Your Lootah BCGas bill: how to pay it and how gas is billed

Your gas account

Lootah BCGas gives you a 15-digit gas account number that identifies you and the place you get gas. Use it when you call or pay, and to register for its online services (Lootah BCGas, Billing).

• Metered or flat rate. With a gas meter, you pay a fixed charge plus the gas the meter records. Without one, you pay a flat rate based on the type of service you have. Commercial accounts are always metered.
• Gas in your housing fees. In some areas the cost of gas is part of your housing fees, and the gas invoice goes to the housing management company.
• Smart card meters. Some meters use a smart card you top up in advance. Lootah BCGas tells you if yours is one, and how to renew the card.

Lootah BCGas's FAQ says residential users are invoiced every three months, with the invoice mailed to the address on the account, and commercial users monthly (Lootah BCGas, FAQ).

How to pay your Lootah BCGas bill

Lootah BCGas lists these payment options (Lootah BCGas, Payment Options):

• Quick Pay on the customer portal, with no login (Lootah BCGas, Customer Portal).
• Online, after registering your gas account on the portal, by credit card. Lootah BCGas accepts Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards (Lootah BCGas, FAQ).
• DubaiNow. Sign in with UAE PASS, go to Bills & Utilities, search for Lootah BCGas and tap the plus icon to add your gas account. You can then pay manually or automatically.
• Al Ansari Exchange, at any branch. Give the teller your gas account number.
• Bank transfer or deposit to Lootah BCGas's account at Dubai Islamic Bank, by online transfer, ATM or over the counter. The account depends on your community; its FAQ says the details are on your invoice.
• The customer service centre in Deira.

Its website also lists MBME Pay, EmPay and paying the meter reader directly (Lootah BCGas, Payment Channels), and ENOC, EPPCO and ZOOM stations (Lootah BCGas, Customer Service, Meter Reading and Billing). The Lootah Pay app is linked from the customer portal (Lootah BCGas, Customer Portal).

What's on a Lootah BCGas bill

Lootah BCGas lists these charges, and says its tariffs follow its agreement with each developer (Lootah BCGas, Tariff Rates):

• Fixed charge. A monthly charge payable whatever gas you use, agreed with the developer to cover the gas system.
• Gas consumption. A variable charge passed through at the actual cost of the gas, plus a fixed charge per cubic metre of gas used.
• Default charge. When the meter cannot be read for reasons outside Lootah BCGas's control, the bill includes an estimate, adjusted on a later bill once there is an actual reading.
• Connection fee and security deposit, paid before your gas is connected. The deposit is returned when you ask for disconnection, less anything you still owe.
• Reconnection fee, when gas was cut off for a reason that is your responsibility, such as an unpaid bill.

How your gas use is worked out

Your meter reading is corrected by a meter factor for the gas pressure, its temperature and the meter's height above sea level. In Lootah BCGas's example, a reading difference of 62.89 times a meter factor of 1.01884 gives 64.07 cubic metres of gas, and the rate for your community is applied to that (Lootah BCGas, Billing). If the meter reader could not reach your meter, you can submit a reading on the customer portal without logging in (Lootah BCGas, Customer Portal).

Contacting Lootah BCGas

The call centre is on 800 5224, toll free, 24 hours a day, and by email at call_center@lootahbcgas.com (Lootah BCGas, Contact Us; Lootah BCGas, FAQ). The main customer service centre is in the SS Lootah Building, Salahuddin Road, Hor Al Anz, Deira, open Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 17:30 (Lootah BCGas, Customer Service Centers).

If you smell gas, Lootah BCGas says to turn off the gas at the main shut-off valve, not to switch any electrical appliance on or off, put out any flame, open windows and doors, and call 800 5224 at once (Lootah BCGas, FAQ).

Get a reminder before your gas bill is due

Rasid is an app that keeps household bills and subscriptions in one place. For Lootah BCGas it can:

• Track the bill. Add Lootah BCGas by hand from Rasid's list of UAE providers, with the amount, the due date and your account number if you have them.
• Remind you before it's due. For a bill with a due date, Rasid sends a reminder three days before, at 10:00.
• Show what changed. Once Rasid has more than one Lootah BCGas bill, the bill's screen shows recent bills side by side, the average, and how much more or less this bill is than the last.

Rasid does not pay bills. You pay Lootah BCGas directly, through its own channels.