Robyn Hollands urged other residents to check their gas bills, after she noticed the anomaly between her actual readings and estimated amounts on her bill.

“The bill said there was an increase in gas usage of 37 per cent. The estimated reading on the bill is 1730, but the actual meter reading is 1237,” she said. 

She queried her bill with Origin Energy, who told her a lack of gas meter readers in Goulburn meant gas providers were relying more and more on estimates rather than actual meter readings.

“I was told, if I have been over-charged they will give me a credit for the next bill, but I am a pensioner and that is a lot of money for them to be holding onto until the next actual meter read,” she said.

An Origin Energy spokesperson said the company issued bills based on the meter data supplied to them by customers' local distribution company (Jemena) and this data could be “from an actual or estimated meter read”.

“In this case, Mrs Hollands has checked her actual gas meter reading and provided this data to Origin on November 11. We have forwarded this data to her distribution company and, once it is verified by them, we will re-bill Mrs Hollands as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said. 

A Jemena spokesperson said estimated reads were used to calculate bills when meters were locked or access restricted, but neither of these applied to Mrs Hollands.

“Jemena has verified Mrs Hollands’ independent reading of her meter and is working with Origin Energy to provide her with a revised bill,” the spokesperson said. 

“Jemena employs a number of meter readers in the Goulburn area who conduct physical meter reads on either a quarterly or monthly basis.”