Customers of the top five energy suppliers were urged to “act before July” after the update

Martin Lewis has issued an urgent warning for households getting their energy from British Gas, OVO, EDF, Eon and Octopus to take a meter reading in the next two weeks. The update comes after Ofgem’s new energy price cap was revealed.

On his Money Saving Expert website, the finance guru aimed his advice in particular at households on an SVT, or standard energy tariff, and don’t have a smart or pay-as-you-go meter. It is estimated that there will be around 29 million households in the UK who will need to send a reading.

Ofgem’s new energy price cap is set to come into effect from Monday 1 July, so a read ahead of the change will ensure households are billed the correct prices based on when they used the energy listed on their bill their.

However, the Money Saving Expert also warned Britons not to rush to their energy supplier as soon as possible. The advice on the site noted: “If we all rush to do this on the same day, it can lead to providers’ websites being blocked and phone lines being blocked, which can affect vulnerable people.”

Households can take a reading a few days after the price cap changes, with only a minor discrepancy. In addition, some energy suppliers will also allow customers to backdate their readings, so Britons can take the reading now but only send it at a later date.

The price cap will change on July 1 and will be set at £1,568 a year for a typical household paying by direct debit until September, when the regulator will reassess. This new rate is £122 less than the cap in place from 1 April to 30 June, and reading before the change will ensure that households are not continuously billed at the previous cap price.

It is important to note that those on a fixed rate do not need to take any readings as their rates will not change. In addition, those with prepaid or smart meters will not have to submit readings either. This is because the meters automatically record readings for the power company.

Although the price cap is slowly coming down after years of staggering increases, it is still not at the same monetary value as it was before the pandemic and subsequent crises facing the energy industry. Craig Lowery, Principal Consultant at Cornwall Insight noted: “The way forward for energy pricing remains uncertain and with stakeholders pushing for reform – along with a general election on the horizon – energy bills are likely to be an area of ​​debate and continuous transformation. in the coming months.”