New gas meter and big bad bill

[rosarugosa]

National Grid recently replaced our gas meter, and then our next bill showed that we used 4 to 5 times as much gas as our typical usage. We're a two-person household, and we use gas for hot water, stove & dryer. Reviewing past bills, it looks like we use twenty-something therms a month, and the bill after the meter replacement said we used 111 therms. We figure there is either something wrong with the meter, or else the installer set it up with an incorrect initial number. DH has called the gas company three times and their customer service is virtually non-existent. One woman kept telling him to just pay the bill because we must have used that much gas. We've been customers for 30 years and never even paid a bill late, so it's not like we're trying to weasel out of paying. Surely they can look at usage patterns and see that something is off. Has anyone ever dealt with a similar situation? I really don't want to pay a $135 bill when it should be closer to $35.

[CathyA]

I don't know much about gas, but if you can't get any reasonable answer for them, can you call some place like the Utilities Commission? I hope there isn't a leak somewhere.

[rosarugosa]

Thanks CathyA, that's a good thought. I would assume there's some regulatory body that oversees utilities.

[Williamsmith]

If there is a local office for the utility it is always more effective to show up in person and request to speak to someone regarding your bill. Often this will bypass the first firewall that the utility set up. Make it clear you are not leaving until you get that audience and take your past bills and usage with you as evidence. Be firm and start out nice but don't be afraid to show them you are not going to back down....it is your hard earned money and all you are there to do is defend your contract with them.

[rosarugosa]

Thanks William, that's another good idea, although the office isn't very close. I think we would leave this as a last resort.

[jp1]

SO pays our PG&E bill so I don't have any idea how many therms we use, and without knowing the cost of your therms or ours making a comparison is tough. That said, we use gas for the same things as you and our combined gas/electric bill for 2 people is around $40/month so your number prior to the meter sounds much more reasonable.

My thought for a possible explanation are that the initial reading was wrong, as you suggested, or the final reading of the old meter. Other thoughts would be things like a leak (which would be even more concerning from a safety standpoint...) or possibly a hot water leak somewhere, although that seems unlikely. The other possibility is that your old meter was under-reporting your usage, but for just stove, hot water and dryer I can't imagine that high of a bill unless you were running a hotel or something.

If you don't get any satisfaction now I'd certainly raise a big stink if your next month's bill goes back down to $35. If that happens obviously there was a meter reading error.

[Float On]

I would continue to insist on an audit of bill and equipment. Call daily and be "worried about a gas leak, because this bill is 3+ times higher than normal". I think when you mention worried about gas leak they have to send someone out don't they? Tell them you are recording the call because you've called before and no action was taken then proceed through the levels - CSR, Manager, ect.

I know that when they changed our meter for our electric they told us to expect a higher bill because previous bills had been estimated and there was a little catch up to do with these new meters that sent info directly to the electric company instead of the lag time of customers reporting their own meter readings every month. But it wasn't several times over our normal bill it was maybe 20-30 higher than our estimated bills. And they let us know what was happening, didn't keep us in the dark.

[razz]

Wow, your gas bill is so cheap until now compared to mine.

[Williamsmith]

Float On is correct. Most utilities, especially gas have an emergency number. It would be reasonable to call and tell them that your bill is five times more than the previous month and ask if that might indict a gas leak. Believe me, they will have some one out there pronto to troubleshoot the meter. Nobody wants it to go kaboom! Maybe you can eliminate that and find a contact at the same time. It only takes one person willing to help.

[awakenedsoul]

My bill went way up (5 times the normal amount) and it turned out that I had two gas leaks. (I have an older house, and the lines were from 1944.) I had to call three times. I had to tell them that I smelled gas for them to send someone out. They shut off the gas, and I had to replace the line. Fortunately, it was just to the dryer.

It sounds like a leak to me, even if you don't smell gas. It's dangerous.

[iris lilies]

I askedDHnwhatnourvgas bill was in summer months.He said it's about $35.00 per month when we are not using gas to heat the house. We use natural gas for clothes dryer,stove in those months.

[rosarugosa]

Thanks for the input folks. DH finally got someone from the gas company to listen, and they're supposed to be replacing the meter again on Fri. We will ask them to check for leaks while they're here.
JP & IL: Appreciate the comparative data. That helps confirm to my mind that it wasn't just a matter of old meter under-reporting. Our last couple of bills before the meter replacement were actual reads and not estimates.