HOUSEHOLDS are being urged to make one quick check after an energy supplier suddenly went bust.
Rebel Energy announced yesterday it would be ceasing to trade, leaving 80,000 customers in the UK without a supplier.
Now energy regulator Ofgem has told those customers to urgently take a meter reading for their gas and electricity use.
Taking a reading now will help to smooth the process when they are transferred to a new supplier.
Because households are protected by the regulator, their energy supplies will not be disrupted even if the supplier collapses.
They will be automatically moved to a new supplier over the next few weeks.
Ofgem has told Rebel Energy customers not to try switching supplier in the meantime and to instead wait to be contacted by their new company.
Once a new supplier has been appointed, people will be able to switch if they want to without any exit fees.
Any funds they paid into accounts with Rebel Energy and existing credit balances will also be protected.
Tim Jarvis, director general for markets at Ofgem, said the regulator was “working quickly” to appoint new suppliers for everyone affected.
How to take a meter reading
The easiest way to take a meter reading is to take a photo of your gas and electricity meters.
Therefore you’ll have evidence in case you need to dispute a bill.
You can send in your meter reading online via your energy account.
Some providers will also let you send in the numbers by text or through their app.
Check which options your supplier offers on their website.
Electricity meters
If you have a digital electricity meter, there will be a row of six numbers – five in black and one in red.
Write down just the five numbers in black.
Those on an economy 7 or 10 tariff, which gives you cheaper electricity at night, will have two rows of numbers.
You should note down both of these.
If you’ve got a traditional dial meter, you should write down the first dive dials from left to right and ignore any red dials.
If the pointer is between two numbers, write down the lowest figure.
If it’s between nine and zero, write down nine.
Gas meters
A digital metric gas meter will have five numbers followed by a decimal point.
You’ll just need to write down the first five numbers.
If you have a digital imperial meter, you’ll see four black numbers and two red ones.
Just write down the four black ones.
If you have a digital gas meter, follow the same steps as the digital electricity meter.
Millions urged to submit meter readings ASAP
Even if you’re not a Rebel Energy customer, you may want to take a meter reading as soon as possible.
That’s because the new energy price cap just came into effect yesterday, raising bills for millions on standard variable tariffs.
The energy price cap sets the maximum price energy companies can charge households per unit of gas and electricity.
It is set every three months – and as of April 1, the average household will see their bills rise from £1,738 to £1,849 per year.
Ideally you would want to submit a meter reading before the price cap changes take effect.
This means you will get accurate billing now and avoid the risk of being saddled with large backdated bills in the future.
But it also guarantees that all the energy you used before today is charged at the lower rate.
The date by which you must send in a meter reading depends on your supplier as several will allow you to backdate it.
Some providers will even give you an extra fortnight to submit your reading.
If you miss the deadline, you’ll be sent an estimated bill based on how much energy you’re expected to have used.
That could mean the energy you used before the new cap came into force may be charged at the higher rate.
Each company has different dates by which you should take a meter reading.
British Gas customers have until April 14 while those with Ovo Energy have until April 11.
E.on Next customers need to submit a reading before April 6, and households with Octopus Energy must do so before April 8.
For EDF customers, it’s April 10.
