Unidentified gas (UIG) charges

Some sources of unidentified gas include consumption through unregistered supply points or theft of gas. It’s an unavoidable industry cost that can soon mount up.

Here, we’ll guide you through the changes and why they have come into effect.

• How UIG charges are applied to energy consumers
• How is the volume of UIG determined?
• Proposals to combat UIG
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

UIG charges are not specifically stated on your energy bill but will be included as a charge within your unit rate.

If you are a fixed customer then this unit rate will not change for the duration of your contract, so the UIG rate remains unchanged too.

If you’re concerned about UIG charges or want to know more, you can contact our Customer Service team here.

As noted above, a number of causes of unidentified gas are known. However what is more difficult to determine is the amount of energy ‘lost’ due to a particular issue, for example the amount of undetected theft vs unregistered supply points.

The quantity of unidentified gas consumed is determined using a formula that deducts shrinkage, daily-metered allocations and non-daily-metered estimates from the total gas input into the system. The amount of gas that is then left is the unidentified gas. An independent expert determines the way this energy is allocated to Shippers who are then notified on a daily basis their share of the unidentified gas. Subsequently, as actual meter reads come in, the allocation of unidentified gas is recalculated.

Perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly, there have been significant concerns over the issue of unidentified gas. Previously, gas shippers met with the industry regulator Ofgem to suggest that a charge was set at a certain level and scaled across the industry.

This initiative was ultimately rejected by Ofgem, in preference for an alternative proposal to put in place a representing team from across the industry (known as the ‘task force’) to reduce the scale and volatility of unidentified gas. This taskforce undertook an in-depth analysis exploring the root causes of UIG and identified the key ways shippers and gas transporters can help to reduce its impact.

The UIG webpage on the Xoserve website contains useful information regarding unidentified gas.