By reading your gas meter, you’ll see how your conservation pays off. If you read your meter every month, you can double-check the accuracy of your monthly gas bill and learn to monitor and budget your household’s natural gas use.

Learning how to read your meter is simple. Here’s how to do it:
Your gas meter is a precise measuring device that shows the number of cubic feet of natural gas that passes through it. Most meters have two sets of dials. The set marked “two feet” and “half foot” is there for test purposes and does not

The other set of three or four dials measures the natural gas you use. The dials are labeled “1,000,” “10,000,” “100,000” and “1 million.” The dials marked “10,000” and “1 million” read counterclockwise, while the dials marked “1,000” and “100,000” read clockwise. Read the dials from right to left and write down the number over which the dial hand has just passed.

For example, the pictured meter reads 5,814 Ccf (hundred cubic feet). Reading the dials from right to left, you find:

Four for the “1,000” dial
One for the “10,000” dial
Eight for the “100,000” dial
Five for the “1 million” dial

To determine how much gas has been used since the previous reading, subtract last month’s reading from the current reading of 5,814. For example, if last month’s reading was 5,453, you would subtract that from 5,814 and find out that you used 361 Ccf of natural gas during the month.

5,814 - 5,453 = 361 Ccf

Alagasco’s professional meter readers read your meter once a month. They are trained to read your meter quickly and accurately. Our readers are assisted by an electronic device which checks to see if the reading might be out of acceptable limits. As an additional safeguard, our computer compares your bill with the month’s weather patterns, current gas rates and your billing history. If something seems wrong, we read your meter again and make any necessary adjustments to your bill.

By keeping track of how much gas you use, you will be able to see the effectiveness of your own conservation efforts.

Here are some tips for conserving energy around your home:

• Place lids on pans to speed cooking and save energy.
• Keep the oven door closed while baking to prevent heat loss.
• Wash only full loads in the dishwasher.
• Wash clothes in warm or cold water to save energy.
• Use the necessary water level per load of laundry.
• Dry only full loads of clothes. Take advantage of the heated drum and dry several loads one after another.
• Take five minute showers instead of baths.
• Install water flow restrictors.

• 5,814 - 5,453 = 361 Ccf

  Alagasco’s professional meter readers read your meter once a month. They are trained to read your meter quickly and accurately. Our readers are assisted by an electronic device which checks to see if the reading might be out of acceptable limits. As an additional safeguard, our computer compares your bill with the month’s weather patterns, current gas rates and your billing history. If something seems wrong, we read your meter again and make any necessary adjustments to your bill.

  By keeping track of how much gas you use, you will be able to see the effectiveness of your own conservation efforts.

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• Use a stopper in the sink so water won’t run constantly while you’re washing dishes by hand.