Reading your electricity meter

It’s important to take accurate measurements of your electricity consumption so you don’t pay more than you need to with estimates from your supplier. Knowing how much you actually use, rather than the estimate your supplier uses for each bill, will also help you decide whether you can get a better rate by switching.

Unless you have a prepayment meter, your supplier will estimate how much electricity you are consuming and use this figure in your monthly or quarterly bills. This will either be based on past use or, if you have recently moved, typical or average figures.

In either case, you’ll need to check that you aren’t paying more or less than you need to - this won’t take into account any effort you’ve made to save energy for which you’d be owed compensation, or changes in routine for which you could be stung at the end of the period unless you pay as you go along.

There are five main types of meters, which differ in how they display the information and what readings they give you. Standard, digital and dial are three ways to show you a basic meter reading. You’ll need a different sort of meter (and need to give a different sort of reading) for special tariffs such as Economy 7, and another still for prepayment electricity meters.

This is the most common type of meter and uses a mechanical display to show your readings. You’ll need to take a reading of five black numbers from left to right – ignoring any red numbers (if present).

Dial meters – which look like small traditional clocks - are slightly more complex. When reading your dial meter, always remember that dials next to each other go round in opposite directions.

Read the numbers on the dials from left to right, ignoring the last red dial (if it is present), or any dials without figures or hands. If the needle is between two figures, write down the figure the dial has just passed. The reading now needs adjusting to make allowances for any small variations in the pointer positions. If the figure is directly over the figure, say 5, write down that figure and underline it. Look at the figure underlined. If one of those numbers in the sequence is followed by a 9, reduce the underlined figure by 1 (so the underlined ‘5’ becomes ‘4’).

Use the first five figures on the digital display, and ignore any last figure that begins 0.1. You may need to press a button to get the figure to display.

There are two types of Economy 7 meter. The first type has two displays – the top row is for ‘day rate’ electricity marked ‘Normal’ and the bottom row, which is marked ‘Low’, shows ‘night rate’. When you read this meter, always check both displays. The second type has a single row of numbers that shows ‘day rate’ electricity. To provide a reading for ‘night rate’ electricity, press the red button.

There are several types of prepayment meters. Standard prepayment meters can be single or two-rate (with two rows of figures, as with Economy 7). Token meters are read as digital meters. Based on any calculations you make about the amount you are paying, you can change energy suppliers, but this service is not available with uSwitch.com at the present time. Prepayment customers will be able to use uSwitch.com in the near future. Prepayment meters will also give you the option to choose a different tariff. For this you’ll need to take a meter reading, as for the other types of meters.

Once you have your reading check your last bill and see what the estimated reading was. If it looks like you have been overpaying, you are entitled to a refund from your electricity supplier. If you have been underpaying contact your supplier to increase your Direct Debit payments or pay it off in one go if it is a small amount. Once you’ve paid off what you owe, you can search for a cheaper supplier.

The suppliers often have a dedicated phoneline you can use to provide your own meter readings. This number should appear clearly on your bill. Some companies will automatically send you a fresh bill based on your reading, others may ask whether you want a fresh bill.

If you are disabled, chronically sick or of pensionable age, you can ask the electricity supplier to read your meter every three months if neither you nor anyone else in your household can do so. If you are in any of these groups, you can also get special advice from your supplier on special controls or adaptors for prepayment meters or electricity appliances owned by your supplier. You could also be eligible for the repositioning of the meter if it is owned by the electricity supplier and it is in a position which makes it difficult for you to read it. This should be free of charge.

If your meter reading seems wrong, you might want to provide an alternative reading, or contact your supplier to let them know there could be something wrong with your meter.