Reading Your Gas Meter in Alberta

Your gas meter records your natural gas consumption as you use it and is read regularly by your local gas utility. Most gas utilities do meter readings at least once a month.

Depending on your billing schedule, changes in gas prices may not happen at the same time as your meter reading. Your consumption may then be subject to two different rates within the same billing period, and the consumption proportions between the two months estimated. The Alberta government allows estimates for billing natural gas consumption, provided that they are as close as possible to estimated consumption. Your gas utility will specify whether your billed consumption is based on an actual or estimated reading.

What do gas distribution companies base their estimates on?
Natural gas utilities estimate consumption primarily on current weather data, as generally gas use is tied to weather conditions. Your natural gas utility may base your estimated consumption on the consumption history of your service site (which is not necessarily your personal consumption history, if you have recently moved).

Reading Your Meter

It is a good idea to know how to read your meter in case you have a concern about the accuracy of the meter itself or a question about your billing. You also may want to read your meter if you are moving or going on holiday for an extended period of time.

Make sure to submit your gas meter reading on the day that you read it. Your gas distribution company will likely not accept a meter reading that was submitted more than one business day after it was read.

Here is an example of what your natural gas meter looks like:

Your residential meter will likely be a three dial or three index meter. It will actually have four dials, but the last one (the 1000 dial) isn’t reported.

How to Read Your Meter

Starting from left to right, and directly facing the meter, mark the exact position of each dial hand

Record the number if the dial hand is directly pointing to it. Otherwise, write the lower number when the dial hand is between two numbers.

If the dial hand is between 9 and 0, record 9 (think of the 0 as a 10 in this case)

You DO NOT report the last dial (1,000 dial) in your reading. However, if it is 5 or higher you will round up the third dial (the 10,000 dial) by one digit. Submit your reading on the same date you read your meter. You can do this by calling your local gas distribution company, or in many cases, submitting your reading online.

When to Read Your Meter

If ATCO Gas is responsible for the distribution of your natural gas and you are not yet on an automated meter system, you can find your billing cycle here.

If AltaGas Utilities is responsible for your natural gas distribution, you should contact their customer service to find out when you should read your meter. You may contact them either by email ([email protected]), or by phone at 1-866-222-2067 (hours: Monday - Friday, 8am - 6pm)

Automated Readings

Many gas distribution companies in Alberta are switching to automated gas meter reading systems. Automated meter reading is done remotely, which means that gas distribution companies no longer have to access your property in order to read your meter. They also eliminate the need to estimate gas consumption.

Want more information about how automated meters work? Click here.