Single Lady Retiree in a House- $200/qtr gas bill

[Masi2000]

Hi

Mother in law lives lone in a house. Has gas for hot water and cooking only- no heating. She lives a frugal lifestyle yet $200/qtr for gas! Does this sound a correct charge? No leaks I can see.... Invoice says this amount should be for 2-3 people. Feedback and learnings much appreciated ! 

[David_AGL]

Hi @Masi2000, you'd need to take a closer look at her bill and see what proportion of this is made up of usage charge (what you pay for the gas you use) versus supply charge (the flat fee to be connected to the network, and covering maintenance of the infrastructure). 

I don't believe the comparison on the invoice accounts for whether the home is using gas hot water, so it may be that her bill is being compared to some households with no gas heating, but also no gas hot water. The amount used will also depend on the efficiency and size of her hot water system.

[NeilC]

@Masi2000 

In addition to Davids reply, a common issue I have seen is people using hot water without using it.

For instance, if you have a mixer tap and it is set to the left whenever you push the tap up, you are using hot water and the the heater will start, even though the hot water does not run to the location.

Similarly in the bathroom, people turn on the hot tap to wash their hands even though they never get the hot water.

Make sure that the Mother in Law is getting any rebates that are applicable to her situation.

Review her current plan and then compare it on

       https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/

This is a Federal Government website that lists all the Energy Retailers showing all their current plans for Gas and Electricity.

You can compare plans etc etc.

It takes time but may result in considerable savings for users.

It also explains plans and how billing is done.

If you like my reply please click the like button.

If you find that the answers given in this posting solves your issue please click on the SOLVE button.

Cheers

Neil

PS:

You may also want to review your own Electricity and Gas Plans at the same time.

One of my friends bragged to me that she had a $44 credit on her Electricity bill due to her new Solar Panels.

I got her to send me her bill, did a review of her usage and then went to https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/ and found that by changing to AGL's Solar saver that her credit for the same period would turn into $144 credit.

[Masi2000 · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the great ideas.

This is what i checked:

a. it is not leaking

b. the meter number is correct vs the invoice

c. the meter reading is correct vs invoice 

d. the setting on the heater is correct (on 5)

I did learn that the hot water unit is 135L- enough for 4 people!  For one person it is too big, but explains the bill that this amount of water is being maintained for one person! 

Ill follow up on using hot water tap setting when only cold is needed- great point !

Cheers!