Two days left to submit meter readings before price cap changes

Households must take and submit their energy meter readings before 1 October to make sure they’re charged correctly for what they’ve used.

The energy price cap is set to fall from 1 October dropping from £2,017 to £1,923 - saving around a £151 a year for a typical house.

Submitting a meter reading before 1 October will mean you’re charged the right amount for the gas and electricity you’ve used over the summer and not overcharged for energy used from the start of October.

Despite the drop, energy bills remain at a historic high so it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re paying the right amount.

If you don’t send a meter reading to your supplier, they’ll estimate your usage meaning you could be paying for more or less energy than you’ve used.

Households with a smart meter don’t need to worry about sending meter readings as their device does this for them automatically.

What’s the energy price cap?

The cap is not the amount a household pays for energy - that depends on how much you use, where you live, and your meter type. It’s the maximum amount that your energy company can charge for each unit of gas and electricity on a standard variable tariff.

The cap is reviewed every three months and changes to reflect movement in underlying costs as well as inflation.

How do I take an electricity meter reading?

It only takes a couple of minutes to submit energy meter readings.

Electricity digital meters typically show five numbers in black or white, which may be followed by one or more red numbers.

You’ll need to send the first five numbers shown from left to right to your electricity provider. You can ignore the numbers in red as they aren’t relevant.

If you have a two-rate digital meter, you’ll have two lines of numbers.

The top row shows how many units of cheaper electricity you’ve used, and the bottom row shows how many units of standard-price electricity you’ve used.

To take a meter reading with a two-rate digital meter, you’ll need to take down the numbers from left to right on both rows, again ignoring any in red.

You can submit your meter reading either over the phone, – usually through an automated service – online, or through an app.  

How do you take a gas meter reading?

Taking a gas meter reading is very similar to taking an electricity one. Write down the first four numbers from left to right again ignoring any in red and submit this to your provide either over the phone, online or through their app.