I know of.
(then badly insulated.. now, with new insul. roof and other improvements)

Unclear if the 'reconnection' fee is a deposit you can draw against for usage - or a free perpetual loan to the Local Monopoly (?) But as backup - even those kerosene heaters using less-smelly distillations, do work. (Kero-Sun\ufffd comes to mind). This if you forego *their* gas while looking for alternatives.

I dunno about the electrical metering, but seems to me that you can 'demand' a separate KWHr meter for just *you* - they don't cost that much and I think can be found at salvage places for home deconstruction. Even if you wired that in via Electician, perhaps you can deal just with the prime customer you are piggy-backed on, unofficially: fair is er fair. Unless s/he's a '03-style Repo, that is.

I've gone the route of "calculating loads" etc. for another in similar situation. Problem as you well know, is ignorance (of Ohm's Law even - which is OK for AC until the waveform gets really awful) -- often willful-ignorance of the sort, "gosh that's just Soo complicated for poor little me; I only have an MBA, you know."

Lastly - most gas-meter failures tend to read low, by virtue of the design. Again, went through this with the mentioned trailer owner: but in this case we suspected that a high digit had tripped-over - resulting in an absurdly high bill.. so took data on usage for a year. They (finally) jerked the meter, 'tested' it and claimed it didn't snag digits. Yeah.. prove you aren't a commie. (Ignorance of probabilities - 'nother Murican edjaKayshun important product)

Well.. Occam and all, the other evidence - and the intermediary of the mobile home park (run by a wannabe Vulture capitalist creep, evidence of which I have seen first-hand) -- net result was null. My guess is that millions of old folks in these rattraps are victimized regularly - as each biznessman seeks Max Return a la Billy, and most city councils are umm .. run or led around by such. Ex:

If one such local bizness guy with a lawyer on retainer threatens to sue over an adverse ruling - and does, the CC has to pay the legal bills even on winning == THAT is how it works in Sonoma County. This next 'reluctance' to act, on council's part - occurs despite mobs-in-street, filling meetings, and with sane legal-checked Points to be made. Hence my extrapolation / guess re elsewhere.

Luck.. the corruption begins via example from The Top and - the corruptors are currently Popular and have good teeth and photo-ops. :(


Ashton
Babbitt Lives in '03