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Monitoring Your Meter
Every winter energy suppliers receive thousands of complaints regarding customer electricity bills. Often the problems are caused by incorrect meter readings. There are three different types of meters in the UK. It's important to know which one you have, how to read it and what to do if you have a complaint.
What type of meter do you have?
There are three different types of meters in the UK.
Standard meters
A standard meter measures your electricity consumption in kilowatt-hours, that is, the amount of energy used, in kilowatt units, used over one hour. All electricity units are charged at the same rate every date.
Variable rate meters
Variable rate meters, or "economy 7 meters" as they are sometimes called, give two readings: one for daytime usage and one for night-time electricity usage. You might have one of these meters is your energy supplier offers variable rates (for example, you may pay less for your electricity at night).
Prepayment meters
Prepayment meters are the easiest way for you to ensure that you don't use too much electricity per month. The meter accepts cards or tokens that can be bought or topped up and when they run out...your electricity stops.
How to read meters
Numeric Display
Reading your meter is simple. If it is off the standard type, the first five figures, read from left to right, give you your energy reading.
For a variable rate meter, you will have to read off both sets of numbers, but ignore the last number from each row.
Meter Disputes
All meters used in the UK have to be approved and verified by Ofgem and meet certain accuracy limits before they can be used for billing. The owner of the meter has to ensure that the meter is accurate and if there is any dispute from either the consumer or the supplier as to the accuracy of a meter reading then Ofgem will provide a service to test and certify the meter.
About the Author Ensure you get the cheapest energy around with British Gas, on average the cheapest energy suppliers in Britain. Find great prices on energy, boiler insurance and homecare insurance online now.
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