Nat Grid Balanced Billing question

Does anyone else have a National Grid “balanced billing” or “budget” account for their gas heat? The reason I ask is because the entire point of balanced billing is to pay a set amount monthly. I used about $2200 a year in gas last year, so I would expect to pay a little more after an annual adjustment, lets say $200/month each month all year, in anticipation of higher usage or gas price next year.

What happens instead is that every month my billing is different. I pay $196 one month, $54 the next, $143 the month after that, etc. Then they claim that they adjust quarterly, and these differing amounts are because I have a balance(!). I thought the entire point was to PRODUCE a positive balance in order to draw against it in the winter when the gas usage would be more like $400/month.

There has been no one at Nat Grid I can explain myself to that understands how I am puzzled at this varying billing. How can a balanced billing plan be different every month and still be a balanced billing plan??

catbk

in Heating and Cooling 12 years and 4 months ago

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est | 12 years and 4 months ago

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I’ve been on a balanced-billing plan for almost two years now and the monthly payments have also fluctuated quite a bit. I was also required to put down a $750.00 “ commercial” deposit when we moved in, since our house is zoned as 3-family though we live in it as 2-familly.. That said, I’ve never had the frightening $250 or $300 a-month winter bills I worried about when we switched from an apartment to a house, so I plan to continue it. Guessing the fluctuations are linked to underlying commodity price swings. Same as gas, jet fuel etc.

Stonergut | 12 years and 4 months ago

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I had been using it for years too, and had a steady $142-ish payment with occasional adjustment. I don’t know what has caused these huge swings – it started last fall when they did the quarterly change. Do all of you have remote reading? That’s the only thing that’s changed.

Townie | 12 years and 4 months ago

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yes we have been using it for years, which is why it is so right on with a minimal balance being carried forward.   Billed $99 per month gets us through the winter months when the bill is $300+

Bklnite | 12 years and 4 months ago

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I’m on balanced billing with national grid and it works fine for me. I get new monthly amount in December and next year November I pay whatever the difference between usage and billed amount and a new level payment. It did adjust downward in the middle last year (mostly due to the drop in gas supply price per therm I believe).  Works best if you sign up for level billing around November / start of the heating season. That way they’re giving you free credit – you pay less than you use in the winter and pay them back in the summer when the level bill amount is more than your usage.

slopette | 12 years and 4 months ago

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They’ve got some bizarre ideas over there. I specifically *did not* enroll in balanced billing and got a $32 bill for my first month in my new apartment — when I was undertaking a renovation, didn’t live there, and didn’t even have a stove attached. When I called to complain, they reduced it to $16 because “that’s the minimum”. Meanwhile I’ve never received a bill over $12 for the apartment I actually live in.