help needed gas to expensive

Scottish_Power

Hi nosierosie

The best advise I would give here is to contact ScottishPower directly and ask that you be given your gas consumption history over the last 2 years based only on accurate meter readings. This is what I would do if you contacted me directly.

A consumption table will show clearly if there has been any major changes in the level of gas you are using this year compared with what you have consumed in the previous year.

Also check to see if there has ever been a debt setting on your meter. I would very much doubt this if you have not been notified of this earlier.

I would guess that if you are not currently working then you are in the property a lot more during the day and due to the cold weather you have your heating on longer than normal. This will contribute greatly to the increased amount of money you are putting in your meter.

An average gas consumption over a 12-month period would be around 20000 kWh (55 kWh per day). This can obviously vary greatly depending on how many people live in the property, how often it is occupied, how long the heating is on etc. I would have a look at meter readings you have recorded to see how much you are using on a daily basis. If you are consuming far more than 55 kWh per day then I would suggest looking at how long you have your central heating on and how high the thermostat is set at.

You may also wish to check your boiler system to ensure it is functioning properly.

Contact us as soon as you can so that you can make any necessary changes over the festive period.

I hope the information I have provided has been helpful to you.

Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Kind Regards

Colin @ ScottishPower

Premier_2

julie2710 wrote: »

Are you on a pre-pay meter? They are notoriously more expensive. ...

savemoney wrote: »

Prepayment is a very expensive way to pay for fuel, ...

Scottish Power charge all their gas pre-payment metered customers 10.5p per day standing charge and 3.844p per kWh

That is cheaper than their equivilent standard tariff rates for credit metered customers who opt to pay quarterly by DD, cash, cheque or PO.

(A fixed discount is available for prompt payment /payment by DD. This is given as a rebate on the following bill)

incubus72

nosierosie wrote: »

hi all,
my gas is using around £10 or more in 24 hours. do you think my meter is broke as its costing £70 a week and i can not afford it. i am on benefits now as got sacked from work. i am with scottish power and this price just seems unreal. help:mad:

Whilst not quite expensive as yours I have a similar problem. I am in a small 2 bedroomed ground floor flat with gas central heating,both my cooker and shower are electric and yet to have my heating on from 9 a.m to 11 p.m at night is costing me about £7 per day. Your best bet is to contact your provider and tell them that you are living in fuel poverty,they will calculate your income and if they feel that you are living in fuel poverty they will offer help and advice and possibly a lower tariff for you.

incubus72

PasturesNew wrote: »

Can you read the meter and take readings every 2 hours or so?
Have you turned all gas stuff off and seen if it's still moving?

That is actually happening on mine,my gas is switched off on the wall and yet it has used 6 metres square in half an hour,I can't see how it can be using gas when it's not even switched on at the wall.

Farway

incubus72 wrote: »

That is actually happening on mine,my gas is switched off on the wall and yet it has used 6 metres square in half an hour,I can't see how it can be using gas when it's not even switched on at the wall.

What is "switched off"? electricity is switched off, gas is turned off via a tap

Have you just switched off the central heating? If so could be a pilot light still burning, you will have to turn off gas to all places it is used

incubus72

Farway wrote: »

What is "switched off"? electricity is switched off, gas is turned off via a tap

Have you just switched off the central heating? If so could be a pilot light still burning, you will have to turn off gas to all places it is used

My gas central heating and hot water are switched off however having spoken to Scottish Hyrdo electric they have pointed out that there would still be gas in the pipes which is why my gas meter is still showing that gas is being used. When I mentioned to them about the amount of gas I was using for such a small property the customer service agent's response was that I shouldn't complain because there were people being charged a lot more than me. I mentioned to him that my sister lives in a 4 bedroomed property and has her gas on for roughly 16 hours a day and uses less gas than me his response was that you can't make a comparison between the Two.

alleycat`

Hi incubus72,

As farway has stated - did you isolate the gas at the meter (with the big lever)? or did you just turn off the CH at the box on the wall?

However:-

6 metric units of gas in 30 minutes (rough and ready estimate):-

metric units volume to convert gas used
used calorific value correction to kWh expressed in kWh (sorry this didn't format very well)
6 x 40.3 x 1.02 ÷ 3.6 = approx 68.7 KW/H

say at 4pence a KW/H is about £2.74 in 30 minutes :eek:

I think something has gone wrong with the way you are reading the meter (possibly it is in imperial rather than metric?)

your bill would be a lot more than £7 a day if you are reading it correctly

--
Gas is not consumed if it is sat in the pipes - it has to be allowed to pass through the measuring device and the only way this can happen is if it is getting removed from "your side" by usage (e.g. heating) or a leak or a faulty measuring device.