Archive for March, 2010

Utility Bill Auditing: Save on your Bills

Monday, March 15th, 2010

One utility bill auditing of the things that not many people know about (but should) is utility bill auditing. This can be done by anyone: by taking note of meter readings, analyzing your billing statements, and understanding the charges that are being levied. You might be surprised at the possible cost recovery utility bill auditing from such audits. Are you paying the correct amount for your utilities? If you’re not sure, maybe you should learn how to do a little utility bill auditing. It’s not as complicated as it sounds: you just have to learn how to read your utility meters and the billing statements, and grasp the payment and rate structure that goes behind your bills. Your cost recovery may well be worth the effort.

Record Your Meters: Record your gas, electric, and water meters at the beginning and end of billing periods to ascertain the utility department’s accuracy. Some things to remember as you do your utility bill auditing — Power meter dials read like car odometers. The dials represent the amount of energy used in (from right to left) ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands of kilowatt-hours (kwh).

Get the finest Rate - By doing utility bill auditing you can make certain that the charges per unit you’ve been bucked are correct. Overcharging is often overlooked in your bill, so you have to keep an eye out for these. Like the seasonal charges, for example: occasionally electrical utility officers forget to alter from summertime rates to wintertime rates when seasons switch. And most electrical energy departments propose more than one rate on which you might be charged.

When you eventually understand what your consumption is like per month, you can tell if there are any dramatic changes in your utility consumption. A sharp increase in natural gas or water meter readings utility bill auditing may mean a leak somewhere. Call the gas company to have them send someone over to fix it, so that you’re not paying for utilities you haven’t used.

Many local water departments will charge you for consumption, and then add a monthly service charge that varies according to the size of your water heater. You may want to save money each month by switching to a smaller and more economical one. In addition to this, sewer bills also included in your charges. The sewer bill is charges households for the actual water consumed, whether or not it finishes up in the sewer main.

If you consume a lot of water to fill up pools, wash automobiles, or water large lawns and many trees, you may want to set up a meter to evaluate water that doesn’t finish in the sewer main. You’ll have to weigh the costs involved, though, because the induction is expensive. Many gas agencies offer discounts for consumers who change to gas-powered machinery, which are commonly more energy-efficient. And gas is commonly less expensive than electrical energy.

Jon Smith is a Midwestern businessman who currently lives in a sprawling Colonial-style home. In it is a pool, a hundred-square meter lawn, and what must now be more than several hundred electricity-powered devices. The heavy cost of his bills have driven him to learn utility bill auditing, and his cost recovery has now reached an all-time high of thirty percent.

- John Smith