Commercial energy / Buyer guidance
Gas balancing: reconcile scheduled, delivered and consumed quantities
Map contractual responsibility, period and settlement rules before pricing a gas imbalance. Includes an original daily-versus-monthly example.
A balanced monthly total can hide daily differences
A transportation or supplier agreement may define balancing over a particular period using specified quantities. Identify that definition before calculating an imbalance. A nomination request, confirmed schedule, delivered amount and metered consumption are separate records; the relevant settlement may not use the first number submitted.
Use the tariff and agreement for the actual service. Atmos nomination instructions illustrates a specific submission process, while Nicor transportation resources identify another service context. Neither establishes a universal tolerance, settlement price or deadline for all customers.
Assign the duties before the operating period
Record who forecasts use, submits nominations, receives confirmations, monitors notices, manages revisions and reconciles the final statement. Identify primary and backup contacts. Ask who bears a deviation cost and whether ordinary supplier management includes that risk or only the administrative task.
Read the quantity unit and time basis. A daily MMBtu obligation should not be compared directly with a monthly therm total without conversion and matching periods. If a contract permits carry-forward or netting, document exactly where. Do not assume that equal annual purchases and use eliminate every daily settlement.
Worked example: net zero is not necessarily zero settlement
Hypothetical two-day service: confirmed deliveries are 100 MMBtu on each day. Consumption is 110 MMBtu on day one and 90 MMBtu on day two. Across both days, delivery and use are each 200 MMBtu. Daily deviations are a 10 MMBtu shortfall and a 10 MMBtu surplus.
If an invented settlement rule charges a shortfall at $8/MMBtu and credits a surplus at $3/MMBtu without netting, the modeled debit is $80 and credit is $30, producing a $50 net cost. If another agreement permits full netting over those two days, the result could differ. No such rule or prices are asserted for a named utility. The point is to check the actual period, sign convention and permitted netting before declaring that the balance is zero.
Reconcile a statement line by line
| Record | Verify |
|---|---|
| Confirmed quantity | Accepted schedule, including revisions |
| Actual quantity | Meter boundary, dates and corrections |
| Difference | Units, sign and any permitted carry-forward |
| Price | Named source, period and applicable tier |
| Invoice result | Debit, credit, taxes and prior adjustments |
Keep operational notices with the settlement record when they affect the calculation. An operational flow instruction is not merely a pricing suggestion; the authorized operator must follow the applicable procedure. A planning guide cannot authorize exceeding a service limit or ignoring a curtailment requirement.
Sources and limits
Atmos nomination requirements, Nicor transportation resources and the relevant tariff are the primary records to consult. This original illustration does not identify a standard imbalance penalty, legal deadline or actual customer outcome.