British Gas might have overcharged customers for five years, OFGEM reveals

According to a new report by energy regulator OFGEM, between 2006 and 2011, British Gas failed to “round down” the calorific value, a charge that covers the heat or thermal energy in the gas a customer uses. For this reason, it apparently ended up overcharging quite a few of its customers, a news report on this matter reveals.

The problem is apparently related to the calorific value, a charge that covers the heat or thermal energy in the gas a customer uses. OFGEM required energy suppliers to to use just one decimal point for rounding down the value, but, in the aforementioned time frame, British Gas failed to do so, and used four decimal points when calculating the customers’ bills.

On the other hand, the energy regulator also admitted that the total impact on customers was “unclear”, since British Gas may have adjusted the main, unit price of gas and electricity to compensate for the higher charge on calorific value but it was impossible to say exactly to what degree.

On the other hand, British Gas claimed no wrongdoing, but even so, they’ve decided to pay £10m into a trust for vulnerable customers to settle this issue. Asked why it was paying this huge sum, a spokesman said the company simply wanted to resolve the row and move on, given the growing legal fees.

If you’re really starting to worry about the evolution of energy bills and you’d like to implement a solution that will actually allow you to save up to 30%+ on the energy you’re using, then you should look no further than HeatingSave.

The HeatingSave system employs dedicated hardware, high-sensitivity sensors and probes, as well as an advanced algorithm for computing heating loss in various zones. With the help of all of these components, HeatingSave’s Building Energy Management System manages to completely automate the heating pattern around your home, offering the same level of comfort, while in the same time drastically reducing consumption.

Furthermore, our advanced software allows you to specifically monitor energy expenditure and calculate costings, which you can easily compare against the energy suppliers’ fuel bills.

Naturally, since the HeatingSave Building Energy Management System is approved by both the Energy Saving Trust, the Carbon Trust and selected by the BRE (Building Research Establishment) for the Greenhouse Project, which makes it fully compatible with the requirements of the Green Deal program.

If you’d like to find out more about the HeatingSave system, our dedicated product team will be able to answer all of your questions.