Why can't gas bills be simplified?

bondy01

My water meter tells me how many litres I have used and it is easy to work out what it costs. My elec meter tell me how many KWh's I have used and it is also easy to work out the cost. My gas meter tells me how many cubic feet I have used. Then it is multiplied by 2.8316736 to get it in cubic metres. Then it is multiplied by a temperature and pressure figure that EDF tell me is on the bill (but I can't find it) and then mutiplied by the calorific value (which isn't on my latest bill) then divided by 3.6 to get KWh. Can't a company just say it costs X amount per unit? If EDF are only sending out a bill (at least) once a year then with the change in these parameters surely there is room for error? What do you think?

victor2

If you were charged purely by volume, then some people would be getting more energy for their pound than others, hence the calorific value comes into the equation. However, it is in quite a tight band and fluctuations may only vary a monthly bill by a matter of pence. All the energy providers I've seen bills for use a single CV for the billing period anyway and usually slightly in the customer's favour when compared to daily CV figures published by National Grid.

So, yes it would be nice for the meter to show a number directly proportional to what you will be paying IMO, but how do you get the suppliers to agree on a value for the kWh? Then of course there's Stornoway, who receive LPG instead of Natural Gas, which has a CV of around 93 compared to a value of around 39 for everywhere else - that does make a big difference to the kWh calculation!

TIMMY85

By2020 all homes should have smart meters which will tell you the cost and kwh

HappyMJ

TIMMY85 wrote: »

By2020 all homes should have smart meters which will tell you the cost and kwh

Smart meters just send the hourly meter readings to the utility company every day or so for them to calculate. They are not that smart.

TIMMY85

HappyMJ wrote: »

Smart meters just send the hourly meter readings to the utility company every day or so for them to calculate. They are not that smart.

But the in home display units can show the usage and cost.


http://www.britishgas.co.uk/energy-efficiency/smart-meters/smart-meter-technology.html

victor2

TIMMY85 wrote: »

But the in home display units can show the usage and cost.

So would smart gas meters measure something other than the volume of gas passing through? Or would they have an average CV fed to them periodically?
I'm sure it's a challenge the boffins are more than aware off, but I'm curious as to the approach taken.

yoda011087

bondy01 wrote: »

Can't a company just say it costs X amount per unit?

That would prove quite difficult, as not all kWh are charged at the same rate. This doesn't apply if you pay a standing charge and one rate per kWh.

For example, British Gas, Eon, Scottish Power and NPower all have tariffs where the first so-many kWh used per day of the bill is charged at a higher rate and the rest at a lower secondary rate.

So there would be a lot of confusion if you were to use only one unit over a 30 day period, for example.

The problem is they have legal responsibilities to give us this information - however confusing it may be!

For easier workings out at your end, an Imperial meter measures roughly 33 kWh per unit.