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Millions of households have been urged to take an energy meter reading this weekend to avoid being overcharged when new rates come into force on Easter Monday.
Cheaper rates will come in on April 1 and almost 10million Britons are being told to send energy readings to their suppliers to benefit from the reduced prices.
The average household energy bill will hit its lowest point in two years from next month after Ofgem lowered its price cap in response to wholesale prices.
The regulator is dropping its price cap from £1,928 for a typical dual fuel household in England, Scotland and Wales to £1,690.
The 2.3 per cent drop will mean savings of £238 over the course of a year or around £20 a month.
Millions of households have been urged to take an energy meter reading this weekend to avoid being overcharged when cheaper prices come in from Easter Monday
The regulator Ofgem is dropping its price cap from £1,928 for a typical dual fuel household in England, Scotland and Wales to £1,690.
The average household on a standard variable tariff (SVT) is expected to spend £127 on energy in April, compared with £205 in March, due to a combination of cheaper rates and lower usage as the weather warms up.
Those on SVTs who do not have a smart meter and do not submit meter readings on or around April 1 risk having some of their usage after that date charged at the previous, more expensive rates.
The difference between a week’s worth of energy at the old rates compared with a week in April was £4.65 for the average household, Uswitch warned.
Nearly a fifth of households who do not have a smart meter have not submitted their meter readings in the last three months, and 4 per cent have not done so for a whole year, a survey for the comparison site found.
Suppliers who have not received meter readings base their bills on estimated usage, meaning households could be overpaying, while others may not be paying enough.
A quarter of those who have not submitted their readings in the last three months said they forgot to, while 17 per cent said it was ‘too much hassle’, Uswitch said.
Some 14 per cent of those who had not submitted readings did not know how to read their meter, and 12 per cent said they did not even know where their meter was.
Meanwhile, just over a fifth of households said they had made a mistake when submitting their meter readings, with mixing up gas and electricity meters and writing digits in the wrong order the most common errors.
Ben Gallizzi, energy spokesman at Uswitch.com, said: ‘We urge any households without a smart meter to submit their meter readings this bank holiday weekend, so their supplier has an updated and accurate view of your account on or around April 1.
‘This is when the next energy price cap comes into effect, which will see the rates that households on standard variable tariffs pay for their energy fall for April, May and June.
‘If you delay submitting your readings, some of your energy usage could end up being charged under the higher rates we’re currently facing.
‘All households without a smart meter should ideally submit a meter reading every month to improve the accuracy of their bills.’