Take a Meter Reading Before 1 October 2022

The Prime Minister, Liz Truss has frozen energy bills for two years as part of a package of cost of living support. The new Energy Price Guarantee means the average household’s yearly energy bill will rise from the current cost of £1,971 to £2,500. This support is in addition to the previously announced £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme discount on electricity bills.

The Energy Price Guarantee doesn’t mean that £2,500 is the maximum you’ll pay – you could pay more or less depending on how much energy you use.

So, it’s crucial you take a gas and electricity meter reading around 30 September to avoid the risk of being overcharged when the new cap comes into force.

You don’t have to take your meter reading on 30 September, but you should aim to do it around this date to make sure you’re billed accurately.

Your energy supplier needs regular readings from your gas or electricity meter to work out the cost of your bills. If you don’t send them readings, they’ll estimate your usage, meaning you could be paying for more, or less, energy than what you use.

If you have a smart meter, they normally send readings to your supplier automatically, but if you don’t you need to be taking your own. MoneySavingExpert, Martin Lewis has urged people to take meter readings before October 1 to avoid paying a higher bill.

He said: ‘Meter reading day’s coming – don’t panic, not everyone must do it, and it needn’t be on the day.

‘With prices rising for most on October 1, unless you’ve a working smart or prepayment meter, it’s useful to feed in an updated meter reading around that date to avoid discrepancies over what you used before or after prices rose.’

He also offered some advice in his weekly newsletter, warning people not to inflate their meter readings now as it would be fraud.