I just moved into a new apartment last month. I got my first full monthly gas bill today. I have heat, hot water, and cooking all on gas. Now I live alone, in a two bedroom apartment. I don't cook, shower either once or twice a day, but nothing too long. The bill was $218. I think this is way over the proper amount. I keep the thermostat around 65 most of the time. Does this sound too high? I am wondering if there is a leak outside, as I do sometimes smell a little gas near the meter. Really not sure as what I should expect to be paying since my last place, the landlord paid for the heat.

 

Does the bill detail what you're actually paying at the per therm amount? Also, does that amount include new setup fee with the gas company? That's what my first bill had looked like when I had moved into a new complex and had established a new relation with the company.

 

Damn that is high. I'm around 40 dollars a month for 800 sq ft

 

That amount doesn't include a setup fee. It is actually the second bill I received. The first was a prorated amount for like the first week I was here. I called and they ended up sending a tech to look for a leak. He found a couple small leaks at my meter, as well as a leak on my next door neighbors meter. He was paying ~$170 a month for a family of 4, and they cook every night. I couldn't call the office though to talk to them about knocking off a large part of the bill cause their office was closed by the time the tech left. I'll call tomorrow though.

 

Man I hope that is what it will be around as my place is around the same size. I doubt it though.

 

Sounds high... Questions.. Where do you live? Did the gas company actually "read" the meter or make an estimation and not actually read it this past month? They do there here when the weather is bad, etc... Is the thermostat in the water heater bad, keeping the heat on more than it should be...

Finally, if you suspect a gas leak, you should really contact the gas company and have them inspect it. Screw getting overcharged... That's a safety hazard.

 

FWIW, my gas bill was about $250 this past month for a 2700 sq ft 2-story home, 72 all night, 62 during the day when no one is at home.

 

The gas guy that came to inspect for a leak said that they have guys in vans that just drive down the street and they have a computer that electronically reads all the meters on the road as he drives by. I'd have to check about the thermostat in the water heater, have no idea if that is bad or not.

I live in Fairfield Connecticut, which is one of the most expensive areas in the country, but still shouldn't be that high.

 

Can you verify that your meter reads close to what is says on the bill?

 

I don't know how to read the meter, so I guess I can't.

 

I should mention that I rarely use the heat. It stays off unless the outside temp dips into the 30's.

 

My mom lives alone in a 1000+ sq. ft. condo, and her gas bill is a little less than this in SoCal. She never uses the heat, but cooks every day, etc.

$200+ for gas sounds really, really high-- I've never had that large a gas bill for our house with a family of four.

 

That's really high, but what is your hot water heater set to? If its set really hot, you are using more gas than you need to to keep it that hot.

Do you heat the oven up a lot - that can use quite a bit of gas. So can a gas dryer if you have one of those.

 

The most expensive gas bill I've ever had for my house was February 2007 when it was sub-zero for nearly two weeks and it still only came to $160. I kept the house warm 24hrs a day as, at that time, I worked from home.

 

now i got 2 natural gas lines and meters for the house/farm. one for farm use and one for house use.
the house use it's never went above 150 and that's for a 3000 square ft single level house without counting basement.
I usually keep the heat at 70-71.

 

Thats insanely cheap. I have 3100 square feet and I pay on average 560 a month with the thermostat at a constant 68 degrees. Sounds impossible.

 

How many water heaters are you running?? How many people live, cook and bathe in the house??
Even with two water heaters running (one for the laundry room, one for the house) and the heater running, we've never broken $200/mo.
You might want to check for a leak in the gas lines, or have the gas company do a check. Maybe compare your first gas bill with your last one, if you still have your first. $500+ just sounds abnormally high.

 

I misread the op. I was including electric as well which is like 210 per month.

 

How many cubic feet of gas were used?

Last month I used 33,000 cf and paid $340, but most of the cost was "surcharge" and taxes.

 

wtf?

My house has 3773 sq. ft. of finished space + a 740 sq. ft. heated garage and a ~200 sq. ft. heated workshop, gas heat, gas water, gas appliances and my most expensive total bill (gas + electric) this winter was only $302.11.

Most of that was electric considering I have servers here running at 500W at all times, and my living room TV+components eating 250W most of the day. (Not to mention lights/fridge/etc).

The house is kept at 67-69 from 7AM - 9PM and then drops to 63 over night. The garage is kept at about 45 degrees.

Suffice to say, you may too have a leak.

 

Scratch that. My highest bill was $382.43 in Jan. I thought Feb. was higher for some reason.

Still, significantly less than $560/mo.

 

Going with what others have said your bill should be too high. I live in 980 sq. ft apartment. Thermostat never goes above 66/67. Shower once, maybe twice a day. My gas bill is in the low $40s.

Just a side here.. My cable bill is > electricity, gas & water combined...

 

OK, that makes much more sense.
The previous few posts apparently missed your correction. My place has natural gas water heaters, furnace, cooktop and dryer, but we're in coastal SoCal, so furnace operation even in the coldest spells is not continuous, which is why we don't reach $200/month, and it's usually below $100/month.

 

YOURS IS NEW...MINE IS 25 YRS OLD. BIG BLOCK OF SWISS CHEESE

 

My bill came today in the mail, 36 dollars.

 

two words: rolling blackouts.

 

Im running about 270-290 a month in my 1600 sf. Thats gas/electric bill combined. Thermostat is pretty much set to 69-70 non stop. I know i can get it down when i replace the windows this summer.