Almost 11 million households have been urged to submit their energy meter readings as soon as possible to avoid being overcharged.
Energy prices dropped from Monday as Ofgem lowered its price cap, but those who do not have a smart meter will risk having some of their new usage charged at the old rates unless they send their readings by Monday, price comparison website Uswitch.com warned.
“Customers who don’t have a smart meter should aim to submit their readings before or on Monday 1 July, so their supplier has an updated—and accurate—view of their account,” Ben Gallizzi, energy expert at Uswitch.com, said in a statement.
“This is when the next energy price cap comes into effect, so if you delay submitting your readings, your energy usage could end up being estimated and therefore charged under the higher June rates. Try making this task a monthly habit for billing accuracy.”
According to Uswitch’s calculations, the energy bill for an average household is expected to be £83 in July, down from £127 in June, because of lower rates as well as lower usage.
The website also said the difference of a week’s worth of energy is £2.78 per home on average, or a total of £30 million if nearly 11 million homes delay submitting their reading.
Mr. Gallizzi also advised households to shop around now to beat a predicted price hike in October.
Ofgem’s headline “price cap,” which is revised every three months, is calculated using its cap on how much energy suppliers can charge for a unit of energy and the amount of energy a typical household would use in a year.
From July 1, the cap has been cut by £122, from £1,690 to £1,568. It’s down by nearly two-thirds from a peak of £4,279 in the first quarter last year, but still 23 percent higher than that of winter 2021, when energy prices began skyrocketing.
Experts have predicted the price will rise again in October by around £150.
EDF energy said the cap could rise to £1,712 on Oct. 1, while Cornwall Insight’s forecast put the price at around £1,723, a downward revision from the company’s previous forecast.
Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, urged any future government to “proceed with caution.”
“Most political parties have proposed reforms to how energy bills are structured, with a review of standing charges front and centre. However any change to bills creates winners and losers, so we urge whoever is in government come 5th July to proceed with caution,” he said in a statement.
Mr. Lowrey said the consultancy would encourage greater discussion on other reforms, such as social tariffs, which he said “could support the pursuit of lower bills over the following months and years.”
He also called for transparency on long-term investment in low-carbon energy.
