Electric Ireland and Bord Gais Energy have just days left to submit their meter reading before October.
Energy prices are set to hike next month and reading your meter before then may result in significant savings. Electric Ireland announced on September 1 their plans to increase residential electricity bills by 26.7% and gas bills by 37.5% with effect from October 1, 2022.
The increases will equate to €37.20 per month on the average residential electricity bill and €42.99 per month on the average residential gas bill - based on the estimated annual bill as defined by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU).
Read more: Budget 2023: Full list of measures confirmed to tackle cost of living crisis
Meanwhile, Bord Gáis Energy announced in September that their average residential electricity bill would rise by €48.25 per month and the average residential gas bill will rise by €43.80 per month from October 2 2022.
If you’re unsure of how to do a meter reading, here’s an easy guide for each type:
Electricity meter
If you have a single rate digital meter, you should:
- Write down the first 5 numbers shown from left to right.
- Ignore any other numbers.
If you have a two-rate digital meter, you should:
- Read both the top and bottom rows.
- Write down the numbers shown left to right.
- Ignore any numbers shown in red.
If you have a two-rate single display meter, you should:
- Write down the numbers shown left to right.
- Make sure you get both readings.
If you have a dial meter, you should:
- Read the first 5 dials from left to right - ignore any red dials or dials marked 1/10.
- If the pointer is between two numbers, write down the lower number - if it’s between 9 and 0, write down 9.
- If the pointer is directly over a number, write down that number and underline it.
Gas Meters
If you have a digital metric meter, you should:
- Write down the first 5 numbers shown from left to right.
- Ignore the numbers after the decimal point, sometimes shown in red.
If you have a digital imperial meter, you should:
- Write down the first 4 numbers from left to right.
- Ignore the rest of the numbers, shown in red.
If you have a dial meter, you should:
- Read the first 4 dials from left to right - ignore the large dials or red dials.
- If the pointer is between two numbers, write down the lower number - if it’s between 9 and 0, write down 9.
- If the pointer is directly over a number, write down that number.
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