Pointless rant: Gas company + estimated bill = my bill just doubled from last month.

[Jeff7]

Update, Feb 2nd: :|Gas bill is now even higher than the last bill. The last bill said that this one was supposed to be a genuine reading, but it was estimated again, so that's 2 months in a row estimated. $164. :|
Daily average temp for this period: 32F, 2 degrees colder than the previous billing cycle. But, I wasn't here for 10 days! And the temp was in the 50's and 60's for a few days. Time to start submitting monthly readings manually I guess. At this rate I should get a monthly refund check for the rest of the winter.



They read the gas meter every other month. (National Fuel gas company)
According to my bills:
Daily average temperature for September: 70F.
Usage was read: 5 CCF
- Stove and water heater feed off of the gas line, so that's probably where this came from.

Daily average temperature for October: 64F.
Usage was estimated: 52 CCF
- Avg temperature goes down 6 degrees, usage increases by a factor of 10??

Daily average temperature for November: 45F.
Usage was read: 44 CCF
- It gets way colder, but my usage is still lower than the estimate from the warmer month prior.

Daily average temperature for December: 34F.
Usage was estimated: 102 CCF
- Temperature goes down a little bit, but my usage more than doubles??
Are these estimates based on the cost of heating a 2000sq ft house? I'm heating about 525 square feet, and during the day, I block off the vent that feeds into the bedroom, so that takes off well over 100 square feet.

Does all this get evened out with each time they do a reading? Or do I need to request a reading every single month to keep from getting ripped off?

 

[BoomerD]

Why are they estimating instead of actually reading the meter? If nothing else, I'd be calling them every month with the reading rather than getting bent over like that...

 

[Jeff7]

I just thought I'd check out the option to submit a meter reading, see what it looks like.

After entering my account number and ZIP code:

THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH YOUR SUBMITTAL

YOUR REQUEST COULD NOT BE COMPLETED AT THIS TIME.


Just dandy.
Possibly it's because I do have a reading scheduled for January 28th. It had damn well better be really low. I was away from Dec 22nd to January 3rd, with the thermostat set to 55F the entire time.

It's kind of sad that we still can't have network-enabled meters that would automagically report this sort of data to the corporations. I guess it's much more profitable to just overcharge every other month, and pay someone to drive around reading numbers, and writing them in a book.

 

[CorCentral]

Does all this get evened out with each time they do a reading?

Yes, it will.

/THREAD

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: CorCentral

Does all this get evened out with each time they do a reading?

Yes, it will.

/THREAD

:thumbsup:

 

[SampSon]

The estimated usage is usually adjusted after the actual usage reading. I've received credits or rebates when the readings are adjusted. I've switched to a budget billing system, which has generally worked better.
If adjustments are not made, make a complaint or lots of complaints, and push for monthly readings of actual usage. You could also document the readings yourself, on video tape or with a notary public in person.

Are these estimates based on the cost of heating a 2000sq ft house? I'm heating about 525 square feet, and during the day, I block off the vent that feeds into the bedroom, so that takes off well over 100 square feet.

If you're heating with a FHA furnace then blocking the vent has no bearing. If you're talking about zoned heating then it may be a different story. Either way their estimates are typically based on the even distribution of heating for all legally assessed living space. Each company should have its own set of estimation guidelines documented that you, as a customer, have access to.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: CorCentral

Does all this get evened out with each time they do a reading?

Yes, it will.

/THREAD

:thumbsup:

Well then, that is a good thing.

Originally posted by: SampSon
If you're heating with a FHA furnace then blocking the vent has no bearing. If you're talking about zoned heating then it may be a different story. Either way their estimates are typically based on the even distribution of heating for all legally assessed living space. Each company should have its own set of estimation guidelines documented that you, as a customer, have access to.

I'm not sure what "FHA" stands for. Forced sometHing Air?
The furnace has one big air outlet on it. The duct that attaches to it is then split up to go to each room, so blocking one vent would allow and force the air to find other ways out, such as through other rooms.

 

[SampSon]

FHA stands for Forced Hot Air or some call it Forced Warm Air.
Just covering the duct will have little to no bearing on the amount of energy you use to fire the furnace. The ducting you described is common to just about every current FHA furnace around. The furnace fires, blows the air, and typically continues until your thermostat tells it to stop. Blocking off the vents on a non-zoned heating system doesn't matter to the gas company and probably doesn't make a huge difference for you (mabey a slight bit depending where your thermostat is located).

The gas company should readjust your billing after readings, don't sweat it too much.

 

[Jeff7]

Dammitall. Update in the OP.