time. Electrical appliances and lighting all draw a certain number of watts to operate.
A watt-hour (Wh) is one watt of power used for one hour – the accumulated consumption over a period of time. The following terms are used for multiples of these units:
| kilowatt | kw | 1,000 watts |
| kilowatt hour | kWh | 1,000 watts used for one hour |
| megawatt | MW | 1,000 kilowatts or 1,000,000 Watts |
| megawatt hour | MWh | 1,000 kilowatt hours or 1,000 kilowatts used for one hour |
You pay for electricity usage in kilowatt hours (kWh).
Gas
Gas consumption is calculated in joules.
The following terms are used for multiples of this unit:
| MJ | megajoule | 1 million joules |
| GJ | gigajoule | 1,000 megajoules |
Your gas account will show your gas consumption in MJs.