Martin Lewis has urged households not to panic if they can’t submit a meter reading today.
The new Energy Price Guarantee kicks in tomorrow, freezing energy bills for someone with typical use at £2,500 a year for two years.
This isn’t an absolute cap on your bill though - you can still pay more, as the price guarantee is actually a limit on the unit rates you can be charged.
The idea of submitting a meter reading before the new rates come into effect tomorrow, is that it lowers the risk of your supplier charging you the more expensive unit rates for energy used before October 1.
When the price cap went up on April 1 to £1,971, energy websites crashed the day before as households desperately tried to submit a meter reading before bills went up.
Are you worried about your energy bills rising? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
But speaking during a one-off Martin Lewis Money Show Live broadcast on ITV last week, the MoneySavingExpert founder said most energy firms will let you backdate your reading.
He said: “You don’t actually need to submit a meter reading on the day. Most firms will let you submit it afterwards and backdate it.”
Similarly, if you took a meter reading earlier this week, Martin said it will make “very little tangible difference” to your bill.
“Let’s not call it meter reading day anymore - let’s switch to meter reading week,” he added.
The MSE founder also provided some examples of the dates energy firms have provided for when you can backdate your meter reading.
For example, British Gas customers will have until October 14 to submit their reading. Bulb is giving customers three days, while E.ON is giving five days and Octopus is seven days.
EDF users can backdate up until October 7, while Shell households get 30 days. Ovo and SSE will let you provide a meter reading at a later date, but only over the phone.
Earlier this week energy suppliers were warned they are not doing enough to support customers struggling to pay their bills.
Energy regulator Ofgem found that all but one of the UK's energy suppliers need to make improvements and meet their obligations when it comes to helping customers with financial difficulties.
Energy giants were found to have "severe weaknesses" when it comes to how they support customers struggling to pay their bills.
British Gas was the only company found to have no significant issues in the Ofgem report this week.
