Understanding your gas bill

Our credit prices are normally based on two rates: primary and secondary. The primary rate applies to a maximum of 4572 kWh (units) of gas that you may use throughout any continuous period of 12 months. Above this volume, we charge at the secondary rate which is cheaper. Primary rate gas is charged across the 12 months on a seasonally adjusted basis, with more primary rate units being charged in the winter months as follows:

Months Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb March April, Oct May, June, July, Aug, Sep Annual total

Maximum units charged at primary rate per month 882 272 271 46 4572

Percentage charged at primary rate per month 19.30 5.94 5.93 1.00 100

This does not apply to gas tariffs where we do not apply a primary and secondary rate, e.g. prepayment, or to certain non-standard tariffs, e.g. Tracker and Sign Online v8. If the whole of the period covered by your bill is after 1 November 2007 the way your bill is calculated is shown opposite. If youre concerned about an earlier period please ask for the previous version of this leaflet.

Why do we charge in this way?

Theres no standing charge on our credit tariffs so the primary rate covers the fixed costs we have to pay in supplying gas to you, e.g. distribution and metering costs. For gas we charge more units at the primary rate during the winter months to reflect the fact that most customers use more gas in the winter, and to ensure that all our customers pay a fair share to cover our fixed costs.

How to work out your gas bill

STEP ONE How many units have you used? If you have an imperial meter with 4 dials, take the number of units used and multiply it by 2.83. If you have a metric meter (with 5 dials) theres no need to do this. Then multiply the number of units by the Calorific Value and the Correction Factor and divide by 3.6 (round the answer to 1 decimal place) to give you the total kWhs charged on the bill. You can find the values for Calorific Value and Correction Factor on your bills. If there are no figures available use these industry standard figures: Calorific Value 40.0 Correction Factor 1.02264 STEP TWO Work out the number of units to be charged at the primary and secondary rate EXAMPLE For this example, lets assume these are your meter readings: Previous Meter Read = 48400 Current Meter Read = 48800 So units used is: 48800 48400 = 400 Multiply by the Calorific Value: 400 x 40 = 16000 Multiply by the Correction Factor: 16000 x 1.02264 = 16362.24 Divide by 3.6: 16362.24 / 3.6 = 4545.1 kWh

This gives you the total kWh charged on the bill. EXAMPLE For this example, lets assume the bill period is 15/02/08 to 14/05/08
(our example is a quarterly bill some customers receive a bill every 6 months)

The primary units will be charged as shown in the table below: Month November December January February March April May June July August September October Annual Total Consumption profile % 19.30 19.30 19.30 19.30 5.94 5.93 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 5.93 100

(2a) Work out the 1st month % at the primary rate Take the number of days in the first month and take away the start day of the bill: 1st month = February 29-15 = 14 Divide the answer by the number of days in the month and round to 2 decimal places: 14 / 29 = 0.48
(February 2008 was a leap year and had 29 days)

Multiply by the percentage for that month (from the table on the left) and round to 1 decimal place: 0.48 x 19.30 = 9.3% This equals the first months proportion of the 4,572 annual threshold.

The remaining kWhs would then be charged at the lower secondary rate.

STEP TWO ctd

EXAMPLE
(2b) Work out the middle month(s) % at the primary rate Use the full percentage for each full month (from the table on the left): 2nd month = March = 5.94% 3rd month = April = 5.93% Total for middle months = 5.94 + 5.93 = 11.87% This equals the middle months proportions of the 4,572 annual threshold. (2c) Work out the last month % at the primary rate Take the last day of the bill, divide by the number of days in the last month and round to 2 decimal places): 4th month = May 14 / 31=0.45 Multiply by the percentage for that month and round to 1 decimal place: 0.45 x 1 = 0.5% This equals the last months proportion of the 4,572 annual threshold. Now calculate the total percentage to be charged at the high rate for this bill Add all percentages together from steps (2a) to (2c) above: 9.3 + 11.87 + 0.5 = 21.7% Multiply the total percentage by 4572 (round up to a whole number) to get the kWhs charged at the primary rate: 21.7 x 4572 / 100 = 992

STEP THREE Work out the total bill

EXAMPLE For our example, lets assume our unit rates are:
Primary rate 7.904 pence/kWh Secondary rate 2.488 pence/kWh Take the total kWh (from Step 1) and subtract the number of kWh charged at the primary rate (from Step 2) to get the number of kWh charged at the secondary rate: 4545.1 992 = 3553.1 Take the number of kWh on the primary rate and multiply by the Primary Rate pence per kWh, then divide by 100 to convert into pounds and pence: 992 x 7.904 / 100 = 78.41 Take the number of kWh on the secondary rate and multiply by the Secondary Rate pence per kWh, then divide by 100 to convert into pounds and pence: 3553.1 x 2.488 / 100 = 88.40 Total before VAT = 78.41 + 88.40 = 166.81 Now multiply by 1.05 to add VAT at 5% 166.81 x 1.05 = 175.15 So the total bill is 175.15

npower is a registered trademark and the trading name of Npower Limited (registered in England and Wales No.3653277), Npower Gas Limited (registered in England and Wales No.2999919) and Npower Northern Limited (registered No. 3432100) which also acts as an agent for Npower Northern Supply Limited (Registered No. 2845740) in the supply of electricity. Registered Office: Windmill Hill Business Park, Whitehill Way, npm6120/11.08