Hours left for millions to ensure they don’t get overcharged on their energy bills – key move to make | The Sun

09/30/2023

MILLIONS of households have just hours left to take meter readings to avoid being overcharged.

Households should do it before the new price cap comes into force tomorrow.

An updated meter reading will mean your supplier has a more accurate idea of your usage and bill you accurately.

Typical gas and electricity bills will be capped at £1,923 a year from this date.

The fall in Ofgem's price cap will mean a typical household will see their bills fall by £151 a year.

Energy suppliers usually require you to take regular meter readings from your gas and electricity meter to work out how much they should charge you.

How do I take a meter reading?

If you don't have a smart meter, your energy supplier will usually require regular readings from your gas and electricity meter to work out how much you should be charged.

Customers that don't send their suppliers regular readings will have their bills calculated by estimated usage and they will likely pay more – so it is always worth knowing how to send the numbers.

Once you've taken a reading, you should be able to submit it a number of ways including text message or phone.

You might also be able to submit it online or through your supplier's app.

It's best to check with your supplier to see what your options are.

It's always worth taking a picture of your meter reading when you submit it to your supplier – just in case you need it as evidence for a future dispute.

The way you take a meter reading depends on what type of meter you have – we've explained how to take a reading depending on your meter type.

Electricity meters

If you have a digital electricity meter, you will just see a row of six numbers – five in black and one in red.

Take down the five numbers in black and ignore the red number.

If you are on an Economy 7 or 10 tariff which gives you cheaper electricity at night – you will have two rows of numbers, so take both readings down.

If you have a traditional dial meter you will need to read the first five dials from left to right ignoring any red ones.

If the pointer is between two numbers, write down the lower figures and if it is between nine and zero write down the number nine.

If the dial is directly over a number, write down that number and underline it.

If you’ve underlined a number, check the next dial to the right.

If the pointer on that dial is between 9 and 0, reduce the number you’ve underlined by 1.

For example, if you originally wrote down 5, change it to 4.

Gas meters

If you have a digital metric meter showing five numbers and then a decimal place, you only need to write down the first five numbers from left to right.

Hours left for millions to ensure they don’t get overcharged on their energy bills – key move to make | The Sun

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How do I take a meter reading?

Electricity meters

Gas meters

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