How do we verify natural gas usage, are we being cheated?

[H.G.P.]

I would like to know how to verify natural gas amount (MCF) usage. (Not price)

I have all the past bills and the MCF readings for all the way back to 2003, for the current month's billing cycle. The company is saying 19.9 MCF 2003 for this cycle (month), 16.7MCF for 2004, then suddenly for this year 28.2! for the same month's cycle billing date.

This means that the MCF usage for this month if nearly equal to the coldest month's for last year!! And we had a cold winter last year.

I smell something, and it's not natural gas .......

[RickM]

Do you have a meter in your home? Perhaps that will help. Also, many times the usage you see is an estimate.

[dhoward]

Doesn't MCF mean metered cubic feet?
You must have a BIG leak...

[tcar]

mcf = thousand cubic feet.

See the billing date and check the meter each month. They usually estimate every other month or 2 out of 3 months. They have to tell you if it's actual or estimate (most places anyway).

It's illegal for the meter to be off, regulated by gov. You can have them check it.

Y0u don't say where you live, but here (CO) it's been much colder this winter than for the last 4 years. Mine jumped similar to that.

Use it for heat and hot water? Using more HW can affect it.

[dhoward]

Originally posted by tcar
mcf = thousand cubic feet.

Duh.
Brain fade....

[H.G.P.]

Originally posted by tcar
mcf = thousand cubic feet.

See the billing date and check the meter each month. They usually estimate every other month or 2 out of 3 months. They have to tell you if it's actual or estimate (most places anyway).

It's illegal for the meter to be off, regulated by gov. You can have them check it.

Y0u don't say where you live, but here (CO) it's been much colder this winter than for the last 4 years. Mine jumped similar to that.

Use it for heat and hot water? Using more HW can affect it.

The billing date is from November 18th to December 20th (for this cycle).

The start date, November 18th, the MCF on the bill is stated as, actual. Then on the same bill states December 20th, estimate.

The MCF usage for this month is almost the same as the average of the three coldest months last year! (and this is after further insulation in the fall, and lowering the thermostat drastically).

Yes, it's been colder here in December, but I cannot believe as cold as January, Feb., and March averages last year.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I would watch the meter numbers, keep track of them from billing date to date. Several months ago we we recieved a gas bill for $200, when our normal one is $50. Upon calling, we were told that a billing error was made, and that the bill was a correction. Why the hell is that my fault?! So because their meter readers are idiots, we had to pay out the ass. And then you're talking to some indifferent, smart assed b!tch halfway across the country who knows she has you over a barrel, because utilities are a legalized monopoly. Can you tell it pissed me off? When asked to prove that they made a mistake they offered to produce the numbers, but if we weren't keeping track ourselves, what good is that to us? It's a total joke that they screwed up, and we had to pay for it. Where's friendly competition when you need it?

[Jamie79SC]

Puppy,

Did you burn the gas or not?

If they undercharged you before shouldn't you be charged now?

[MotoSook]

The house meters have cummulative indexes. When a meter reader reads the numbers month to month, the difference between the new month's value and the previous month's value is what you are billed for the month in question. The index is not reset month to month or reading to reading.

I use to be a measurement engineer for a gas company (although it was a transmission company, not distribution-who takes care of the small flow like to houses). The dials on your house meter is a little confusing if you don't know what you are looking at, but you can keep track of your meter reading to determine if you're being billed correctly. (some meters may have numbers like on your odometer..not dials) I've got a document somewhere that I used to train technicians to read the index dials on those small meters. If anyone is really interested, I can dig it up. Or we might be able to find one on the web. But the dial indexes are simply dials for every unit (10 cubic feet, 1,000 cubic feet for example). Go stare at the meter, and it'll be pretty obvious.

So basically, you want to read your meter (or take a digital picture of all the dials) a couple times a year. (maybe Jan and Jun). Subtracting the Jan index reading from the Jun index reading will give you your 6 month total, and so on. The meters can't be tampered with w/o breaking the seal (on the index) or the case. The meter at your house is what we refer to as a diaphragm meter in the positive displacement family of meters. The meter has what are essentially fixed (known volume) chambers and they are pretty accurate by industry standards.

"tcar" is correct about the estimates. Some local distribution companies may read your meters quarterly (every 3 months) or they may do it bi-monthly. So they estimate, then when they do read the meter, the billing is adjusted...and home owners eyes get big.

[dhoward]

Don't try to confuse the issue with facts.

[MotoSook]

pssst...pssssst...you want free gas man? I know a guy, who knows a guy who can hook you up with free gas and cable too!

[MotoSook]

HEre's what I found on the net...now go out and read your meters!

http://www.nagd.com/meter.htm


This one is even better..you can now read your electric meter too!

http://www.florenceutilities.com/Customer_Service/Read_Your_Meter/

[tcar]

If they overestimated on their estimate, the next time they read the meter, you'll pay for less than you actually used, if you've overpaid this time.

[onewhippedpuppy]

According to them, I was under-billed for multiple months. What pissed me off is the fact that not only was I expected to pay for their incompetence, but that it was in the form of a large lump sum. So instead of my regular gas bill, I believe it was about 4x that. For a college student with a family, $200 vs $50 is worth getting pissed off over. What if you paid $50 for something at Wal Mart, only to have them find you four months later and present you with a bill for $200, stating that they screwed up when they rang you up? It's BS, why is it my fault they have some dip$hit reading the meters?

[RickM]

Curious...do they read your meter by telephone line? That's how mine is set up. If so there's no excuse to estimate when they can get real time readings.

[MotoSook]

Matt, it's too bad that the customer service person wasn't able to offer a good solution to you. I don't think there are too many (if any)companies out there that has a policy to allow their customer service person to offer flexible payment options for folks who are in the situ you were in. In your shoes, I might have gone higher up in the command chain to explore options. But it appears your episode is a done deal, and you're just another victim of the numerous daily injustice we all suffer

Rick, I'm not in the local distribution side of the industry, but I suspect some companies may have remote reading (or drive-by reading via wireless transmission (shrug)). I wonder if the cost of remote reading makes sense for residential customers though. The equipment and service cost (equipment and phone line service cost) to the company for remote reading may not compare favorably to sending out a human reader. But who knows what goes on at the numerous utilities (esp. with companies who service high density regions with high rises and such). For larger meters (or larger volume customers) it makes sense to set up remote terminals to capture volume and sometimes gas composition data and crunch the numbers in a central office. I haven't seen this in residential applications, and even in some industrial meter settings (e.g. small to medium size factories) the meters are visited by a tech.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Ours is read by a meter reader, obviously not the brightest bulb. It wasn't so much the money, because an extra $150 sucks but it's not going to break me, it was just the principle. We screwed up, now you pay for it. I don't know, it just struck me the wrong way. Just the way it is though, we only have one option, and I kinda like having heat.

[wilke3169]

I am and have been for years on an equal pay plan. I pay the same amount each month then it is adjusted on my anniversary date. Often times if you have a spike, such as the one you are talking about, the gas company will allow you to pay a portion with no penalty. Call and tell the first customer service rep that you talk to that they don't make enough money to hear what you are getting ready to say. Screaming doesn't always help but reason does. If that fails then scream.

[Joeaksa]

Originally posted by wilke3169
I am and have been for years on an equal pay plan. I pay the same amount each month then it is adjusted on my anniversary date. Often times if you have a spike, such as the one you are talking about, the gas company will allow you to pay a portion with no penalty. Call and tell the first customer service rep that you talk to that they don't make enough money to hear what you are getting ready to say. Screaming doesn't always help but reason does. If that fails then scream.

The equal pay plan benefits only one concern, and thats the gas company. You pay more during the summer when you are not using much gas and they make interest off of your money. Sticking that money in a savings account and paying the actual amount each month would make you the money and hopefully keep you a bit warmer each month.

We have a guy who drives by in a truck and monitors it electronically.

JoeA

[legion]

Originally posted by Joeaksa
The equal pay plan benefits only one concern, and thats the gas company. You pay more during the summer when you are not using much gas and they make interest off of your money. Sticking that money in a savings account and paying the actual amount each month would make you the money and hopefully keep you a bit warmer each month.

We have a guy who drives by in a truck and monitors it electronically.

JoeA

Not to mention there is some kind of "convenience fee" (at least with my gas company) for the privilege of giving them an interest-free loan.