Households in England, Scotland and Wales that pay their energy bills by direct debit have four days to take a meter reading which could save them hundreds of pounds.
Money-saving expert Martin Lewis took to Twitter to urge direct debit customers to take a meter reading before midnight on Friday.
This is because the new Ofgem Price Cap will be coming in from midnight on Saturday so energy rates will fall.
Ofgem’s new price cap is set at £2,074 for the average annual energy bill which is several hundred pounds less than the current price guarantee rate of £2,500.
With energy rates set to fall by about 17 per cent on average, those affected will need to make sure the units are recorded correctly.
If they’re not, householders may end up being charged more than they owe.
Martin Lewis has coined this week as ‘Meter Reading Week’.
For example, he says, if someone used electricity on Saturday, but their energy provider thinks they used it on Thursday, they will be charged at a higher rate.
If they submit a meter reading before the drop at midnight, their energy provider will have the most accurate and up-to-date information on the usage in order to work out the next energy bill.
In one of his tweets, Martin Lewis said that submitting a reading within a few days of the change (many let you backdate a few days too) reduces the risk of their ‘estimating’ going against you (though there’s always the chance a discrepancy could end up in your favour).
Martin Lewis also urged households to take a photo of their meter reading in case they’re unable to submit it to their provider on the same day.
However, he did note that people who have smart meters or are on prepayment meters don’t need to submit a reading to their energy supplier.
In his tweet, he said that it was meter reading week and prices will fall on average 17 per cent across England, Scotland and Wales this Saturday as the price cap drops (more for higher users who have gas, less for lower electric-only users.
He said that with money direct debit, firms estimate your usage, and assign it to a certain period, so submitting a reading within a few days of the change (many let you backdate a few days too) reduces the risk of their ‘estimating’ going against you.
He said to take a picture of the meter for belt ‘n’ braces and please share it with anyone this is relevant to.
The government incompetence is far and wide and they’ve been sitting on their hands with their noses in the trough for far too long.
The most frustrating thing is that much of this was foreseeable and we have highly paid folk making terrible decisions on issues they undoubtedly shouldn’t, and suffer little or no consequence and I for one actually don’t know how to vote in the next General Election because whoever we vote for I feel that it will be like jumping out of the frying pan back into the fire.
And try getting in contact with your energy provider, well, you’ve got more chance of getting a response from God.
But also, the British people are famous for whining ineffectively among themselves but not actually doing anything to ease the problem.
This is all very pointless at this time of year when our central heating is off because of the more hospitable weather, but mark my words, it will go back up in October, which means they’re giving us a sense of false security.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 