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 ($).
- Greenhouse gas emissions (kgCO2).
- Consumption patterns against the average usage of other schools within the same climate zone.
- Year to Date (YTD) consumption.
What should I look for?
If your gas usage is significantly higher than the previous year, or if it is much higher than the climate zone average, further investigation may be required.
How to use the report
This report can be accessed via the Utilities portal in Scout.
Select your school
Use the 'Select School' slicer at the top of the report to select a school.
Information about the selected school
The tiles at the top of the report provide details about:
- the year-to-date (YTD) cost, YTD consumption, and YTD greenhouse gas emissions (KgCO2-e).
- the number of gas meters associated with the school.
- the number of students enrolled.
- the school size (m2) (also referred to as Gross Floor Area or GFA).
Note: These details do not change as you interact with the report.
Meter information
Hover over the number of meters to view the number of meters (Meter Installation Registration Number (MIRN), and/or Delivery Point Identifier (DPI)) associated with the selected school.
It is important to note that gas meters are rarely smart meters and therefore they are manually read infrequently. Invoices are typically received quarterly and may be based on an actual meter read or an estimate.
As a result, your monthly reports may show zero on months where no data has been received.
Switch between Cost ($) and Consumption (MJ)
Use the toggle to switch between Gas Cost ($) and Consumption (MJ).
View gas consumption in three ways
Gas usage scales to school size. To allow for a fair comparison, usage can be viewed per student or per m2.
The 'Select parameter' option allows you to switch between:
- total gas usage for your school
- consumption per student
- consumption by school size (which is based on the Gross Floor Area (GFA) of your school (m2).
Your selection will automatically be applied to all charts and tables.
Understanding the charts
Gas Consumption (MJ) and Cost ($)
Gas consumption (MJ) and cost ($) information cards indicate the totals received in the last month and are compared to the same period last year.
Use the toggle to switch between consumption (Gas) and cost ($).
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.
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.
Hover over the bars in the Consumption vs. Average Chart to see exact consumption for each month.
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.
Need further support?
- If you have any concerns or questions, email the Utilities enquiries mailbox.
- Refer to the School Infrastructure Knowledge Hub for further resources related to Electricity efficiency.
Scout support
- This How to use Scout guide demonstrates the basics of using Scout reports.
- Please get in touch with Scout support if you have any questions or difficulty accessing Scout reports.