UK households are being urged to take meter readings on 31st March before the energy price cap increase comes into effect, after which average bills could rise by almost £600 per year.
In addition to an increase in standing charges on April 1st, many bill payers are likely to find that they will also be paying more for every unit of gas and electricity they consume. Suppliers need regular readings from meters to work out the correct price of a bill. If users don’t send regular readings companies will estimate their usage which means the bill might end up being too high or low.
Bill payers need to have accurate readings of their home energy use prior to the impending rise to ensure they are charged at the correct rate for their usage in March. Experts say this meter reading should be done on Thursday (March 31st) a day now being called National Meter Reading Day.
Martin Lewis from Money Saving Expert has described the process of submitting a meter reading on the last day of the month as ‘drawing a line’ under the current pricing arrangement before the hike comes into force the next day. He recommended putting the date in your diary “…. so that you can tell energy companies all this energy I’ve used should be at the cheap rate.”