Have you received one of these?

If you haven't received the new water and electricity bill, as thousands have done already, rest assured that you'll get it in a fortnight.

Consumers have actually received two bills: one covering the period until September 30 with the 95 per cent surcharge and a separate one covering the period between October 1 and October 31.

The much-debated new water and electricity tariffs were made official in December but were introduced retrospectively from October 1, not without some last-minute tinkering after desperate appeals by the unions and employers.

In fact, during marathon meetings between the government and social partners in November, it was agreed that the eco-reduction threshold would rise for both families and single-person households.

All bills are accompanied by a flyer to help explain the changes. Interestingly, the new bills include an overview of the average household consumption which would give consumers an idea of how much they can expect to spend in the coming months unless they do something about it.

An exercise carried out by The Times on the bills of real, typical consumers shows a considerable gap in the rises to be expected by those in the eco-reduction threshold and those who are not.

In the first example, a two-person household of pensioners consumes 5652 units of electricity and 106 units of water and is therefore not entitled to the eco reduction. The couple pay 98c a day for water and €2.69 a day for the electricity they consume.

They used to pay €97 a month under the 95 per cent surcharge regime but will now be paying nearly €114 because they do not qualify for the eco-reduction.

Another household with four people, who have also received their bill, consumes less water and electricity than this couple and is entitled to the eco-reduction.

It is projected that this family will consume 94 units of water and 5440 units of electricity and will be forking out an estimated 54c a day for water and €2.03 a day for electricity.

For the month of October, this family received an eco-reduction amounting to €17.35. Their bill for the month amounted to €79, just €8 more than they were paying on average every month.