Energy price cap increase and meter reading advice

[Polar Bear]

I see that Martin Lewis is advising folk in certain situations (i.e. monthly direct debit) to send meter reading to their suppliers on 31st March.  I assume this only applies to those of us not on fixed tariffs and who do not have a smart meter?

[felstedrider]

I see that Martin Lewis is advising folk in certain situations (i.e. monthly direct debit) to send meter reading to their suppliers on 31st March.  I assume this only applies to those of us not on fixed tariffs and who do not have a smart meter?

If you're on a fixed tariff it doesn't matter.   This is just to make sure the right amounts are billed at the old rate and the new rate.

My supplier dials up my smart meter at month end anyway, but it will depend on your billing frequency.   I'm honestly not sure how to read mine as I haven't opened the meter boxes up since they were upgraded.

[rogerzilla]

On mine you press 9.

[andyoxon]

Martin Lewis video clip...  https://twitter.com/MartinSLewis/status/1508825638957985799?s=20&t=K2pb213-_1sBCuvcndBEhQ

[Kim]

I need to do this anyway, because they still don't seem to be able to get data from the smart gas meter.  This involves moving the mountain bike and poking the '9' button with a pokey thing while peering through a slot in the fugly wooden meter enclosure.

[Andy64]

peering through a slot in the fugly wooden meter enclosure.

That's what phone cameras are for 

[rogerzilla]

Knowing how shite energy companies' websites are, I predict great difficulty submitting a reading today due to the load.

[Lightning Phil]

Turned on my shite smart meter portable display for first time in ages. Thus can note its meter readings before bed tonight.

[Kim]

Turned on my shite smart meter portable display for first time in ages. Thus can note its meter readings before bed tonight.

Our shite smart meter portable display's more shite than yours:  It doesn't give the absolute reading.

[felstedrider]

Numerous suppliers websites have crashed under the weight of traffic.

I need to submit Mum's readings to Centrica.

[ScumOfTheRoad]

British Gas website says "Sorry we are having technical problems".  I suggest wheeling in some more Babbage Engines and turning the cranks.

I submitted my meter readings yesterday. Buffs nails and looks virtuous.

[robgul]

I was in a corner shop today (installing a wooden display stand I'd made for the local furit and veg man - he rents them to the shops) - woman came in and paid quite a chunk of prepaid electricity for her meter .... seemed to think that buying it today would fix the price?  No idea if that's the case.... but an interesting scenario.

Back in the late 50s/early 60s I can remember my father overpaying on the electricity and gas bills as it held the prices at the current rates.   (A bit like stocking up on postage stamps before a price rise)

[rogerzilla]

I got mine in at 8am to EON.

[robgul]

British Gas website says "Sorry we are having technical problems".  I suggest wheeling in some more Babbage Engines and turning the cranks.

I submitted my meter readings yesterday. Buffs nails and looks virtuous.

That message is a very frequent sight on the BG site . . .  at any time, day or night.    I'm just about to read and record our BG Smart Meters as part of my "keeping track" activity (although we have a fix well under the rates until April 23)

[phantasmagoriana]

Numerous suppliers websites have crashed under the weight of traffic.

Yep, SSE website down here, as is the app.

I'm on a fixed tariff so I don't think there's any benefit in submitting readings, but I feel as though I should, just in case...

[felstedrider]

I was in a corner shop today (installing a wooden display stand I'd made for the local furit and veg man - he rents them to the shops) - woman came in and paid quite a chunk of prepaid electricity for her meter .... seemed to think that buying it today would fix the price?  No idea if that's the case.... but an interesting scenario.

Back in the late 50s/early 60s I can remember my father overpaying on the electricity and gas bills as it held the prices at the current rates.   (A bit like stocking up on postage stamps before a price rise)

Nope.   If you charge the meter today with £10 it will put that credit on the meter but the unit rate will update at midnight.

[felstedrider]

I need to submit Mum's readings to Centrica.

Just managed to do this.   I did get a text message to submit but it wasn't clever enough to handle Economy 7.

[quixoticgeek]

I got a text on my UK number apparently from my energy company.

Do I trust it? Wants me to text back my meter reading in the format D12345 N12345

J

[phantasmagoriana]

I was in a corner shop today (installing a wooden display stand I'd made for the local furit and veg man - he rents them to the shops) - woman came in and paid quite a chunk of prepaid electricity for her meter .... seemed to think that buying it today would fix the price?  No idea if that's the case.... but an interesting scenario.

Back in the late 50s/early 60s I can remember my father overpaying on the electricity and gas bills as it held the prices at the current rates.   (A bit like stocking up on postage stamps before a price rise)

Nope.   If you charge the meter today with £10 it will put that credit on the meter but the unit rate will update at midnight.

According to Martin Lewis, it depends: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2022/03/martin-lewis--warning-the--top-up-prepay-meters-before-april--tr/

[andyoxon]

...
I submitted my meter readings yesterday. ...

Also did this.  Octopus website down atm.  Planned to submit 1 April too, if I can.

[Kim]

Octopus site is working for me, but evidently a bit gasdotted, as it's being sluggish and there's a banner telling people not to panic and they have until Saturday.

My script that grabs smart meter data and spits it into RRDtool threw a spurious error this morning.  Probably related.

[ScumOfTheRoad]

Kim - so you have a dashboard with your energy usage? Kewl.

[Kim]

Well I already had a minutely count of the electricity consumption from an Arduino counting flashes of the binkenlight on the electricity meter (which I had before smart meters).  But the Octopus API was nice for graphing the gas.  Until it stopped working in September.

[hellymedic]

Knowing how shite energy companies' websites are, I predict great difficulty submitting a reading today due to the load.

British Gas has sent me two SMS texts today, asking for a reading.

[quixoticgeek]

Knowing how shite energy companies' websites are, I predict great difficulty submitting a reading today due to the load.

British Gas has sent me two SMS texts today, asking for a reading.

What numbers did they send from?

J