Estimated consumption on the gas bill
In the gas bill we can find the concept of "regularization fee", by which the amount to be paid on the receipt can be increased or reduced. What exactly is this fee? We explain it in the following report on the Consumer Portal.
If you have a gas contract with a marketer, it is possible that you have seen the collection of an amount for the concept reflected on your bill. “regularization fee”. The reason for this type of charge is because the gas bill has been made based on a estimated consumption.
But what exactly is the estimated consumption? The marketing companies read the actual consumption of their customers monthly or bimonthly, depending on the contract that has been signed. However, if this reading cannot be done, the company, by default, includes a fictitious consumption in your invoice, based on their similar consumptions in the same period of the previous year.
The electricity companies have digitized the consumption reading. However, the gas companies do not have it digitized, so if they cannot access the real reading, they resort to the estimated readings.
Sometimes, the gas meter is located inside the home, so the operator needs a person in the home to allow access to the meter, something that is not always possible. There are also occasions when a fault occurs in the meter, making the reading invalid.
For all these assumptions, the estimated consumption is used.
Regularization fee
The difference between estimated consumption and actual consumption equals the regularization fee. You may have consumed less gas than what appears in your estimated consumption, in which case your company will refund the money equivalent to the difference. Otherwise, if your actual consumption has exceeded the estimated consumption, your gas retailer will charge you the regularization fee.
The issuance of regularization quotas occurs after a period of one year.
Reading
When the company does not have access to the accountant, it must deliver a warning that reading was not possible, providing an email, a website or a telephone so that the client can contact and offer consumption data.
The notice must also indicate the term that the client has to communicate the data and warn that, in the event that the company does not have real data, an estimated consumption will be billed.
How to avoid the regularization fee
There are two ways to avoid receiving regularization fees on your gas bill:
- Send consumption data: You can send the data to your marketer yourself. To do this, you must identify your contract number, take the meter reading yourself with its corresponding date and send the data to the company. Each company has its method to deliver the data (web, mail, telephone).
- Gas flat rate: A personalized rate that the company negotiates with you and for which you must pay the same amount each month. In this case, we have to differentiate two free market rate modalities that marketers usually offer to their customers, generally combining the supply of electricity and gas:
- Flat rate: In this type of offer, the consumer will always pay the same fee throughout the contract, which is generally for one year. The company usually studies the consumption of the previous year and establishes a maximum annual consumption to which a percentage is added. The consumer must not exceed this volume of gas consumption during the duration of the contract. If it exceeds it, the marketer can modify the rate or charge a penalty with respect to the established price.
- Fixed fee: in this modality marketer and client establish a closed periodic payment. If you exceed the limit that you have established, you have to pay the excess consumption at the regulated market price. If you have consumed less gas, they will refund the amount. The regularization is done at the end of the year.
For more information, you can refer to the following report on the gas bill.
Update date: May 17, 2023