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Frequently asked questions

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The name of your gas retailer will appear on your monthly or quarterly gas bill. If you have not received a gas bill and you do not know who your gas retailer is, you may consider asking your landlord or real estate agent if they know who your gas retailer is.

If your landlord or real estate agent is unable to assist you, refer to the full list of retailers published by the Australian Energy Regulator.

For help with making an informed choice about electricity and gas offers, you can visit the Australian Energy Regulator’s energy price comparison website, Energy Made Easy.

Natural gas retailers buy gas in bulk from wholesale markets and sell it to residential and business customers. Each gas retailer will supply gas at a cost which includes the cost of transporting natural gas through distribution networks such as Jemena’s.

Since 2002 NSW energy customers have been able to choose to receive their gas supply from any of the various gas retail businesses that compete in NSW. However, a customer’s choice of retailer may be limited as some retailers only operate in parts of NSW.

Each gas retailer may have different products and prices on offer. Customers in NSW are free to choose the retailer and offer for the supply of gas that they want. This can involve switching to a new retailer, staying with an existing retailer and signing a market contract.

If a customer decides to change retailer, they will be changing the company that supplies them gas and bills them for the gas. Jemena, as the distributor that owns the network, will continue to read your meter and will continue to ensure the quality and reliability of supply of gas to your premises, regardless of which retailer you choose.

Gas retailers provide a range of services to consumers including:

  • Facilitate the connection of a gas customer’s premises to the gas network
  • Arrange for gas to be supplied to customer’s homes or businesses
  • Bill customers for the gas that they use
  • Assist customers with any queries that they have about the sale of gas and
  • Provide information and assistance to customers with natural gas contracts.

If you have an enquiry regarding your gas bill, please contact your retailer, who is best placed to answer your enquiry in accordance with your retail contract's terms and conditions.

We will work with your retailer in relation to resolving your enquiry as required.

The charges in your gas bill are regulated by the Independent Pricing & Regulatory Tribunal (IPART). IPART determines the maximum prices that can be charged to residential and business energy consumers in NSW. In setting prices IPART takes into consideration the costs to energy retailers of purchasing wholesale natural gas, and costs incurred by network distributors to maintain the physical gas network infrastructure. The costs of network infrastructure are regulated by the Australian Energy Regulator.

Possible reasons for a gas bill which is higher than usual include:

  • You have used your gas heater more or had more hot water showers due to unseasonably cold weather during the bill period
  • You have entertained more during the period, had more people staying at your home, or the kids spent more time at home during the school holidays, increasing total energy usage
  • Some of your gas appliances may be faulty or inefficient and used more energy as a result
  • Your meter reader was unable to read the gas meter due to access being hindered (by locked gates or unrestrained dogs, for example), resulting in your gas usage being estimated rather than being determined from actual consumption
  • You installed additional gas appliances during the bill period
  • You renovated your home to expand your living space, which requires more energy to heat
  • The meter was faulty, or was read incorrectly, or has been faulty in the past (resulting in an incorrectly low past usage pattern)
  • You previously received energy concessions or discounts, which have ceased or did not apply during the bill period
  • Your gas tariff rate or supply charge has increased in line with rate increases approved by the Independent Pricing & Regulatory Tribunal (IPART).

If you have an enquiry regarding your gas bill, please contact your retailer to check the calculations on your bill and undertake any appropriate investigation.

Sometimes problems arise with individual meters and they don’t provide us with usage data. With no data readings, we need to estimate your usage.

Recent historical data is used to estimate usage, where possible. The estimated usage is used to generate a bill for the period that the meter has not been read.

Because back billing often covers a longer period of time than a normal bill (up to 9 months of usage), the bill may seem high. This is not an ordinary bill and should not be used as an indication of normal quarterly billing.

Estimates of usage may continue until we can access, test and remedy the problem with the meter.

To find out this information, please contact your retailer. We will give all reasonable assistance as required by your retailer to help with your enquiry.

If your retailer is unable to assist you with your enquiry, please contact Jemena on 1300 137 078.

Please note that Jemena can provide you with gas consumption only for the period that you have lived at the property. In order to do this we may request a letter of authority to validate your identity before we provide the information.

Gas Meters

If your gas meter is a metric meter (one with digits instead of dials and measures usage in cubic metres), read all the digits on the display from left to right including any leading zeros. In the example below, the meter reading is 99999991. Not all these numbers will appear on you retail bill as some of the dials are partial cubic meters. The meter number on the meter (“EC000012” in the example) should match the meter number on your gas bill from your energy retailer.

MeterNumber-(1).png

 

If you have an older imperial meter (one with dials instead of digits and measures usage in cubic feet), read the number on each of the first four dials, from left to right. The hands rotate in alternating directions; if a hand is between two numbers, take the lower number, and if it is between 0 and 9, read it as 9. In the example below, the reading is 8749.

Meter-dials.jpg

Hot Water Meters

There are many different kinds of models of hot water meters. To ensure that you receive a correct bill from your retailer you should read all the numbers from left to right including any leading zeros. Both the black and red numbers should be included. Not all numbers will appear on your retail bill as some dials are indicating partial litres. The meter might indicate that it is being measured in cubic meters however this is an equivalent of kilolitres.

If you require any further assistance with reading your meters please contact your Energy Retailer.

  • Provide safe and unhindered access to your gas meter, to ensure the meter is read correctly and you are billed for the actual amount of gas energy you have used. If your meter reader is unable to read the meter due to obstructions such as locked gates or unrestrained dogs, your usage charges will be estimated based on your past usage pattern.
  • To reduce the cost of gas heating, you can take steps to reduce heat loss and energy waste within the home including by insulating the pipes leading from the gas meter to your gas appliances and installing fat batts in your ceiling cavity.
  • Have your gas appliances serviced regularly to ensure that they continue to run efficiently and safely.
  • Keep heating vents clear, to allow heated air to circulate efficiently.
  • Lower the thermostat setting on your gas room or hot water heater by a few degrees. It will not noticeably affect your comfort but is likely to reduce gas consumption and therefore your gas bill.

DPI is an abbreviation for Delivery Point Identifier. In NSW your DPI is a ten-digit number, plus a one-digit checksum, that uniquely identifies the address at which your retailer agreed to supply you with gas in accordance with your retail contract with them. Your DPI can be found on the gas bill from your retailer.

The DPI number may also be referred to as a Meter Installation Reference Number (MIRN) and is a useful reference when a customer wants to switch from one retailer to another.

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