Gas Billing Considerations

Complex systems

Consumers have been billed for decades using a clear and easy to understand system based upon consumption. In most countries there was the cubic meter for gas billing. The cost would linearly increase based on the units of energy being recorded as used by the utility meter. The meter would be read every month and a consumer bill was released.

Current energy billing got more complex mostly due to government regulation. This ended up making consumption not as straightforward as it was before. For instance, the volume of gas used is converted into potential useful energy and that amount is finally billed to the consumer, using a complex mathematical calculus.

Complex billing is one key reason that energy consumption and its true impact is harder to determine. In order to have effective cost reductions it is necessary to understand your current billing and contract terms.

Current contract and billing

It is important to know your current billing system and this is presented both in the utility provider contract as well as it is reflected on your bills. In general, there is much less freedom in choosing a rate plan as is the case for electricity contracts. Fixed energy unit rates, at least for a year, are much more predictable than variable rate ones, so this is the preferred option.

Consumption alone is still the biggest factor in the total cost. Keep in mind that having a way of billing that is similar to electricity brings its own set of challenges. This puts gas and electrical appliances, more or less, on equal terms. As a consequence, not only the efficiency of a particular class of products is important, but also the actual energy input, making decisions to repair, upgrade or replace certain gas appliances a much more difficult proposition.

The current gas billing situation makes cost savings much more difficult as it is not centered only on limiting actual consumption but also on looking for comparisons between gas and electrical appliances and choosing electrical ones, if they are more viable or versatile.

Gas billing

Gas billing is almost always based upon a flat rate determined through gas volume being passed onto the consumer but this is compounded in a calculus, as the actual used gas is converted into an equivalent energy unit imput, measured in Kwhs, as for electricity.

Flat rate

For all intents and purposes, the current billing system uses a flat rate energy consumption with certain adjustments. In Britain, Europe and Japan, but also in many other developed countries around the world, the metered gas, as measured in cubic centimeters, is adjusted for pressure and temperature and given an equivalent value adjusted based on thermal (burning) energy release, known as calorific value. A typical billing ends up as below.

Flat rate with tiered consumption range

Sometimes, this system is being transparently offered to consumers or it is being enforced as their consumption is determined. This way of billing traditionally set a lower energy unit rate for higher consumers, based on different consumption ranges. This depended on country and utility distributor conditions.

It is important to note that split fuel cost structures may also be introduced as methane is mixed with hydrogen, in different proportions and up to 30%, in the next decade. This will obviously increase the cost of gas but slightly reduce air pollution and dependency of foreign gas imports.

Future systems

The same systems employed on electricity metering and billing may also be applied to gas, in the future, as it is entirely possible to do so as soon as more advanced meters come into the market.