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Century Councilman: Faulty Gas Meters Cause High Gas Bills; Mayor Says It Was Cold Weather
February 16, 2010
One Century council member believes faulty equipment is to blame for citizens receiving high gas bills, while the town’s mayor says the problem is simple — two weeks of sub-freezing overnight lows.
“We had 15 days of cold weather,” Mayor Freddie McCall said. “The people simply used the gas.”
For some Century gas customers, their bills were also higher than normal because their billing cycle was as long as 42 days due to meter problems. The problem was only with how long it took to read the electronic meters, not how the meters measure gas flow, the mayor said. He said that the meters on problematic accounts had been reread by a gas department employee to verify accuracy.
“I can’t with good conscience make these people pay these high gas bills when we have faulty equipment,” said council member Henry Hawkins.
“People elected me to safeguard this money,” McCall said. “If you want to vote tonight to give gas to everybody in Century — do it…But when the gas has gone through the meter, what can we do?”
Two weeks ago, Century resident Helen Mincy told the council that she saw her bill increase about fourfold. She told the town council that she only used her gas heat three days during the cold weather and that she could not understand why her bill was so high.
But Monday night, McCall presented a daily graph of Mincy’s gas usage. The graph showed an obvious near-daily usage for most of a month, including a large spike in usage January 2 to January 16 — which coincides with the two weeks of coldest weather in January.
“I survived the cold without the heat,” Mincy told the council Monday night about her $131 bill. “I still disagree with that,” she said of the mayor’s usage graph produced by her electronic gas meter.
“Everybody’s chart looks like this during those 15 days,” McCall said, referring to the highest usage occurring on the coldest days.
Later in the meeting, Mincy said that she had used some gas everyday due to having a gas stove, but it “was not that much”.
“If I don’t use it, I don’t use it,” she said.
As for the 42 day billing cycle problem, McCall said the town’s gas department would adjust bills to include 31 days of usage and carry the extra 11 days forward to the following month.
McCall said he would change out Mincy’s gas meter and have the old meter tested for accuracy.
Pictured top: This graph shows the daily gas usage of Century resident Helen Mincy, who claims a problem with her gas bill. Century’s mayor says the high usage on the account coincides with low temperatures. McCall has written the overnight low temperatures on the top of the graph over the days of highest usage, showing that most usage occurred on the days with the lowest temperatures. Submitted for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
27 Responses to “Century Councilman: Faulty Gas Meters Cause High Gas Bills; Mayor Says It Was Cold Weather”
Can anyone explain to me how that could have been possible in the 6 inch space between the switch and the meter?
Added in edit: WITHOUT my seeing it?
REGARDING:
“What do you think?”
I think gas meters only have a source of energy when gas flows. They can be misread or the meter factor can be misapplied or the reading misentered but notice everybody’s heating bill went up, not just one meter.
I also think if the electric meter continued to spin while not hooked up to the house, you are due a refund.
David for fairness
I agree that IF the gas was used, it needs to be paid for, but first they do need to check the meters.
“Water bills are the same, a water meter slows down and tears up, they don’t run away. “I don’t have a leak.” Until the water system finds it.”
Gulf Power told me the same thing about their meters. After Ivan when we didn’t have power for 3 weeks, I got a bill for over $500! I asked them how I could possibly have used that much power in a single week and they told me that “their meters don’t lie”. The bills kept going up and I kept calling and having a fit, asking them how any of this could be possible when I had no extra appliances such as a deep freeze, no outside lighting, no window a/c units, kept the central a/c on 78 degrees in summer and 65 in winter, turned off all lights when not in use, etc. They couldn’t explain to me why my meter was spinning crazily even when I turned the electricity off there at the meter box. They told me that I must have other things running off the meter. Can anyone explain to me how that could have been possible in the 6 inch space between the switch and the meter? Anyway, long story short, they made me pay a $796 electric bill for ONE MONTH and I finally got them to switch the meters. Lo and behold, my next month’s bill was only $168!!! Every bill thereafter was less than $200……but they still maintain that there was nothing wrong with the original meter.
What do you think?
SAVE MONEY
FREEZE
Just wanted to say I recieved the largest gas bill ever, but darn it, it was cold outside and I am not going to freeze if I can help it. I have not heard anyone say their bill was not more. Hey we can’t give gas away because if we do all of us would want it. I think this was one of the longest cold spells I have seen in quiet a while. Matter of fact I had bursted water lines first time in over twenty years. I feel bad for myself and everyone, but the town is not responsible for how much gas we use. If you want to stay warm okay, if not turn it off and freeze.
Yes, but….
…is it reasonable to suggest that one should not pay for what they have used? Who else should have to pay for it?
What in the constitution, or any other document, causes you to believe that it is the role of government to relieve the citizens of the need to pay for the products they use?
Century should set a precedent for everyone by going ahead and crediting those poor people with free gas.
Don’t believe the century council is to different from any other governing body. They are supposed to listen to and respond, within reason, to the citizens they represent. The problem seems to lay more with the constantly disgruntled citizens. This group can change suddenly depending on what the subject is.
WE ARE A VOCAL GROUP.
better watch using your gas heat, you are going to pay for it next month
Those people were probably keepings themselves warm those fourteen days that were cold. I’m sick and tired of people complaining about their high bills. Deal with it or get rid of your gas. It was cold weather. You won’t complain when your bill is cheap but when its high you want to complain about it. You used the gas it shows on the diagram plain as day. I reckon some people think they should get everything “FREE” and it shows that council looks like they want to give it away too. I mean how will the town pay for their gas bill if the town just gives away gas. That does not make any sense at all????????? What kind of council does Century have ?????????
These people were probably keeping themselves warm those fourteen days that were cold. I wish they would quit complaining. I’m sick and tired of hearing about it. Pay your bill you used it. If you don’t want to stay warm get rid of your gas then. People think they should get stuff for “FREE” it don’t work that way. You pay for what you use.
reverse latter and former
I am sick and tired of hearing Alfonzie Cottrel, Henry Hawkins, And Helen Mincy complaining about everything. They should just shut up whining about everthing and pay the stinking bills. Gracious, it would be a WHOLE LOT BETTER if those three just left the Town of Century and moved just as far away as possile. Maybe Iceland would be sufficent enough.
Would it be unreasonable to suggest the town compare gas purchased with gas sold?
My gas bill was high but it was cold outside and warm inside. Winter is the cause of the latter, the gas is the reason for the former.
Paying for a month and a half’s worth of gas at once is going to hurt in the short term, but surely we can look forward to a drop when they provide an 18 day usage coming up.
David the hopeful while toasty warm
You here the same thing from the same people every time it gets cold. Not always, but usually it is from the same people always wanting something for nothing.
EREC must have faulty electric meters too…..my cell phone company i’m sure has faulty equipment……oh and I’m quite sure all the cash registers in town are messed up too….on and on and on………It’s that blame anybody but me mentality that is crippling our nation and our next generation.
People should quit complaining and just pay their bill. There was many cold days in the month of December and January. Why should the council give them an adjustment and let them get off scot free sort of speak. That is not fair. They used the GAS plain as day. They showed an example of someone’s gas usage on the top of the article. How is the equipment at fault???? Quit complaining!
What is it about extremely cold or excessively hot weather that people don’t understand. I’m sorry but I don’t believe that someone only used their heat three days out of that cold snap. My house is well build and I used plenty of gas to keep “sort of warm”. Sort of meaning my thermestate stays on 67 during the day and down to 65 at night. Even with that I used double the gas that I normally do. If you don’t understand how things work then sit down with someone who has the time to go over it with you until you do understand. No one likes high bills but you pay for what you use. The odds of your meter being faulty only during cold weather is unlikely. Century needs to stay firm on this. We are all having trouble paying high bills, but we pay them.
Unless the city is going to get into the welfare business it has NO business saying who is going to pay what.
It was cold. People wanted to stay warm. There is not crime in that, but there is a cost. It is an unfortunate that we have to pay our bills. The gas company did not require pre-payment for the gas but sent it into the home as it was used… in good faith. The customer with the bill can either pay or have it shut off.
I am sorry that the bill is a burden to people, I have burdens too. The fact is that SOMEONE is going to pay the bill, and if they do not pay someone else has to pay it for them.
Is that fair? Really>?
The funny thing is,I have a gas cook stove at my shop,there are no pilot lights on it and I was gone from the middle of November to the middle of January and my gas bill went up.It was probably due to the longer billing cycle.I sure hope so.Either that or some one was sneaking in cooking on my stove!!!
Maybe council member Henry Hawkins should tag along with the meter readers and inspect too ! Oh, that would mean he would have to get out and do something !
Colder weather can account for some of the increase but if they are “reading” the gas meters with the same equipment they are using to read the water meters, then it can “misread”. I know of a rental house that had it’s water turned off for the last two months because of bathroom repairs being done and the landlord’s water/sewage bill was double what it should have been(72 instead of the basic 36). The “meter reader” was not getting the correct reading. It can happen.So everyone needs to read their own meter every once in a while and check it against the electronic reading, just to make sure the system is working.
And on a lighter note, whatever yall do CHECK WITH AN ATTORNEY, before you do anything that will end up on the evening news.
O yea I forgot to say, I have real family members who have worked hard all their lives who are disabled in the sense they CANNOT work, I am not a heartless person. I sometimes wish I could go get all the funds the government gives away to the lazy liars and spread it out to those who really do need the help, but I don’t have Robin Hood to help me.
Not faulty gas ,meters Mr.Hawkins.ITs called staying warm during cold weather.
Water bills are the same, a water meter slows down and tears up, they don’t run away. “I don’t have a leak.” Until the water system finds it. One suggestion would be some sort of payment arrangements, documented of course, to give the customer some time to pay the larger bill. If I were to give it away I would give an across the board cut to the elderly over 65 who are on fixed incomes. It would be nice to include disabled folks with real limitations, but there has been such an increase in people who are not exactly honest about their physical limitations, that their abuse of the system makes it hard to include this group. I have hard days too, but I don’t draw a check because I can’t get out of bed, I can’t face my life I have created. I don’t have a cupboard full of cookies thanks to the Food Stamp System that has allowed diabetes to rule. It would be nice for fairness to play a role in the decision making but I guess it is those bad apples who do really spoil the pot for the everyday hard working person. The town has financial obligations when the service was delivered, in other words, they gotta pay their bills, and I am sure nobody gives them a deal before it gets to the customer. Good Luck Council, after all the griping and belly aching, and I am putting that nicely, you may all qualify for some disability, mental disorders do include abuse. I am putting my name on this one, so people can direct their comments directly to me this time.
my electrical bill doubled due to the weather. think mr hawkins and the town will kick in and help with that? don’t think so. you used it quit whining and pay your bill.
Everybody had high gas and electric bills and everyone should be responsible for their own payments. Who is Henry Hawkins? Who would be paying the bills if the residents didn’t pay for what they used? Whose responsibility is it to ensure that individual residents have properly working equipment? The price of natural gas and oil will continue to climb as long as our country is put in a strangle hold by not being allowed to use our natural resources. It’s a thing to consider when people go to the voting booth, as well.