Small business gas plans

In the long term, gas can be a potentially cheaper energy source than electricity.

When it comes to electricity or gas, electricity is more common, but businesses of all sizes may still need gas for certain appliances. For example, most hospitality businesses will use gas ovens and cooktops because they’re quicker to heat up, provide more even heating and are more cost-effective than their electric counterparts. Typically, a business might use gas for:

• Boilers
• Ovens and stoves
• Incinerators
• Indoor and outdoor heating
• Air conditioning
• Waste treatment
• Other industrial uses.

Depending on the availability of gas in your area, businesses that rely on electricity may be able to switch to gas for some appliances. While gas heaters or other gas appliances may have more expensive upfront installation costs, they’re typically cheaper to run and a valuable long-term investment for business customers.

If you decide to use both energy sources, you may consider a business electricity and gas bundle or ‘dual fuel’ plan, a common energy solution for many Australians. Keep in mind, you can’t run a business solely on gas, which means, you will need an electricity plan. In addition, combined energy plans are not always the cheapest option, so it’s generally recommended you check gas and electricity prices separately and compare across different providers.

Depending on your energy needs, you may find it useful to use gas appliances when the option is available to your business. Manufacturing, hospitality and even offices may rely on gas for their day-to-day operation, depending on the needs of the business.

If you’re considering switching to gas, it’s important to work out how long you’ll need to run your gas appliances each day as this will help you weigh up the costs and decide whether to switch. For example:

• A bakery may use gas in the early hours of the morning when making fresh bread.
• Office spaces that use gas for heating or cooling may need gas for the nine-to-five workday, but not weekends or nights.
• A restaurant may only need gas for the afternoon and evening when they open for business.

Large businesses, like those in the industrial sector, are the biggest consumers of gas in Australia, as they may operate 24/7 and use heavy-duty machines that require a lot of power.

If your business uses liquid petroleum gas, you’ll have one or more pressurised containers, bottles or storage tanks somewhere on the property that are connected to the building. They feed gas directly to the appliances that need it, but once they run out or get low, you’ll need have them refilled.

On the other hand, natural gas is fed through a gas line under the ground and is part of a wider network. Appliances are connected to it via pipes in the building.

A common example of how a business may use LPG is in mobile outdoor heaters, as these need their own bottle and they can’t be connected to pipes. LPG bottles can also come in a range of sizes to suit different needs, including storage tanks over 100 or 200 kilograms in size.

Just like electricity, gas has tariffs you have to pay (tariffs being the price you’re charged for the energy you use). Unlike electricity (which may have solar feed-in tariffs, time of use and controlled loads), gas tariffs are relatively simple in comparison.

Your gas bill splits your tariff into two parts.

• The daily supply charge is usually a fixed rate that covers the cost of supplying your business with energy.
• The usage charge (sometimes known as the variable charge) is the amount you pay depending on how much gas your business consumes.

Gas can be charged at a “flat” single rate – the same price no matter the time of day or year – or a “blocked” single rate, where you pay one rate for the first part of your gas usage, then switch to a second rate for the next part. These “blocks” can be daily, monthly or even quarterly. Some providers in Victoria may also have seasonal gas rates if you live in the Multinet or Ausnet distribution areas. This means that you get charged more during certain seasons, such as winter or summer.

Distributors maintain the network, while providers sell and bill the gas and electricity plans. If you already have a business gas plan, your distributor’s contact information will be listed on your natural gas bills, usually in case of an issue with your gas supply.

If you’re unsure whether there’s an existing gas supply at your business address, you can check online with your distributor by visiting their website and entering your address, or by emailing or calling them.

If you’re a new customer wanting a gas connection, contact your gas provider to arrange the new connection with your distributor. If you’re eligible for a gas connection but your business isn’t already connected to the pipeline, you can get a service line installed. There may be costs involved, and the distributor will carry out the installation and connection work.

As with your electricity meter, you’ll need to apply with your provider first. There are two types of gas meter installations:

• Service line. Installations that take place when you’re not connected to an existing gas pipeline.
• Meter only. Solely the gas meter setup.

Keep in mind that a service line installation can take from 5 to 30 business days (or as long as 8 weeks in Western Australia), while meter-only installations may only take up to 3 business days.

If you’re moving to a new location, you need to tell your provider in advance about the move so they can check for an existing gas connection or, if not, whether the building can be connected to gas. If gas is available, let them know what date you wish to move in ahead of time. Allow at least three business days before you move for your gas to get connected.

In most Australian states, you don’t need to be present on connection day unless your meter is:

• Located inside your business premises
• Behind a locked gate
• Requires safe access.

In these cases, you can either be there on the day or authorise a person aged 18 and above to be present on your behalf.

Your distributor may charge you a fee and bill it to your energy provider, which they will likely add to your next bill. Refer to your energy offer summary to check whether you’re responsible for this fee.

A typical natural gas bill lists your account details, the amount due and the payment due date on the front page, and includes the payment slip at the bottom. The back page of the bill normally shows your next scheduled meter reading and lists your tariff type, usage and supply details, energy charges (including and excluding GST) and your payment options.

You can find the full guide on how to read your energy bills here.

If you feel that you’ve been incorrectly billed or want to check a current meter reading, call your energy provider. They’ll arrange a special meter reading at your business premises. If it turns out you were correctly billed, your provider may charge you a fee for this meter reading.

Sometimes, you may receive an estimated gas or electricity bill, which will be based on your previous energy usage. Generally, this happens if the meter was unable to be read or the meter reader didn’t share the information with your provider. If this is the case, you should contact your provider for options.

The eligibility of being able to claim depends on the nature of your business and how you use energy at your premises. Because all small to medium-sized businesses operate differently, it’s worth reading the relevant information from the Australian Taxation Office.

If you run a business from your home, you’ll need to calculate the energy expenses related to your home office. Make sure you store a copy of each business energy bill for taxation purposes.