First 2680 Higher tariff

lesallis

Hello.
I know this is tedious but I have a query concerning gas usage to which I have not found an answer. If it exists, please forgive me.
I only use (approx) 2680 kwh per year and I use them all in the same quarter, will the gas company demand extra payment at some time in the future?
I ask this because they apply a pro rata system, so that I am only charged the high tariff for 670 kwh in the first quarter. In the next 3 quarters I use next to no gas so my bills are almost zero.
Therefore I get 2010 kwh at the low rate.
I could phone the gas co and ask them but obviously I don't want to alert them to this anomaly!
Also, on the back of my bill I have been given an estimate for next year which is the same as this year.

Any responses appreciated,
Les

Cardew

It is calculated pro-rata daily; so 7.337kWh per day in your case.

So in a, say, 91 day quarter billing period where you 2,680kWh you will be charged tier 1 rates for 9 x 7.337 = 667kWh

So it is not an anomoly.

Indeed some people switch off their gas for the summer months for that purpose.

lesallis

Cardew,
Thanks for your reply.
I now understand the mechanism for calculating the pro rata amount but I still have my original query.
Does the gas co not want its pound of flesh?
i.e. Full price for the first 2680kwh used in a year?
This is what I cannot find an answer to.
I can't understand why they would allow anyone to pay less than they should, according to the contract, and I don't want a nasty surprise sometime down the line.

rabbitmumu

sorry i don't mean to be rude but i have to say this... i thought i was the most paranoid person i knew before i read your post....

the answer is NO. They won't chase you for extra payments a few years down the line because you haven't used your gas evenly throughout the year.

As others say .. some people switch off the gas during summer months (I for at least 7 months in a year where the meter jumped 1 unit every 2-3 months as we only have a 5 minute shower everyday).

Yes energy companies do try to get every penny...but if their Tier 1 is uniformly distributed throughout the year, then just accept it and be "grateful" about it. Otherwise you can try to change to Npower - Tier 1 varies throughout the year and for a low user (with quarterly bills), probably all their usage ended up in Tier 1.... so if you are happier with this, i would highly recommend you to switch to Npower

lesallis

Hi.
Thanks for your responses.
No offence taken but I don't think it's paranoid to verify what you are told in a financial transaction.:)

Anyhoo, I have phoned my gas co and also had an email from them, and verified what Cardew and rabbitmumu have said.
Before now I was unaware of pricing policies, I am now wiser.

As an aside, I found the comparison sites to be not much use.
I queried how much it would cost with my current supplier and got a figure 60% higher than I actually pay!
Also, I got vastly different figures when I entered actual kwh usage rather than cost in pounds. I reckon the inaccuracies had a lot to do with the 2680 thing.

OK, I'm done here for now, thanks again, hope I can help someone else in the future.

Cardew

lesallis wrote: »

Hi.
Thanks for your responses.
No offence taken but I don't think it's paranoid to verify what you are told in a financial transaction.:)

Anyhoo, I have phoned my gas co and also had an email from them, and verified what Cardew and rabbitmumu have said.
Before now I was unaware of pricing policies, I am now wiser.

As an aside, I found the comparison sites to be not much use.
I queried how much it would cost with my current supplier and got a figure 60% higher than I actually pay!
Also, I got vastly different figures when I entered actual kwh usage rather than cost in pounds. I reckon the inaccuracies had a lot to do with the 2680 thing.

OK, I'm done here for now, thanks again, hope I can help someone else in the future.

To be fair to the comparison websites it is simply not possible for them to cater for people who have an extremely low annual usage and use that all in one quarter.

As they give annual costs, they must assume that all consumption is spread evenly over the year.

You use all 2,680kWh in one quarter.

Joe uses 187/333/1685/17kWh in the 4 quarters

!!!!!! 372/418/6/14,765kWh in the 4 quarters.

How can any computer program cope with a virtually infinite number of permutations?

lesallis

Hi Cardew.
I agree but all they have to do is make that clear on their sites.
They have much to gain by encouraging people to switch since it justifies their existence.
An existence which I presume is funded in some way by the energy companies.
If tariffs were simplified then these sites would be unnecessary.
Energy and water supply should not be in the hands of private companies anyway.
It's just another way to drain money from the populace into the pockets of already wealthy people.

Cardew

lesallis wrote: »

Hi Cardew.
I agree but all they have to do is make that clear on their sites.
They have much to gain by encouraging people to switch since it justifies their existence.
1. An existence which I presume is funded in some way by the energy companies.

2. If tariffs were simplified then these sites would be unnecessary.

3. Energy and water supply should not be in the hands of private companies anyway.

4. It's just another way to drain money from the populace into the pockets of already wealthy people.

1. The comparison websites get commission from the companies if you switch through them. It is a huge business and the profits they make are paid for by customers in higher bills. As such they are parasitic.

2. Agreed

3. Certainly not water which is a monopoly. Before privatisation the Energy and water companies were not exactly renowned for their efficiency!

4. Capitalism rules.