Low Gas Pressure = High Or Low Bils ?

[manicuk]

Hi,

 

Trying resolve a British Gas dispute over a £400 bill for 86 days.

 

Ive had a Corgi person check my meter and he found that i had low gas

pressure. 15mb. He told me that it should be 20mb and that the Govenor

was very old and most probably faulty.

 

I called British Gas right away who sent a National Grid guy round within the hr. He confirmed the working pressure low and changed the govenor.

 

I called British Gas and questioned my bills for previous year which is how

long ive been at this property.

 

They informed me that Transco (where the gov was sent) have said LOW

PRESSURE = LOWER BILLS.

 

I called the engineer back who is ex B/ Gas engineer and he explained the following:-

 

Imagine 2 containers of gas both equal in size.

1 container is compressed

1 container is not

 

The container which is compressed holds for eg twice as much gas.

The container which is not compressed will be depleted quicker and

inturn demand more gas.

 

Who is right ? Transco or the EX British Gas engineer ?

 

Thanks

 

ps.

I Work 12 hrs a day 4 days a week

 

Have a 8 month old Conden Boiler rated A (checked)

 

Heating / stat set to 1hr at 6am then 6-12pm on eco 18.5 degrees

 

Only other appliance is a gas hob.

[Brassed off]

Hi Manicuk

 

Just bumping your post up

[DCA-KING]

Hi my understanding is even if the gov was faulty it would not affect your bill you get charged for what comes throught the meter if you use 100 units of gas doesnt matter if it comes in at 20 or 15 bars the only problem with low pressure is if you put the cooker on and light 1 ring the light all 4 and watch them go lower as you turn more on the gov is only there to lower the pressure coming off the main other wise it would be to high

Regards DK

[manicuk]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the reply guys. Any other suggestions other than leaks,faulty boiler which have been tested would be greatly apprieciated.

 

I just cant get my head round that usage for 86 days.

 

Iill be monitoring the meter over the next week.

Then ill be going head to head with customer services.

 

Ill be sure to post the results.

 

thanks again.

[summitnear]

Hi

 

Check your bill is it in metric or imperial.

Check your meter does it measure in cubic metres or ft .

 

If the meter is imperial you may be charged in metric that almost 4 times to much.

 

just a thought.

 

Nigel

[manicuk]

Both Metric Nigel, but good suggestion didnt think of that.

 

BG are not playing ball now as they spoke to Transco who said id have used less Gas.

 

Ive taken reading over 9 days and not touched a thing (heating settings etc) results ...

 

17251 23rd Jan

17326 1st Feb

 

Tarriff

first 631.00 @ 7.203p

next @ 3.632p

 

any offers to calc for me what the monthly payment should be ?

 

Im still not convinced about my meter or that faulty govenor.

 

Thanks for all your help.

[Grummy]

You're not the only one who's been hit with a ridiculous bill from BG this month. We've had one as well. We've been with BG for about 5 years now, and every quarter our bill has been around £50, this quarter was about £420. Thats an 800% increase by my estimation. BG said it was because Gas prices have increased by 50%, but the math doesn't collate. A 50% increase in cost does not make an 800% increase in bill.

 

Anywho, as to your maths, it looks like you're being charged exactly the same as us. What Il do is the exact matsh, then Il break it down into more basic numbers by rounding all numbers up. Your tariff charges you just over 7p per unit on your first 631 units. Well if 9 days you have used 75 units, but that is metric units, BG bills are charged on Gas Units kWh.

 

OK, based on the information on my bill, for 75 metric units, your charge (in gas units) is going to be 842.382656.

 

This is how this is worked out:

 

Metric Units used (75) x Calorific Value (39.5392) x Volume Correction (1.0226400) / (divide by) To convert to kWh (3.6)=Gas units used.

 

ok, based on exact numbers, your first 631 is being charged at 7.203p= 4545.093p (£45.45p)

 

your next 211.382656 is being charged at 3.632p= 767.741806592 (£7.68p)

 

Roughly speaking, you are paying £53.13 for 9 days gas.

 

That is insane, and somehow that must be wrong. I would definitely check to see if there is a gas leak in your pipes AFTER it has come through your meter. If it is, this would account for why your useage is so high.

 

Im assuming in your little test that you still took baths/showers. Do you have a gas cooker? Did you leave any heating on or was it all off.

 

According to a gas man frined of mine, on these meter types, if you turn everything off that uses gas, gas should not be flowing through your house and you should have no charge. BEst thing to do is turn everything off for half a day then leave and come back, if your meter reader has increased, it means there is a leak.

[manicuk]

Grummy,

 

thanks a lot for your detailed reply.

 

Ive had 2 independants check for gas leaks and boiler heating settings.

Both say alls ok and its prolly that gov or meter.

 

Only apps is conden boiler and hob. Rest is electric.

 

BG called me the other day and are now saying my usage is 5% which is below the national average ......go figure ?

 

Ive asked them to produce a white paper of kind to explain in lamen terms how low pressure = low gas bills.

 

i have explained to them i have no confidence and also that Tranco's reply of low pressure = lower bills is debatable.

 

BG also said there is no independent to check meter it MUST be Transco, who will remove meter, test and if no fault found charge me around £80 !

 

They have given me a number to ask Transco to Explain how this meter works.........like they are going to admit.

 

Ive become paranoid now and turned off heating. Today it was 10 deg. in my house.

 

Any other ideas what to do next.???

 

Thanks .

[Bigmac versus]

The 15mbr you mention would still be enough to keep your cond combi going and at the very worst the only thing you would notice is the hob flames being lower the more rings you have on. (only if heating on)

 

I can assure you that having a lower working pressure would NOT cost you more. There is also no way a leak is to cause for such a bill.

 

The possibility of a faulty meter can be checked by your gas engineer if he calculated the GAS RATES of your cond combi. Condensing combis only cond at high efficiency between certain temps, it may be worth your while asking your gas engineer about the costs of fitting a weather compensation kit to your property, they are very cheap to buy and will reduce the amount of gas you use.

[manicuk]

Thanks Bigmac for that info. Ive booked the engineer to check them rates. If they are ok would you have the meter checked ? bearing in mind its the providers of the meter who check it. Can it be checked by an independent?

 

Ill ask about the weather thingy too.

 

Thanks.