STANDING CHARGE FOR GAS SUPPLY

optimistica

I recently had meters changed to smart meters. Engineer said there was a gas leak, so has "capped" gas supply; said gas engineer required. Recommended work will cost  well over £2K. I cannot afford to have this done. There is no gas coming into house so not a safety issue now. If I do not have the perceived fault rectified, am I still liable for gas standing charge. Usage will obviously be nil

JamboDP

posted in wrong place,

But just close your gas account

MSE_ForumTeam5

Moved from Competitions Time to Energy board

wrf12345

If the pipe in is capped and no meter then you should be ok getting rid of gas s/c but if the meter itself is capped then they will still charge you for s/c unless you wait for twelve months when some companies will refund. If you want the meter removed and the remaining pipe capped then some companies, such as Octopus, do it for free, others charge.

If you know where the leak is then may be an option just to have that part of the system capped off.

imeach

I'm presuming the gas escape is/was after the meter??

If the meter remains there will normally still be a standing charge 

Scot_39

I know the £2k+ seems very frightening but have you considered alternatives before going off gas grid - perhaps permanently.

There can be a meter removal fee - and a GDN pipe supply disconnect c12m later - normally free ?

But (I suspect it will) it can impact home value.

Most people wouldn't willingly give up gas - especially those in larger homes with larger energy use - without a suitable alternative heat source.

Unless your hone is suitable for a low cost ashp upgrade close to grant level to keep electric running costs low and lower the personal capital outlay. (In Scotland there is even a loan for secondary costs over and above £7500 - England etc  ??)  You could be looking at 

The nasty alternative - the running annual cost of heating with no doubt conventional plug in flat rate electric - which may be equally as frightening - allbeit a constant flow rather than a one off payment.



[Oct rates regional svt average gas , 6.24p / kWh, single rate electric 24.5p.
Obviously the annual cost will depend on your actual energy needs. 
But as a guide
Ofgem cap is based on 11500 kWh gas median consumption (50% use more ) - even allowing 20% for gas efficiency losses - that extra 18.26p per unit would be huge.  At Oct rates.
11500x6.24= £717.60
11500x0.8 x 24.5p = £2254.00
Difference = £1536
Ofgems low tdcv (lower quartile - 25% homes use less, 75% home use more) is 7500kWh pa gas - c£1000 difference]

You could be looking at sub 2 year payback on borrowing money if thats even an option for you bit longer if low user. 

Do you know how many kWh of gas you used last year ?

Who exactly quoted the £2k+ figure - was it the gas operator / GDN if ahead of meter - or a domestic gas safe fitter if after meter ? 
If later - have you tried to get alternative quote ?

Have you even though about ashp - 7.5k grant plus 2k plus gas repair might get you close - maybe a worthwhile long term investment plan.
(Especially if gas boiler getting on a bit and so may need to replace in next few years etc) 

If you are struggling financially have you checked if any grants or favourable term loans available to cover work to get you back onto gas mains ?

Or even just a bank loan over 12-24 months etc.

If your income and savings are limitted, but your home has equity in it  - and I know its a bit extreme - and I'll probably be shot down for suggesting it by some here - is maybe borrowing against  it an option -  extending mortgage if have one  or even equity release schemes -  if have no other alternative.  



Talk to say likes of Citizens advice, your local council (they have hardship and home support funding schemes in many cases) or an energy help charity  - see what they say regarding possible help.

MP1995

optimistica said:

I recently had meters changed to smart meters. Engineer said there was a gas leak, so has "capped" gas supply; said gas engineer required. Recommended work will cost  well over £2K. I cannot afford to have this done. There is no gas coming into house so not a safety issue now. If I do not have the perceived fault rectified, am I still liable for gas standing charge. Usage will obviously be nil

What Supplier are you with?

Octopus will disconnect your gas supply for free and not knowing what you are using for heating maybe get them to do a heat pump quote at the same time as you get a grant of £7500 to help.

mmmmikey

If you're struggling financially (and you wouldn't be alone there) then there are a number of different schemes that might be able to help. And you might well find that if you approach them appropriately your energy supplier might well waive the standing charges until you get things sorted. Getting gas permanently disconnected so as to avoid the standing charges isn't a difficult process but any savings made could end up paling into insignificance compared to the cost of getting the gas reinstated further down the line. Especially if you end up using mega-expensive portable electric heaters to keep warm instead.

So I'd suggest thinking about the bigger picture / longer term and working through your other options first. If you need some help with that, either about the relative cost of different forms of heating or how they might be financed (through grant schemes and the like) then just ask and you'll get plenty of good advice on that here.

Bottom line is that you may well find that working out a way to get the money to fix the gas problem and/or installing a better heating system is likely to be the most cost effective option, but of course if you don't have £2k you don't have it. That's where the various grant schemes can help.

Hope you manage to get something sorted

Zandoni

I'd get another quote, what are they doing to cost £2k