Gas meter fault means millions pay too much

By This Is Money
Updated: 09:05 EST, 14 February 2011

 

Millions of households are being overcharged for gas because of inaccurate meters, a leaked report has revealed.

One in six of National Grid's older meters were over-registering and almost all of those tested had 'accuracy problems', according to the report.

An average customer affected by the problem would unwittingly pay £26 a year too much for gas - netting the industry millions of pounds each year.

The report showed that in the worst cases, 88% of one 1983 model meter and 69% of one 2000 model were over-registering - this is in excess of the tolerated 2% leeway.

Sadly for customers, less than 1% were undercharging. National Grid, which owns 75% of the UK's 23m gas meters, tested 4,882 of their oldest or least reliable meters in 2007 and found one in six was in breach of the regulations.

Almost all of those tested had accuracy problems, thought to be caused by worn out or poorer quality diaphragms inside the meters.

Two years later, this figure was unchanged. National Grid did not intend that the reports would be made public.

Experts urged regulators to force energy suppliers to speed up the replacement of defective meters.

Ray Cope, a retired director of the Gas Consumers Council, said: 'The scale of the problem is disgraceful and it is clear from the report that there are potentially millions of defective meters out there.

'At a time when gas bills are soaring anyway and with the present financial pressures on people, consumers-cannot afford to pay even more for their gas because their meter is inaccurate. Regulators Ofgem and the National Measurement Office must take immediate action to sort out this mess and replace the defective meters.'

The average family would have to pay £13 extra a year if their meter over-registered by 2%. But the report found that 3% of meters were over-registering by more than double that, meaning some unlucky families pay more than £26 a year for gas they never use.

How to challenge your bill

If a supplier fails to bill you correctly then it cannot backdate your statement more than one year.

The rule is part of a voluntary code of practice for accurate billing which was signed by the 'big six' energy suppliers in 2007.

It means that customers cannot be charged for previously unbilled energy that is more than 12 months old.

The rules are different for non domestic, business customers. Ofgem, the energy regulator, recommends that if a small to medium businesses is billed for energy that is more than 12 months old it should seek legal advice.

If you think your bill is wrong, challenge it. Your energy supplier may try and bill you for longer than a year and say it being incorrect is your responsibility not theirs, if they do this challenge that too, as they must prove it is your fault.

However, customers are expected to have at least attempted to contact the supplier about their bills, if for example they haven't had one for over a year. The rule is not a 'get out clause' intended to help people avoid paying for energy.

Customer's responsibilities include giving access to their home so that a supplier can make a meter reading.

Adam Scorer, director of external affairs at Consumer Focus, which now represents gas customers, said it would raise the issue with the regulators.

'If people have been overcharged we would expect the regulators to ensure that customers are fully compensated and suppliers replace meters that are inaccurate-he said. 'People must be able to rely on their meter readings.'

National Grid said the industry replaced at least 500,000 meters a year. But critics said meter replacement programmes had slowed ahead of the introduction of smart meters, which show customers how much gas they are using. The Government plans to install them in more than 27m homes and businesses over the next decade.

National Grid insisted it was trying to target the worst performing meters. It had replaced 95% of the faulty 1983 U6 Black Spot model. The faulty 2000 model is a G4 Magnol Version 1.

A spokesman said: 'This report is a business management tool, and the meters tested were selected as being older or identified as being potentially inaccurate so that they could be prioritised for replacement. It is not representative of meters in the UK generally.'

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