MILLIONS of households must act soon to ensure they’re not overcharged on their energy bills.
Brits have just two weeks left to get a pen ready to take a meter reading before Ofgem‘s April price cap comes into force.
GettyWe’ve explained how and why you need to take a meter reading below[/caption]
An updated meter reading will mean your supplier has a more accurate idea of your usage to bill you accurately.
The energy regulator will decrease the price cap from £1,928 to £1,690 a year from April 1.
It means a typical household will see their annual duel-fule bill drop by £238.
However, it’s important to note that the price cap is not a cap on the overall amount people will pay for their energy.
Instead, it caps the amount that customers pay per kilowatt hour, or unit, of gas and electricity.
The figure is calculated based on what Ofgem thinks an average household will use.
This is calculated assuming that a typical household uses 2,700 kWh of electricity and 11,500 kWh of gas across a 12-month period.
Those who use less will pay less, and those who use more will pay more.
So, sending an updated meter reading to your supplier before the April price cap comes into force will mean that your supplier has a more accurate idea of your usage and will bill you accurately.
Customers who don’t do this are billed on estimated usage and will likely pay more.
So, to ensure you’re billed as accurately as possible, you’ll need to send over your readings by March 31 at the latest.
Only those without a smart meter need to do this.
Households with smart meters don’t need to send a manual reading because they’re sent to suppliers automatically.
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.
If you have a digital imperial meter your meter will read four black numbers and two red numbers – note down the four black numbers only.
If you have a dial gas meter, follow the same steps as those for those with a dial electricity meter, but ignore underlining any figures.