How restaurants can significantly reduce their gas bills just by recording information

Thousands of restaurants across the length and breadth of the UK are missing out on favourable rates on their gas prices. Whether an individual or part of a chain, every restaurateur stands to benefit from dramatically reduced gas prices simply by collecting more detailed information on their gas consumption. This can be easily achieved by using gas loggers and smart meters to dramatically lower a restaurant’s energy bills.

Contrary to popular opinion, gas prices fluctuate between peak and off-peak rates just like electricity. However, gas suppliers only receive information on annual consumption data from the National Grid. This means that no matter what time the gas is being used, most consumers are paying the same rate based on their annual consumption – and not enjoying cheaper rates based on the time of their consumption.

This is problematic for restaurants because they tend to operate on atypical gas consumption schedules. Although restaurants carry out the bulk of their operations outside of peak hours (i.e. at meal times) they do not enjoy off-peak gas rates if they are being charged a flat annual rate. By not recording more detailed data about their gas consumption they are missing out on huge potential savings.

Record your gas usage

The only way to benefit from these lower prices is to record your usage levels frequently over a suitable period of time. And then send this information onto your gas supplier to negotiate a fairer rate.

In the past this was made very difficult as there was no reliable method for monitoring and recording the data besides sending somebody to check the meter every hour. Now, however, technologies like smart meters and gas loggers mean that restaurants can get accurate information about their consumption and automatically send it to the gas provider.

Aside from the obvious advantage of allowing restaurants to negotiate a better rate on their gas, there are some less obvious benefits of keeping collecting information on your restaurant’s gas usage.

No more estimated bills

Another advantage of recording usage information is that bills will no longer be estimated. When bills are estimated there is no way of finding out if you have used the gas that you are being charged for. However, if you send information directly to your gas provider there is an iron clad guarantee that you are being charged fairly.

By recording all of the information about gas usage, restaurants can also take steps to reduce their consumption. By monitoring hourly usage over an extended period, a restaurant will be able to locate areas in which they are using gas inefficiently. For example, if gas is being used out of hours, it might be that heating is being left on overnight.

Business Gas.com has helped lots of restaurants get a better deal on their business gas. To find out more, give us a call on 0800 157 7175.