Gas report

The Gas report provides information about gas usage at your school. Monitoring your consumption patterns regularly helps your school operate more efficiently and sustainably.

To learn more about whole of government contracts, billing, and ideas for schools and classrooms, please see the 'Need further support' section below.

Data Source: The data for Natural Gas (NG) invoices will be received from Origin and LPG invoices from Origin LPG. For more information regarding billing, please see the resources section below.

Designed for: Principals, school leaders, teachers, school admin managers and asset services officers to:

  • track the gas consumption of a school
  • compare consumption patterns against the previous year
  • compare usage to average usage of other schools in the same climate zone
  • view greenhouse gas emissions resulting from gas usage.

Updated: Monthly

Getting started with Scout reports

More information about how to use Scout reports, including how to export data and reset filters, is available on the How to use Scout page.

What is included in this report?

The gas report contains key data on gas consumption per school including:

  • Consumption (MJ) and Cost ($).
  • Greenhouse gas emissions (kgCO2).
  • Consumption patterns against the average usage of other schools within the same climate zone.
  • Year to Date (YTD) consumption.

What should I look for?

If your gas usage is significantly higher than the previous year, or if it is much higher than the climate zone average, further investigation may be required.

How to use the report

This report can be accessed via the Utilities portal in Scout.

Select your school

Use the 'Select School' slicer at the top of the report to select a school.

Screenshot of dropdown showing Select school and school list in filter Screenshot of dropdown showing Select school and school list in filter
Image: School slicer in report

Information about the selected school

The tiles at the top of the report provide details about:

  • the year-to-date (YTD) cost, YTD consumption, and YTD greenhouse gas emissions (KgCO2-e).
  • the number of gas meters associated with the school.
  • the number of students enrolled.
  • the school size (m2) (also referred to as Gross Floor Area or GFA).

Note: These details do not change as you interact with the report.

Screenshot of the 6 tiles at the top of the report showing summary data. Screenshot of the 6 tiles at the top of the report showing summary data.
Image: Summary data tiles at the top of the report

Meter information

Hover over the number of meters to view the number of meters (Meter Installation Registration Number (MIRN), and/or Delivery Point Identifier (DPI)) associated with the selected school.

It is important to note that gas meters are rarely smart meters and therefore they are manually read infrequently. Invoices are typically received quarterly and may be based on an actual meter read or an estimate.

As a result, your monthly reports may show zero on months where no data has been received.

Image of a cursor hovering over a number and a blue box appears Image of a cursor hovering over a number and a blue box appears
Image: Hover your cursor over the numbers to show MIRNs

Switch between Cost ($) and Consumption (MJ)

Use the toggle to switch between Gas Cost ($) and Consumption (MJ).

The toggle to switch between cost and consumption is outlined in red The toggle to switch between cost and consumption is outlined in red
Image: Cost ($) and Consumption (MJ) toggle

View gas consumption in three ways

Gas usage scales to school size. To allow for a fair comparison, usage can be viewed per student or per m2.

The 'Select parameter' option allows you to switch between:

  • total gas usage for your school
  • consumption per student
  • consumption by school size (which is based on the Gross Floor Area (GFA) of your school (m2).

Your selection will automatically be applied to all charts and tables.

Parameter options are Total, Per Student, and Per School Size Parameter options are Total, Per Student, and Per School Size
Image: Parameter options

Understanding the charts

Gas Consumption (MJ) and Cost ($)

Gas consumption (MJ) and cost ($) information cards indicate the totals received in the last month and are compared to the same period last year.

Use the toggle to switch between consumption (Gas) and cost ($).

The toggle to switch between cost and consumption is outlined in red The toggle to switch between cost and consumption is outlined in red
Image: Cost ($) and Consumption (MJ) toggle

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions associated with the gas used by a school are included in the report.

Greenhouse gas emissions are released from burning gas and are calculated using Australia’s National Greenhouse Accounts Factors and presented as kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (kgCO2-e).

These emissions have been converted into a more relatable measure represented by the equivalent number of one-way car trips from Inner Sydney High School to Broken Hill Public School.

For example, this 1,142km trip would release 207kgCO2 if driven in an average new car. Therefore, if a school used 1,035 kgCO2 it would be the equivalent of 5 one-way car trips from Inner Sydney High School to Broken Hill Public School.

The equivalent Car Trips from Inner Sydney High School to Broken Hill Public School reported on the Emissions Card is a Year to Date (YTD) total, which grows throughout the year.

Total CO2 Emissions card showing 1,015 last month, 1,441 last year same period, and 5 equivalent car trips Total CO2 Emissions card showing 1,015 last month, 1,441 last year same period, and 5 equivalent car trips
Image: Greenhouse gas emissions card

Consumption vs. Average (MJ)

This chart shows the monthly gas usage of a school compared to the previous year’s consumption and enables users to:

  • see overall gas invoice data by month
  • identify any periods of increased or decreased usage at their school
  • compare the average use of other schools in the same climate zone.

The chart also allows a school to compare their gas usage to the average of other schools within the same climate zone that would have similar heating and cooling needs and therefore similar consumption patterns.

Each NSW Public School has been mapped to the Australian Building Codes Board climate zones.

Bar and line chart showing cool temperature overall Bar and line chart showing cool temperature overall
Image: Consumption Chart

Hover over the bars in the Consumption vs. Average Chart to see exact consumption for each month.

Image showing a black box that appears when you hover your cursor over a chart Image showing a black box that appears when you hover your cursor over a chart
Image: Hovering over bar chart to see exact consumption

Note: If your school has a basic meter, not a smart meter, your bills may be a mix of estimated and actual. This means your data may not reflect the true pattern of your usage.

Year-to-date (YTD) Consumption (MJ)

The Year-to-Date (YTD) Consumption (MJ) chart shows cumulative gas consumption over a year. Users can compare their usage against previous years to identify trends.

Image of a line chart with 3 lines showing 2022, 2023, 2024 data Image of a line chart with 3 lines showing 2022, 2023, 2024 data
Image: YTD cumulative consumption

Need further support?

Scout support

Category:

  • Technology

Business Unit:

  • Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation
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