My 6/26/14 bill arrived today. What a shock! My customer charge is only $18.22, but the shocking figure is the Gas Recovery Charge of $79.35! I went to their tariffs but cannot determine how they arrive at that charge. It is applied to the usage, 106, the same as the usage charge. Anyone know how this is calculated?
Did anyone else get a charge like this? Anyone have experience with this charge?

Mine was 151.96!!! Total gas bill is literally 10 times what it was last month. Can't wait to find out what the explanation is tomorrow.

[This message has been edited by FlyRod (edited 6/30/2014 10:03p).]

[This message has been edited by FlyRod (edited 6/30/2014 10:09p).]

$151? So your usage was about 200?

Mine was 11 this month and all of our appliances are gas.

I have no idea what's going on. Last month's bill was $22. This month its over $200.

Here's their "explanation"

http://www.atmosenergy.com/home/cs/prices.html

It's actually not a new thing. I went back and reviewed bills that I assumed to be high from using the pool heater. They are charging basically $.75 per "unit" of usage on top of your actual customer charge and usage.

[This message has been edited by OnlyANobody (edited 6/30/2014 10:33p).]

I won't criticize Atmos because I'm a big fan of Chace Murphy. He'll be along soon to explain the charges.

Doesn't explain how a $22 bill goes to over $200 in one month. I look forward to finding out tomorrow though.

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Doesn't explain how a $22 bill goes to over $200 in one month. I look forward to finding out tomorrow though.

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Go read your meter. It's not impossible that it was read incorrectly, and you may have your answer in just a few seconds.

That's actually what I suspect.

I didn't see the recovery charge on my bill. I did have the $18.22 charge with some explanation. I don't know if that means the $18.22 will be charged every month or what.

So some people are getting the GCR and others aren't. Great. Any idea if this is going to happen every month?

If you use effectively no gas, I think they'll only charge the $18.whatever fee.

The recovery fee is about $.74 for each unit of gas.

I'm not justifying it, believe me. I'm just showing you how a bill can go from $23.96 (customer charge and usage) to $112.73 after markup and taxes on the markup.

They multiplied my usage of units (107) by roughly $.75 and added $79.43 to my $24ish bill:

Just looking at the bill. Last month meter was 7411. This month was 7614. So difference of 203 CCF. Multiplied by ,75 that comes to about $151.96 and I guess that makes sense.


What doesn't make sense is that all previous bills have been around $22 or so. Now wondering if there is some kind of appliance problem or meter issue...

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Just looking at the bill. Last month meter was 7411. This month was 7614. So difference of 203 CCF. Multiplied by ,75 that comes to about $151.96 and I guess that makes sense.


What doesn't make sense is that all previous bills have been around $22 or so. Now wondering if there is some kind of appliance problem or meter issue...

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Do you have a flashlight? Go outside and read your damned meter! I must know the answer. Lol

customer charge is a monthly fee no matter consumption

May bill $26
June bill $33

Sounds like a meter problem in my case then. The outer covering is worn so is difficult to read. BTU has locked the account and is sending out a tech to test. If the meter reads fine, then there's still a problem and they are going to run further tests on pressure, leaks, etc.

No way a gas bill jumps from $22 to $204 without either an error in reading, or something malfunctioning severely.

BTU?????

Sorry, Atmos! Haven't had enough coffee yet...

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I won't criticize Atmos because I'm a big fan of Chace Murphy. He'll be along soon to explain the charges.

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I'm happy to send Chace my bill.

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I won't criticize Atmos because I'm a big fan of Chace Murphy. He'll be along soon to explain the charges.

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I'm happy to send Chace my bill.

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Tweet it to him. He's their pr man, I'm sure he'd answer your question.

$36 and change on most recent bill.

$46 LAST MONTH, $52 this month.

$46 LAST MONTH, $52 this month.

Mornin', folks,

There's been a lot of good information already shared that I will do my best not to rehash.

Gas Cost Recovery
I will try to offer some helpful information regarding the Gas Cost Recovery charge (Rider GCR). By law, Atmos Energy cannot profit from this charge. This is what it costs us to get the gas to you; nothing more or less. It is a pass-through cost on which we break even.

You are charged for the amount you use. This means on each of your bills, the "Consumption Charge" should always match the "Rider GCR" charge, in terms of how much gas you are charged for using. The monetary amount per unit is different but the quantities should always match.

Customer Charge
About 18 months ago, we changed our billing philosophy. Where we once charged you more for the gas you used (consumption charge), we charged you less as a baseline customer (customer charge). Now, the customer charge is higher and the consumption charge is considerably lower. Under the rate mechanism approved by all cities served by Atmos Energy (including Bryan and College Station), it allows for a $0.50 increase in the customer charge once a year, hence the increase from $17.72 to $18.22.

Billing
If you ever suspect there is a billing error, please call our customer contact center at (888) 286-6700. We will be happy to come out and reread your meter to make sure it is accurate, as well as do a leak survey to make sure everything is in working order. If you ever smell gas, leave the area and call 911.

Also, for any digging project, always call 811 for a line locate. It will cost you a little time but could save you a lot of money. No person or entity (Atmos Energy included) is exempt from a state fine for damaging infrastructure.

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I'm happy to send Chace my bill.

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And I'd be happy to take a look at it with you. Sounds like we need to reread your meter and, hopefully, the ball is already rolling on that. Also sounds like there could be a problem but we won't know for sure until a service tech takes a look at it.

As always, if any of you would like to discuss this further, I would be happy to do so on a one-to-one basis. It would be highly inappropriate for me to discuss the particulars of one person's account on a public message board. My email address is: chace.murphy@atmosenergy.com.

I hope all of you have a safe and happy 4th of July weekend!

They're building a new pipeline south of down....somebody has to pay for that....

(It's you)

My bill came it at $111. I checked the meter and the reader made a mistake in reading the second digit as an 8 instead of a 7, resulting in a change of exactly 100 from the previous month.

I called - the lady was nice enough but was reluctant to send out someone to re-read until I pressed her kind of hard on it (she tried to say it was because the previous month was an estimate). Anyway, the re-read has now been set up.

Since I only use gas for heating and I'd already read the meter this morning, I knew I was in the right. That made it a bit easier.

Thanks Chace. The bill is straightforward to read and interpret. The issue is the (alleged) massive usage jump from the last billing cycle, and compared to the yearly average. My usage patterns haven't changed, and I was out of the country for much of the last billing cycle. The folks I spoke with at ATMOS this morning thought something was wrong. A technician has been scheduled, so hopefully the problem will get fixed. I'll post what happens, if I think other customers might benefit.

All gas appliances--water heater, stove, furnace--are also relatively new, and were installed roughly a little over a year ago...so I don't think its related to that or that effect should have shown up on the bill previously.

I also have not smelled any gas, so I don't think a leak is the issue. ATMOS mentioned a "pressure check," which I'm not clear about.

[This message has been edited by FlyRod (edited 7/1/2014 9:36a).]

Check your blood pressure

I also called atmos yesterday because it showed my June usage was more than triple my May usage. I was told it was because May was and estimated reading and June was an actual reading that resulted in June appearing much larger than May.

GUess I should be calling as well - my Feb usage was higher than anything in the past 2 years - by 12 units. Since I only have a gas hot water heater and my average usage is around 10 units, 40+ is pretty high.

fcag, I wouldn't take their word for it. Read your meter and see if it matches what they say. Or request a new reading.

Just my free advice - worth every penny!

So all of these posters had winter time type usage in the middle of the summer?
So for the past 10 years I've had an account my summer bills have been $20-$40, and now all the sudden they changed the formula and now get to expect $100+.
Sounds like they found a way to gouge the consumer. I'll just buy electric appliances next time. They can go from $100+ to $0.00.