Identifying and Prioritizing Effective Methods for Optimal Receipt of Gas Bills from Household, Commercial and industrial Users (Case Study: Lorestan Province)

A large part of investments, design and planning in the gas industry depends on the timely receipt of gas bills. Accordingly, gas companies as the main body of distribution, sale and after-sales services, assign an important role to timely receipt of gas bills. In this connection the Lorestan Gas Company faces a serious problem of non-payment of its bills by different categories of users. It thus needs to adopt new and practical methods for timely and adequate payment of gas bills. The purpose of this study is to identify and prioritize effective and practical methods for optimal collection of gas bills from household, commercial and industrial customers in Lorestan province. This research was conducted in the field using a questionnaire. Questionnaires were distributed among a carefully selected representative sample through use of random cluster sampling. The questionnaire included the four methods of punishment, incentives, staff skills and innovation for increasing receipts. The completed questionnaires were analyzed in order to suggest optimal methods for increasing payments against gas bills for household, commercial and industrial users.