Why is my Gas Bill so High?

An increase in the cost of your Gas bill can be caused by a number of different factors. You will discover what could be causing a more expensive than usual gas bill by simply ruling out other causes. You'll want to rule out the most common and obvious causes of higher than normal bills before worrying about the more worrying but far less likely causes.

There are only two ways in which the cost of your gas bill can increase, using more gas or paying more for the gas you use. The UK winter of 2020/2021 had a few really cold snaps and over the same period gas prices increased, this would have had a significant impact on your gas heating costs.

If your gas bill is high because your supplier charges too much then you should find out how to compare gas prices to see how much lower your bills could be.

What you pay for your gas is made up of a daily standing charge which makes up around 10% of your total bill if you are an average energy user. The major part of your gas bill is made up of the kWh cost which is the unit cost you are charged for every unit of gas your boiler burns to heat your home and provide hot water.

In the UK households use much more gas over the winter months as this is the time of year it is coldest. The UK is also heavily reliant on gas fired power stations to generate electricity which also pushes up demand for gas. Increased demand often leads to an increase in price.

Do you want to know what the average gas bill per month is?

Are your meter readings accurate?

If you have been paying a fixed monthly direct debit for your gas then it is unlikely you will notice an increase in cost until your energy provider contacts you to suggest higher monthly direct debit payments.

So the first thing you should do is look at your actual energy usage. If you have a smart meter then your energy company will have accurate kWh gas consumption readings that you should be able to access from your account on their website.

If you have a standard gas meter then hopefully you have been submitting regular readings. If you provide gas meter readings in an ad-hoc manner then it may just be that you have been overpaying or underpaying as your supplier has been billing you based on estimates.

Regular meter readings will mean that your usage is more accurately recorded so you can compare this year's current monthly usage compared to last years. Don't rely on the actual payment figures as it is likely the kWh price that your supplier charges you may have changed so it won't be a like for like comparison.

If you can rule out inaccurate meter readings due to estimates rather than actual meter reads then there is always a chance that your meter could be faulty.

Before contacting your energy supplier make sure that you have not submitted incorrect readings by misreading the gas meter or entering the wrong numbers online. There is always the risk of jotting down the wrong numbers when taking readings from your gas meter so it is advisable to take a picture of your meter once a month with your smartphone. It will accurately create a record of your meter including usage and serial number and the image on your phone will be time and GPS stamped so you can submit it to your supplier as proof.

Have you had a new meter installed?

If you have recently had a new meter installed and you noticed your bills going up after that date it may not be a coincidence.

Problems with smart meters are not uncommon and with the smart meter roll out lots of SMETS1 and SMETS2 meters have been installed by third party installers hired by energy firms.

You can investigate to find out if your new smart meter has been set up with the correct tariff and pricing, if it has the correct starting reading and if it is recording your energy usage correctly.

You will need to access your energy statements prior to having the meter installed where you can compare gas kWh consumption, meter readings and cost. You should also have an in home display where you can also get a lot of information about rates and usage.

Conversely your old meter may have been faulty and so when you changed to a new meter it started to record accurate gas usage and your supplier has suddenly presented you with an unusually expensive bill.

You can check if your gas meter is recording energy usage you are not using by checking to see if the numbers in the meter increase when the heating is off and you have no hot taps running. If you are able to you can also switch off your boiler to make sure no gas is being used then check the meter.

If you think that there is an issue you will need to contact your energy supplier to investigate the issue.

Have you recently changed gas tariff?

The rate you are being charged for your gas supply can significantly affect your bill. You may have recently switched to a new tariff purposefully in the hope of saving money or your current supplier has moved you onto a standard variable rate or evergreen tariff.

Standard variable rates (SVR) tariffs tend to be the most expensive tariffs offered by gas suppliers in the UK. When you come to the end of a long term fixed energy deal you will be moved onto your suppliers, usually more expensive, variable rate. It inevitably means that you will be paying more per kWh of gas which will significantly increase your costs over the winter months.

Be aware that many suppliers, especially the Big Six will often offer you deals to switch to which may not offer significant savings from their variable rates. You should always check to see if you could be paying less elsewhere by doing a 5 minute energy comparison, chances are you could save significantly more by switching.

Are you on a variable rate tariff?

The rates on variable tariffs can change, it means your kWh unit costs can go up or down at any time. You can probably guess they go up more often than they go down. A significant increase in your daily standing charge for gas or even a modest increase in the kWh rate you pay for your gas can significantly increase your overall energy bill.

Your supplier should inform you (usually by email) if they intend to increase prices. We tend to overlook emails as many of us get so many. Emails from your energy provider giving you notification of a price increase can easily be missed or ignored if you didn't think it was important.

You can look back at older bills, most online accounts allow you to access bills going back to when you first switch to your energy supplier. It's easy to look back and see when your unit cost increased, it may be partly or entirely the cause of your recent high gas bill.

Consider switching to a fixed energy deal so the price you pay never changes.

Fixed price energy is usually a good option as energy prices tend to increase over time. In March 2020 the average monthly cost of the 10 cheapest tariffs for the average UK household was £65.51 compared to £79.07 in March 2021.

At Safe Energy Switch we track the best gas and electric deals on the market so we know which suppliers consistently have the best offers. We've used that data to calculate the average monthly cost. See the tables below for actual data.

Cheapest energy for March 2020

SUPPLIER	TARIFF	MONTH £	ANNUAL £
Yorkshire Energy	Yorkshire Energy Variable	64.31	771.69
Orbit Energy	Vari-Save Extra	64.44	773.28
Utility Point	Just Up 20 Wk06 Direct v2	64.61	775.35
Outfox the Market	Fix'D 20 4.0	64.70	776.36
Gulf Energy	Gulf Home Renewable 12 March 21 v3	64.83	778.02
Avro Energy	Simple and SuperFixed	64.94	779.28
Yorkshire Energy	Green Whitby - Fixed until 31st March 2021	66.02	792.29
Peoples Energy	People's Energy 2 Months Upfront Winter 20 v3	66.22	794.68
Outfox the Market	Fix'D 20 5.0	67.25	806.97
Outfox the Market	Fix'D 20 2.0 PLUS	67.77	813.23
	March 2020 Average Cost	£65.51	£786.12

Cheapest energy for March 2021

SUPPLIER	TARIFF	MONTH £	ANNUAL £
Neo Energy	NEO 4.1	72.94	875.28
Hub Energy	HUB Smart Choice Tariff 12 March 22 v2	78.00	936.00
Goto Energy	Standard Variable	78.96	947.52
Outfox the Market	Fix'd 21 8.0	79.44	953.28
Utility Point	Just Join UP 21 12M Fixed Wk07	79.51	954.12
Avro Energy	Simple and SuperSwitcher	79.60	955.20
Scottish Power	Greener Future March 2022 B1	80.43	965.16
People's Energy	People's Energy Fixed Loyalty Tariff Jan 21	80.53	966.36
People's Energy	People's Energy Fixed Tariff February 21 v4	80.59	967.08
PFP Energy	Fixed - May 2022 - Green v1 Paperless	80.66	967.92
	March 2021 Average Cost	£79.07	£906.79

Many of the fixed price tariffs being offered no longer have any early exit fees. Fees are usually around £30 per fuel so should you decide to switch to another deal before the end of your fixed term you would be hit by the early exit fee.

Variable rate tariffs also have no exit fees but the price can go up or down over time. As I mentioned earlier prices tend to increase rather than decrease. With fixed deals the price will not change over the term of the tariff which can be up to 3 years but the majority on offer are fixed for 12 months.

Fixing the amount you pay for each unit of gas you use also makes it easier to budget and keep track of how much energy you use. When prices go up your bill goes up even if you are not using any more gas than normal.

Are you using more gas?

Use our calculator: How much gas should I be using?

It may sound obvious but if you have multiple people in your household that are showering or bathing more often, then more gas is going to be used to heat the water

If you are spending more than about 5 minutes in the shower with the hot water going it's likely that you are using more gas to heat the water than you would by having a bath.

Is someone in the house leaving the hot tap running in the bathroom or kitchen sink?

If it's a colder than usual winter then your gas boiler is going to have to work a lot harder to maintain the same temperature even if you haven't adjusted any settings.

It could be that someone in the house is overriding the heating to keep the house warmer for longer. To save money you should only have the heating on in the rooms that are being occupied, turn the thermostat down slightly and wear extra layers.

Is your gas bill higher because of a change in circumstances?

Are you comparing your gas bill to one of your neighbours? There could be a myriad of reasons why your bill is higher than your neighbours. They could have a more efficient boiler, better insulation or just use the heating less.

Are you comparing the bill from your new property with your last property? Even though there may be the same amount people in the household and your usage patterns remain the same you may use more gas. A less efficient boiler, drafts, a larger property or any number of factors could affect the amount of gas being used.