Families who are still using old-style prepayment meters may end up paying higher energy prices for longer then they need to unless they take action soon.
Prepayment rates are due to drop on July 1 under the new Ofgem price cap, set today, May 25, but households using the traditional pay-as-you-go meters won't see the benefit until after the first time they top up their meter after that date. Families who have a smart pay-as-you-go (PAYG) meter will see the new price updated on their meter automatically on July 1 so don't need to do anything.
Experts including Martin Lewis are advising people who have old-style PAYG meters to top up as little as possible before the new price cap kicks in, to ensure they start paying the new rate on the day it kicks in. This is because on many non-smart, prepay electricity meters, the rate change is not triggered until you top up. So if you have lots of credit on your meter, you will continue to pay the old - higher - rate until the day you top up, whenever that might be.
