Is Peoples Gas estimating your gas usage? You may be hit with a large bill following an actual reading...
Our gas meter was read on June 5th after six months of "estimated" readings from November 19, 2008 through May 20, 2009. Following the meter reading, we received an invoice cancelling the billing that had been issued for those months and showing a "Revised Prior Billing" amount that was $1,270.54 higher than the cancelled amount. Unlike all of the other invoices we have received from Peoples Gas, there is no breakdown of the calculation for the revised billing.
The problem with this is that the delivery charge for the first 100 therms is about 2 1/2 times the charge for therms used over the first 100. And gas rates from November through May ranged from $0.41490/therm to $0.99130/therm. So which rates did Peoples Gas apply to the additonal usage?
Three calls to Peoples Gas could not turn up this information, though one representative indicated that we were charged the first 100 therms rate (which we'd already paid during each of those six months!) I have made it clear to Peoples Gas that they must take an actual reading every month before they bill us. If they can't explain how they are calculating their "Revised Bils", then we're not taking chances with estimates.