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Topics: Hacks, Money, UK News, Cost of Living
Jess Battison
What better start to a Monday than thinking about paying your energy bills? A proper happy Monday that’s for sure…
But on this occasion, it’s a thought that could save you money.
Millions of Brits are being urged to take their meter reading now ahead of the price cap change.
Yes, now. Get your slippers on and get those readings logged as soon as possible.
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If you have your energy provided by British Gas, Bulb, EDF, E.On, OVO, Shell or SSE, you want to get it done immediately.
This is all ahead of the Ofgem switch on 1 October – another reminder that October is only a few days away - the good news just keeps on coming.
So, Ofgem’s next price cap is going to drop as it goes down to an average of £1,923 a year, compared to the £2,074 over the summer.
But the average household is still going to be paying almost double the rate for energy than before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to a global energy crisis.
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This price cap isn’t a cap on the overall amount we actually have to pay for our gas and electric – it instead caps how much we pay per kilowatt hour (or unit) of energy.
Ofgem figure this out based on what they reckon the average household will use and it’ll stay at this level for the next three months.
There’s about 29 million households in Britain on standard variable tariffs and therefore are subject to the price cap coming in place on Sunday.
Chief executive of Ofgem, Jonathan Brearley, said: “It is welcome news that the price cap continues to fall; however, we know people are struggling with the wider cost of living challenges and I can’t offer any certainty that things will ease this winter.”
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I mean, not exactly instilling me with hope to be honest there Jon.
And neither is Gillian Cooper, the head of energy policy at Citizens Advice, who said: “Increasing numbers of people we help are in a negative budget, where they simply don’t have enough money coming in to cover even just their essential bills.
“The next few months will push households like these over the edge. Our data suggests it will be as bad, if not worse, than last winter.”
Get that meter reading in on or before Saturday 30 September to avoid risking paying more for your energy bill.
If you do so, it’ll help you get billed more accurately, avoiding the bill hike.
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And obviously, if you’re on a prepayment meter, you don’t need to be bothered by this as you’re paying upfront for your usage anyway.