Understanding how to save on gas can become complex if you don’t first check your bill: the item you need to keep an eye on.
With the advent of free market mandatory, the average citizen found himself faced with several pros, but also cons. The first added value comes from the fact that a wide choice can favor tariffs that are decidedly more advantageous than those established by ARERA. The other side of the coin, however, is that suppliers can implement techniques aimed at increasing real costs, without the user realizing it.
This is where the need to have arises a more complete picture of the bill, albeit in a mild way. In this regard, this document becomes an essential tool for understanding our real savings, evaluating what excessive expenses are that do not derive in any way from our consumption.
Look at your gas bill
The first step is undoubtedly to actually read your gas bill. A recent statistic from Facile.it brought out that 89% of site visitors are not aware of their energy consumption. It is essential to carefully check the bill not only to verify the amount to be paid, but also to monitor consumption. But how to do it?
The item on the bill to pay attention to
To better understand the language of the bill, it is good to know the main expense items.
- Expenditure for natural gas materials, divided into fixed and variable quota. The variable quota depends on the cubic meters of gas consumed and can vary depending on the type of supplier.
- Cost for transport and management of the meter, which includes the cost of transportation, storage and distribution of gas. This amount is established by ARERA for the whole of Italy and includes a fixed and variable component.
- System charges, which cover costs of general interest such as incentives for renewable sources and support for system research. These charges are differentiated by consumption brackets and represent approximately 5% of the total cost of the bill.
But that is not all: the gas bill also includes items relating to taxes, such as excise duty, regional surtax and VAT, as well as other possible expenses such as transfer costs or late payment interest. Among the important information present in the bill are the customer code, the PDR code (meter identification), the class of the meter, the type of consumption and the difference between estimated and recorded consumption.
To calculate the average unit cost of the bill, you need to divide the total amount by the gas consumption (measured in smc, standard cubic meter). This simple calculation provides a much clearer picture of the expenses incurred in relation to actual gas consumption.
