# High Gas Bill



## Liamos (23 Jan 2009)

I just received my gas bill for Nov / Dec and was shocked that it was over €400. It is usually around the €200 mark. I know its the 2 coldest months of the year, but am still surprised at this. Have prices gone up that much? Has anyone else noticed this?


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## brazen_dude (23 Jan 2009)

me in the same boat... compared with my last december's bill, it was 160€ last year .... dec 08's is around 295€.... almost doubled...


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## Bumper22 (23 Jan 2009)

Gas prices went up 20% in September.


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## Damo (23 Jan 2009)

Almost identical scenario here. Bill was €430 usually around €130!! I rang bord Gais and was told that this was correct and based on an actual reading. I was told that the cause was using the gas fireplace which I did use but only for short periods and now and again. 

Be delighted if anyone could shed light on things.
Damo


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## Liamos (23 Jan 2009)

I might give them a ring. I also thought that prices were supposed to be coming down!


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## ngwrbc (23 Jan 2009)

i'm the same, exactly double my usual bill, am horrified to get this in January!


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## suzie (23 Jan 2009)

Best is to compare usage rather than price as there is nothing one can do about that. Obviously estimated reading screw these comparison....

S.


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## AlbacoreA (23 Jan 2009)

Its been colder, but even so I've been surprised at the increase.


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## sandrat (23 Jan 2009)

good trick is to underestimate it and then when higher price comes in do an actual reading and charge the extra units at the higher price. Ours is double the norm too


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## RSMike (23 Jan 2009)

ditto here, did not get he bill yet but based on meter reading, usage is up about 20%, due to cold weather and add to that the 20% price increase and I am expecting a huge bill in 2 weeks time, It seems scandalous that they have not dropped the price given what wholesale oil & gas prices are at.

Another case of very poor regulation, not sure what we can do about it.


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## sandrat (23 Jan 2009)

duplicated


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## Scotsgirl (23 Jan 2009)

My bill for that period tripled. Normally around €100 but this bill was €298!  Got such a shock.  Am so broke have only been able to pay half of it so far.  I terrified of getting the next one since my heating was on a lot over christmas.  A lot of people must be finding this increase impossible to pay.


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## gipimann (24 Jan 2009)

Got my bill yesterday, it was higher but not as bad as I'd feared, having read the posts in this thread!

What struck me though was the billing period - my bill, dated 14/1/09 and received yesterday covers the period 6/10 - 8/12, so doesn't even cover most of December....eek!


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## vidapura (27 Jan 2009)

hi Folks,
Can I ask yez what kind of gas you have?
Like I have the calor gas with the big tank out the back that the truck comes and fills every now and then.
The reason I'm asking is that it seems to me there is a really big difference between Calor, Flo, and piped/town gas.

We're being told our gas is €2.90 a unit. Thats Calor.

I don't really know what a 'unit' is.. is it a kilowatt hour?
Natural gas seems to be done on Kilwatt hour and I am under the impression that IT is a lot cheaper than Calor gas.
I don't have exact figures but I did ring around in October about this and remember taking to someone in Flogas and being amazed at how much cheaper it appearred.. during the conversation it came out I was using Calor and it was explained to me that Calor gas calculations are done in a completely different way.. or something..

Sorry, I know I'm being pretty vague here.. but this is really down to the fact that I'm always geting contradictory answers from people that I ask about this.. my landlord told me last week that I should be expecting to pay 1500 a year for my heating.. today he told me I shoudl be expecting 1500 to 1800.. its getting pretty feckin ridiculous...

All I know is that friends who have oil are using two fills a year (n a 3 bed semi) and a bag of coal and one bale briquettes per week... and they say that doesn't even approach a cost of 1400 a year... 

My gas bill is more like €50 a week lately.. and the house isn't even warm...

Vida


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## guinang (27 Jan 2009)

Same here. Bill is usually around €200 at this time of year but it's nearly doubled to €395.

Firstly, there's a 20% increase, and it's also been colder.  In addition, my wife is pregnant and she's been at home more. Finally, my billing period covers the last 10 days in October, plus November and December.  

I still think I'm being completely ripped off.  I have spoken to quite a few people about this and everyone I've spoken to is in the same boat - ridiculously high bills.

I also rang Bord Gais about it and the girl on the phone said they'd be inundated with calls.  I got her to send me out the key and took a meter reading myself (even though they said it was actual).  There were no issues there - meter reading was as expected.


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## MB05 (27 Jan 2009)

I got my bill yesterday, €417.  Ouch!!  I know it was much colder this year but it was €265 for a similar period last year.  That is some jump and we still have another couple of month's at this level to go.  We are not even big users.  On average I have it on for an hour in the morning and 3-4 in the evenings.  More at the weekends maybe and obviously over Christmas as we were in the house all day.


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## vidapura (27 Jan 2009)

Yeah,
We're the same. 3-4 hours a night and an hour in the morning...

Our landlord agreed to replace the gas fire in the sittingroom with an ordinary fire (solid fuel or whatever yeh want to call em) when we said we were going to move out.
So at least he is trying to respond to the situation.
The gas fires are just a joke.. a very sick joke.. feck all heat off them and they go through gas like I dunno what...

I heard of an interesting deal with peat briquettes the other day so we are looking forwrd to having a proper fire that give us a choice of fuel.

The briquettes thing is that there's guys selling broken up bales (that they can't sell cos the bales are broken) at something like 200 euro a ton. I'm told normal retail bales are 400 a ton. 
So apparently you go along with your car, roll over a weighbridge .. fill a few bags with broken briquettes and then roll back out over the weigh bridge and pay by weight for what you take. So, you don't have to buy a full ton like...
Supposedly the briquettes might be a bit damp so they need to be stored for a bit before you use em.. but I can cope with that...

Of course all we need now is the Greens to make it illegal for us to light a fire .. sigh..

Vida


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## z104 (27 Jan 2009)

Mine was 2.5 times higher tha usual.  Britsih Gas are reducing their Gas by 10%. Typical Irish, We will moan to each other but not organise to protest.


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## RSMike (27 Jan 2009)

I have just become aware from another thread that there is another choice for both residential electricity and gas supply, Airtricity for Electricity and Flogasnaturalgas for gas.

The gas rate is only very slightly lower ( I think its only 1%), but they are offering a 60% discount on Standing charge for the first year, not sure how much that is worth!

The Airtricity Electricity rates are from 3-10% lower (its only possible to get full 10% if you accept Direct Debit, e-billing, and flat payment).

The actual networks are still the responsibility of Bord Gais and ESB ( I assume thats where your standing charge goes), so you still call them out for any faults, Its only the actual gas /electricity coming into your house that is coming from a different source, so I see little downside to switching ?

http://www.flogasnaturalgas.ie

http://www.energycustomers.ie/


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## gipimann (27 Jan 2009)

I know that there was a 20% increase in Gas prices in September 2008, was there an increase in January 2008 as well (I know there wasn't one in Jan 2009)?

If there were 2 increases, it could explain the huge jump in costs experienced this winter (as well as the fact that we've had a "proper" winter this year for the first time in a few years).

RSMike, the standing charge from Bord Gais is €59.02 per year, so 60% off with Flogas saves about €35.


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## RSMike (27 Jan 2009)

vidapura said:


> hi Folks,
> Can I ask yez what kind of gas you have?
> Like I have the calor gas with the big tank out the back that the truck comes and fills every now and then.
> The reason I'm asking is that it seems to me there is a really big difference between Calor, Flo, and piped/town gas.
> ...



Hi Vida, Yes unfortunately the LPG Gas like you have is a fair bit higher than the price of Natural gas, The delivery unit for LPG seems to be litres or Kg not KwH, however take a look at the following link on the SEI web site:

[broken link removed]

And you will see a true comparison in Kw/H ,seems to be about 10 cent versus 6 cent per KwH, or could be 14 cent for bottled gas.


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## sandrat (27 Jan 2009)

where did you get the information on airtricity being 10% cheaper?


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## TarfHead (27 Jan 2009)

My bill arrived yesterday - €515  !!

The later reading is an estimate. The Gas Used figure is 8126.

We live in a 4 bed semi with 11 radiators & a coal-effect fire & immersion. We were at home a lot over Christmas and my wife complains about the cold most of the time. 

For the first time in my life. I am going to have to let the bill payment go late until there are funds to cover it.


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## vidapura (27 Jan 2009)

RSMike said:


> And you will see a true comparison in Kw/H ,seems to be about 10 cent versus 6 cent per KwH, or could be 14 cent for bottled gas.



Hi RSMike.
Thats interesting.. lots of good info on the SEI site allright...
Will have a read of that over lunch and see if I can make head or tail of it.

Thanks
Vida.


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## AlbacoreA (27 Jan 2009)

Its been an especially cold winter. So people probably have the heating on more than usually. I know we have.


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## Daffodil (27 Jan 2009)

vidapura said:


> Yeah,
> 
> I heard of an interesting deal with peat briquettes the other day so we are looking forwrd to having a proper fire that give us a choice of fuel.
> 
> ...


 
Do you have details of this deal?  I wouldn't mind getting some briquettes myself as I've just reopened the fireplace as my fuel bills were just too much.  Nothing as cosy as an open fire on a winter's night !


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## RSMike (27 Jan 2009)

sandrat said:


> where did you get the information on airtricity being 10% cheaper?



I emailed Airtricity yesterday and they sent me back rates

If you sign up for direct debit, bill by e-mail and flat payment, the rate is 14.76c per KwH versus ESB at 16.40 per Kwh ( both pre VAT)

Flat Payment=
_• Based on your consumption, we estimate your usage for the next year.
• If your anticipated bill for 12 months is €1,200, your payments would be
calculated as follows: €1,200 /12 = €100 per month. Your monthly level
payment plan will be reviewed at regular intervals, and the amount you pay
may increase or decrease based on your consumption and your account balance_

If you don't want to do flat payment, you can still get -9% lower than ESB by taking direct debit and e-billing, -8% for Direct Debit only, -4% for e-bill only, or -3% if you pay by cheque and want a paper bill posted to you.


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## Yoltan (27 Jan 2009)

Turn the main thermostat down slightly on the boiler. I used to have mine really high and would blast the heating for a few hours each day. The problem was that the house would cool down fairly quickly when it was switched off (it also costs a fortune!). Last November I turned it down and left it on for longer. My bill last week was E130.


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## vidapura (27 Jan 2009)

Daffodil said:


> Do you have details of this deal?  I wouldn't mind getting some briquettes myself as I've just reopened the fireplace as my fuel bills were just too much.  Nothing as cosy as an open fire on a winter's night !



Hi there,
Far as I know this is available in many places around the country.. basically anywhere they sell briquettes.. i presume the bigger fuel depots though.
The one I know about is in Attymon in galway. Exact location i don't know cos a friend of mine is going to take me along there this weekend (all going well)

Vida


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## vidapura (27 Jan 2009)

Yoltan said:


> Turn the main thermostat down slightly on the boiler.



My boiler used to be set to be at 60C. but that meant the sittingroom only ever got to about 17 to 18C.. when comfortable temp (from SEI site) is supposed to be 21C.
So now we have ours set at 70C temporarily and the room gets to 20C.
But I think we are using crazy amounts of gas at that temp. Am monitoring it daily for a week to see what gives...

What temp is yours set at?
We don't have room thermostats...
House is 3 bed semi.. quite a large one..

Vida


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## brid1977 (27 Jan 2009)

Got my november/january gas bill today and it is double the bill for the same period last year.
Re briquettes for anyone living in the midlands - the Bord na Mona factory at Derrinlough, between Cloghan and Birr in Offaly sells loose briquettes by the trailer-load -  they are seconds from the manufacturing process. Not sure of exact prices but I know it works out cheaper than bales


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## extopia (27 Jan 2009)

Our recent bill was €440. Up from €225 for same period last year. Our actual gas usage in the period was 6,931 units, which is an increase of 62.5% over last year (4265 units). So yes, it must have been colder this year!

Cost per unit has increased from 4.51 cents to 5.47 cents since last year. What's been the corresponding difference in wholesale natural gas prices?


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## Bronte (28 Jan 2009)

A gas bill I have went up more than 20%.  I haven't read the booklet from Bord Gais yet but it said gas was going up on average 20% but I did a quick calculation and it was I think 22.5% plus there is more VAT as the unit rate is higher so I imagine Gas bills have gone up 25% actually. I hate when then pretend it's 20% when it's actually more.


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## thesimpsons (1 Feb 2009)

our bill came last week, 324 euro.  Usage was exactly the same (within 2 units)  as same period last year (mid Nov to mid Jan).  We  have zoned heating in the house (upstairs and down) and set stat to 18 degrees most times with the odd boost up to 20 for half hour here and there.  With the zoned heating we leave room doors open all the time and there are no draughts,  the whole downstairs comes up to same temperature.  4 bd detached, water heating and cooking done by gas as well.  The bill was 50 euro higher than same period last year which accounts for the price increase.  The one difference we made this year is put a curtain on the front and back doors and a better chimney block for when we aren't using it.  Vat is actually 13.3% not 21.5% on gas.


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## battyee (1 Feb 2009)

Like so many others the alarm bells rung when I found gas bill for last year came to 2,150 Euros in my 3 bed detatched. I got in one of the firms who carry out Energy Ratings  to do a list of recommendations & projected benefits. Will start to do some of the simpler & inexpensive recommendatios such as better insulation, hot cylinder improved lagging rd thermostats, boiler temp reduction settings, draught excluders, etc. The Energy Raters claim that doing this stuff will save me 500 Euro p.a.


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## dub_nerd (1 Feb 2009)

vidapura said:


> ...We're being told our gas is €2.90 a unit. Thats Calor.
> 
> I don't really know what a 'unit' is.. is it a kilowatt hour?
> Natural gas seems to be done on Kilwatt hour and I am under the impression that IT is a lot cheaper than Calor gas.
> I don't have exact figures but I did ring around in October about this and remember taking to someone in Flogas and being amazed at how much cheaper it appearred.. during the conversation it came out I was using Calor and it was explained to me that Calor gas calculations are done in a completely different way.. or something..


 
Next to impossible to find any information online, but I THINK your Calor units are kilograms. You said you've got outside tanks, so that'll be bulk propane.

1 kg of propane = 1.985 litres, and 1 litre = 7.1 kWh. So your kilogram of propane is about 14 kilowatt hours... at €2.90/kg (IF that is the unit) you would be paying a little over 20c/kwH.

Natural gas bills (either Bord Gais or Flogas) show units of cubic metres, and also multiply up by about 11.5 to give kilowatt hours. Flogas show their current rate per kWh (post the September 2008 20% increase, and including VAT) as 6.12c.

This would make Calor more than three times as expensive per kWh. But note, I am only GUESSING at the Calor unit being kgs. And they make it next to impossible to find information about pricing online, which annoys me greatly. Bord Gais Energy Supply are no better. Looks like obfuscatory pricing is as popular with the gas suppliers as the telcos.

None of this includes any standing charges etc.

The place to answer this would normally be the SEI website ...

[broken link removed]

... but they've managed to break the link to the latest domestic costs.


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## olddog (3 Feb 2009)

Dub_nerd,

I believe that you are correct in what you post

When the inefficiency of the gas boiler is taken into account this makes Flogas more expensive than day time ESB for space heating !

There would seem to be a consumer revolt against Flogas over in England  - where they appear to charge half of what is charged over here :

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=18301759



The spot price of LPG ( propane ) is about USD380/ton  - this is equivalent to around 15c / litre


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## olddog (6 Feb 2009)

A company called DCC own Flogas

DCC released an "Interim Management Statement" to investors on  03/02/2009

[broken link removed]

I'm sure investors will be glad to note that :

"On a constant currency basis DCC Energy, DCC's largest division, achieved 
substantial operating profit growth in the quarter"


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## seriams (6 Feb 2009)

It's 'gas' that this is being dicussed as last night I told out all our old bills from Calor. In December 07,  I was paying 2.39 per unit. In December 08 just gone, it was 2.64 per unit. Since December I have received two letters from Calor informing me that the rate was dropping by.14, so by my calculations my next bill should be calculated at 2.36 per unit. We have a communal tank in our estate.


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## Macer27 (12 Feb 2009)

I just got hit with a 4500 euro bill in January - trying to get to the bottom of it. but it looks like we have been paying estimated bills for 1.6 years, 60 euros each so yes I should have noticed something. But still this seems absolutely crazy as we are talking about average spend over 1.6 years of 300 euro per month including the summer months. We live in a new built modern detached house of approx 1800 sqft. What on average do people usually pay for something similar?? temperature set to 21 degress and we dont go nuts on it. Are boiler is serviced regularly?

Anybody go through this before? Any ideas if I have to pay all of it? Is there any consumer body I can contact for help?


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## pillowtalk (12 Feb 2009)

Got my bill today - €320.00 Estimated.  That is extremely high as I wasn't here most of the Xmas plus I would be cautious when using it.
Anyway,  Called Bord Gais to see how they carry out an estimation - and was told they base it on last years reading - I explained it's a new house and it was a building site last year....anyway she asked me did I want to put a complaint in - so I did.  After taking all my details I asked her would someone contact me - she said "no, we just take your details and log them and basically that's it"!
Anyway, they will just have to wait till the funds are there!


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## ophelia (12 Feb 2009)

I nearly died when I saw the gas bill last week E473 usually about E250 for this time of year.  My son (who is renting a 3 bed bungalow with three others), texted me to say their gas bill was a massive E605 and they only have it on for about 5 - 6 hours per day - never very warm either. 
I just lowered mine down to 2.5 instead of the usual 3 on the thermostat.


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## BOXtheFOX (13 Feb 2009)

My own was €505. The last one was €190. More than doubled.  If everyone is taking a 10% cut then the Gas company should be asked to reduce prices by 10%. I also think that this standing charge should be scrapped.


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## johnnygman (19 Feb 2009)

I have been using Calour Gas since it was installed in my house when i bought it  3 years ago.
Bills are always huge, nothing out of the normal to recieve a bill for 400+
The heating is only on for 3-4 hours a day max, id hate to see what the bill would be like if their was a new baby in the house and we had to leave it on for longer!
Since it is a centralised tank i dont think there is any way of switching as everyone use teh same tank in the development.
The only other option i can think of would be to remove open gas fire and install a normal fire for natural heat  which might save on gas.
Does anyone know hoe much it would roughly cost to covert the house to an oil burning system?
From speaking to people they cant believe how much we are paying in Gas bills, i would be willing to take a some upfront expense if it saves money in the long run, do not feel people are getting fair value for money with Gas.


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## Sylvester3 (19 Feb 2009)

My last gas bill was a really low estimation (I think it was barely the standing charge) and I made the mistake of leaving it alone. When this bill came it was also estimated but came in at a whopping €320. When I rushed out to check the estimation they were almost bang on, so I gulped and checked my finances would be ok for the rest of the month (just about!). I'm on DD so times like that can be scary.

When I thought about it - have I been swizzled a little bit? I haven't checked my bills yet, but if there was a recent rise would that be a reason for a low previous estimated bill - so the later reading gets a higher rating?


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## juleserino (28 Feb 2009)

Guys, what is going on with this gas bill business?  Just received mine the other day.  It appears to have gone up 150%. I understand the price went up 25%, however it appears evident to me that such a rise could not possibly warrant an increase of €150 on my last bill, even when I consider an increase in my consumption of 20%.  We run a timer and have not at any time in the last billing period changed our level of consumption.  Have bord gais increased their deliverable compression to households?  This is the only way I could possibly justify such an extraordinary increase in my consumption.   I would welcome any thoughts on the matter


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## juleserino (28 Feb 2009)

I noticed a comment when I did a google search on the subject earlier today, it appeared to me a valid expression of ones frustration at what appears to be a common problem with the provision of Gas to Irish consumers, where has this comment gone?


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## GreenQueen (28 Feb 2009)

I just managed to check my bill online there.

My bill in Feb 08 was for €178 (total), units used were 3,186 @ 4.509c/unit
My bill in Feb 09 is for €349 (total), units used were 5,454 @ 5.454c/unit

So the reason behind the apparent extreme increase is that I upped my usage of the heating due to me being at home fulltime with a small baby and there being a couple of extremely cold nights where I had the heating on all night.  Couple that with the approx 25% cost increase per unit and I have a bill that nearly doubled.

Explains it for me anyway.


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## windo77 (2 Mar 2009)

We received a gas bill in December for €215 (usage 3300 kWh). This was high but we put this down to increased usage and variation in price.

To reduce the size of our bill and in spite of the cold weather of the last 2 months, we reduced the number of hours the gas is on (2 hours at most), we turned the thermostat down, and we used briquettes on at least 2 days per week. And the boiler was serviced in January.

So we were speechless when we saw today's bill for €298. It was based on an estimated reading but the actual reading was just slightly lower. If the actual reading had been used our usage would have been 4349 kwh. The increase in usage of 1049 kwh (4349 - 3300) is a 32% increase in usage. We just cannot understand how our usage could have increased by a third in spite of all our efforts.

Any ideas on what we might be missing?


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