Gas customers should read counters themselves more often

Unlike the electricity, there is no smart meter for the gas that enable a remote reading of consumption.

As a result, the annual accounts are based on read values ​​in most cases, but in the case of consumption delimitation between old and new customers in the event of a move, consumption is often only determined in terms of arithmetic, criticizes E-Control board Wolfgang Urbantschitsch. “That has to improve.”

On the one hand, the network operators would have to make more effort to get count values ​​- for example through more frequent readings or by installing remote -readers. “There are possibilities that the gas meter puts the consumption value over the electricity meter, and then you can read it out.” Another option would be the self -evaluation by the customers.

There are no plans for the introduction of smart meters in the gas, says Urbantschitsch. With gas it would be even more relevant to gas than with electricity. “The average gas bill, if you heat with gas, is much higher than the electricity bill.” Therefore, remarkable gas meters would generally make sense, says the energy regulator. On the other hand, the number of gas count points at the household level has decreased by 6 percent in the past three years. “In 2020 we still had 1.3 million count points, at the end of 2023 there were only 1.23 million count points.” The question arises how much you should invest in a technology that is declining.

When you should read

For some network operators, it could make sense to use remote gas meters in combination with the power grid in addition to some areas. “But there is no requirement for this and we have not given any recommendation.”

It would be good to make self-evaluation once a month or at the beginning and end of the heating season and at the turn of the year, the head of the End customer department at e-control recommends Christina Veigl. The advisory and arbitration board of the E-Control also includes its area of ​​responsibility. Many inquiries are about ambiguities in terms of price change options, dismissals by electricity suppliers or appointments to basic care.

The E-Control advice center had to cope with an enormous amount of work in the crisis years: The inquiries and complaints from around 7,750 in 2021 to 33,400 (2022) and 42,700 (2023). In 2024, the inquiries halved again for around 21,000, but were still four and a half times as high as in 2020. The applications for dispute settlement decreased from almost 2,500 to 1,400 – in 2021 there were only 633.

The number of shutdowns – mostly because the electricity or gas bill was not paid – rose to around 35,700 in 2023, after around 26,600 in the previous year. This corresponds to the number of counting points related to a switch -off rate of 0.69 percent. So far, only the figures for 2024 have existed by November, but a decline cannot be determined, according to the regulatory authority.