Taking charge of your meter – and save money

As the cost of living crisis bites, it’s important to ensure you’re not paying more than you should be for your energy. One of the easiest ways to do this is through taking and submitting meter readings.  

While smart meters are taking the chore out of remembering to read your meter, not every household has them installed. It’s therefore important to know how to take your meter readings and to let your supplier know what they are.

Energy bills are confusing if you don’t understand what the numbers mean. Luckily, Energy Saving Trust have this great blog that breaks down your energy bills.

If you don’t give your energy supplier meter readings, they guess how much you’ve used based on the information about what that property has used in the past. This is known as an estimated reading. Your bill may show ‘estimated’ or ‘E’ on the bill you receive. .

Estimated readings can be over or under what you’re actually using and could lead to problems with your energy bills later down the line. If your energy supplier has underestimated how much energy you’re using, you could end up owing money that you haven’t budgeted for. On the other hand, if your energy supplier has overestimated how much energy you’re using, you could end up paying higher bills than you need to.

To avoid this, take accurate meter readings and provide them to your energy supplier, who should then send you an accurate bill. Look at the reading number on your meter and write it down. Many energy companies allow you to submit these readings online or provide an automated phone service to let you do this.

If you’re not sure how to read your meter, Citizens Advice have a handy guide that tells you how.

Get advice you can trust

If you’re struggling to keep warm at home and keep up with your energy costs, we’re here to help you. As well as tips on how to save energy and advice on making your home warmer, we can check if you’re eligible for special discounts from energy suppliers and other funding. We can also help you get a benefits and tax credit check so you’re not missing out on additional income.

Give us a call on 0808 808 2282 or use our contact form to get in touch via email.