Help Guides
It’s really important that we get your meter readings from you. On average 90 percent of all energy supply problems in the UK relate to the billing of an account and the meter readings used to do it. If we get this part right, then everything else follows.
That’s why, as well as asking you to send us regular meter readings, we also send meter readers to you � and we often make additional attempts if you’re not home when we call. ʹapp have third parties that help us do this called Calisen Metering for our domestic customers. For our business customers, as well as Calisen Metering, we also use Stark, Energy Asset Group Ltd, and SMS.
Working with these companies means that we’re able to provide a truly nationwide service that allows us to read your meters on a regular basis. Remember you can submit your own meter readings easily by using the app or the online account!
When one of our agents visits your home, they should always tell you who they are and why they’re visiting you as well as showing you some identification. So that you know that you’re letting in the right person their ID card will have the following information on it:
The name of their organisation, which will be Calisen Metering or one of the companies listed above for our business customers
A colour photo of the engineer
Their name and signature�
Their reference number
The card’s expiry date
If you’re on our Priority Service list or have specified a password to be used in these situations, they’ll be able to give you that too.
If you’d like some additional security, you can contact us to arrange a password.
Once you’ve taken your meter reading, you need to send it to us so we can produce an accurate bill for you. The best way to send us your readings is through your online account or through our app. ʹapp’ll send you an email when we need a meter reading from you, and you’ll have five days to send us your reading. If we don’t receive a meter reading in that time, we’ll estimate your bill.
Go to or open the app on your smartphone or tablet.
Select ‘Your Meter� from the menu, then ‘Submit a reading� and choose the fuel you’d like to enter a reading for.
Using the boxes provided, enter the numbers from your meter including any zeros at the start. Please ignore the numbers after the decimal place, and any numbers in red. If you’re unsure how to read your meter, see the sections below on How to read your traditional meter or How to read your smart meter. If you have more than one meter, enter readings for each fuel by selecting the relevant fuel tile.
Once you’ve put the reading in, select the date the reading was taken in the ‘Date of read� field. Remember to double check your meter readings because we’ll use them to produce your bill, then press Submit.
Further support
If for reasons of health you are unable to read your meter, we can arrange to help you. Please call us on0345 555 7 100for further information.
How to submit a meter reading in the Ecotricity app
Meter readings are important because they help us to bill you correctly, so you only pay for the energy that you’ve used. ʹapp try to come and read your meter twice a year, but you can help keep your account up to date by giving us regular meter readings.
If you’ve got a traditional meter there are three types of meter that you might have � regardless of whether the meter is an electricity or gas meter;
❯Dial meter
❯Digital or mechanical meter (Economy 7)
❯Economy 7 meter
Dial meters
Read the dials from left to right
The dials alternate direction as you go, so if the first one goes clockwise, the next will be anti-clockwise and so on.
If the pointer is between two numbers, note down the lowest one.
If the pointer looks like it’s directly on a number, you’ll need to look at the next dial to work out which number it should be. For example, in the image above dial D looks like it’s directly on the 1. The next dial is between the 9 and the 0 so it hasn’t finished a revolution. That means dial D can’t have reached the 1 yet so the reading is 0.
ʹapp don’t need the reading on the red dial so don’t include it.
Digital meters
Digital meters are quite easy to read. Your reading will appear on the LCD screen. Simply note down the numbers that you’re shown, anything after a decimal point is too small for us to bill you to, so we don’t need those numbers.
If you have an Economy 7 meter you’ll need to give us two readings, one for “on-peak:� and one for “off-peak�. Some meters will have a display that flashes between the “on-peak� and “off-peak� readings and some meters have a button on them, you’ll need to use that to switch between the two readings.
Most meters will display your Economy 7 readings as “day� and “night� (with night being “off-peak�) alternatively, on some older meters, it may be “low� and “normal�, with “low� being the “off-peak� register. If you’re having trouble working out which is which please get in touch and we’ll help you!
It may be that your meter has gone into a sleep mode to conserve power and so you may have to wake it up by pressing the button on it if it has one. If this doesn’t work, then your meter may have a fault so please contact us so that we can investigate it.
Once you’ve taken your reading don’t forget to send it to us!
Mechanical meters
Mechanical meters are the easiest to read of the three meter types, they don’t have buttons or sleep modes to worry about and just give you the reading!
Just take down all of the numbers on the display with the exception of anything after a decimal point or in red, there could be up to three of these digits.
If you’ve got an Economy 7 meter then you’ll need to give us two readings, one for “on-peak and one for “off-peak�. The register that relates to your “off-peak� times is usually the one at the top, but if you’re not sure then please get in touch.
Once you’ve taken your reading don’t forget to send it to us!
How to read your SMETS 1 meter:
Your smart meter will send us readings automatically each month, so you shouldn’t really need to read it very often. If you would like to read your meter though, it’s really simple. Just press number 9 on the keypad and you’ll see the reading on the screen. If your meter is in Economy 7 mode, you’ll need to press number 6 three times and take down each reading as it’s displayed.
How to read your SMETS 2 meter:
There are lots of different types of smart meter so the way you take a meter reading may vary depending on what type of meter you have installed. To find out how to read your meter, identify what meter you have based on the descriptions below.
Reading an electricity Smart Meter
Meters with A and B buttons
Press the A button until the meter display shows ‘TOTAL ACT IMPORT�
The number on this screen will be your meter reading
Meters with an A button and a B button where the reading hasn’t automatically come up on the screen
Press and hold the A button for a few seconds
Then press the A button to cycle through the displays
Look out for the first row of numbers, this should be your meter reading
Meters with three buttons
Press the middle button
This should bring up the meter read display
You can find the read you need underneath ‘IMP’�
Meters with an orange button and a blue button
Press the orange button to bring up the meter read display
The numbers shown here followed by kWh is your electricity meter reading
Meters with an orange button and a blue button
Press the Display button to scroll through the displays on the meter
Look out for a display showing ‘IMP� (01/02) in the top left corner with a number followed by kWh - that is the reading
Economy 7
If you are on an Economy 7 Tariff your meter will have two rates and you’ll need to take a meter reading for each rate. Follow the above instructions based on the type of meter you have.
The two meter readings should appear one after the other on your meter and will often display 01 or 02. Some meters will also show a third reading which is known as the ‘Totaliser� (this shows the total of your 01 and 02 reads combined). ʹapp only need your 01 and 02 reads. Your meter will show you your electricity meter reading in kilowatt hours (kWh).
Reading a gas Smart Meter
Meters with A and B buttons
Press the ‘A� button once to wake up the meter - as it spends most of its time on standby to conserve battery, scroll through the displays on the meter
Look out for the ‘METER INDEX� display
The number shown below this is your meter read
Meters with three red buttons (A,B,C)
Press the left (A) button
This brings up your meter reading followed by m3
Meters with two arrow buttons and a circle button
Press the circle button
This brings up the ‘current meter reading� screen
The number followed by m3 is your meter read
Meters with orange and blue buttons
Press the orange button
This brings up your meter reading followed by m3
It’s important to submit regular meter readings, so we can ensure your bills are accurate and you only pay for the energy you use. It also helps us be as green as possible in the way we buy energy from the grid.
If we don’t receive a meter reading from you for over three months, we’ll send one of our agents to take a reading from your meter. Due to the way that meter reading agents work, it’s not possible to know exactly when they will visit your property.
Are you a Priority Service customer?
If you’ve registered for our Priority Service, we’ll send an agent to your property once every three months, even if you’ve sent us a recent reading.
If you have trouble reading your meter, we can arrange a specific time for one of our agents to call round and read it for you. Just email [email protected] or call 0345 555 7100 to set this up.
Please note, if you’re not around to provide access at the agreed time and date, there may be a missed appointment charge of up to £30.
Related FAQs
Almost certainly! ʹapp would have to arrange a meter exchange, or if you have a smart meter we may simply be able to change the mode so that it works as a two-rate meter.�
Having a smart meter installed is free of charge, so if you’d like your meter exchanged to an Economy 7 smart meter, just give us a call on 0345 555 7100 or email [email protected].
If you’ve moved into a property that we supply
If the meter reading we’ve opened your account with isn’t right, then please let us know so we can look into correcting this. This frequently happens where you’ve moved into a property that we supply, and the previous resident hasn’t given us a final meter reading yet. If you have a tenancy agreement or inventory that would show the correct reading for the date that you became responsible for the property, please send us a photo of that part of the document so that we can update your account.
If you’ve switched to us
If you’ve switched to us but you weren’t able to send us a meter reading to open your account with, your first meter reading will have been estimated. If you provide us with an up to date, accurate meter reading, we can look into amending your opening meter reading.
ʹapp’d need to contact your old supplier to agree that reading with them, as they would have used the same estimated reading to create your final bill.
ʹapp’d only be able to do this if your reading fell outside of an industry tolerance however, as they have the right to refuse our request if it doesn’t. They are:
•For electricity a total of 250 kWh of energy. If you have a meter with more than one register, we’ll take all the readings into account.
•For gas it depends on what kind of meter you have. For a more modern metric meter it would need to be 108 cubic meters (m3) but for the older imperial meters it would be 38 cubic feet (ft3).
If you contact us with up to date meter readings (and even better, photos of the readings), we’ll do our best to amend your opening meter reading.
If you’re not sure what some of the things on your bill are, take a look at this guide on how to read your bill. If you still don’t think your bill is correct there are several things it could be. Here are the more common ones:
If you have smart meters:
ʹapp should be billing you to readings that we automatically receive from your meter. On your bill, it will state 'Read' next to the meter readings. If your bill states 'Estimate', please get in touch and we will investigate.
If you have non-smart meters:
1. Did you give us a meter reading?
If we don’t receive a reading, then we estimate your usage. ʹapp could’ve over or underestimated how much energy you’ve used.
If you give us a reading now, we’ll be able to use it for your next bill to ensure that it’s more accurate.
If you’re not sure how to take a meter reading, we’ve got some handy guides on how to read your meter, and how and when to give us a reading.
If you’d like us to revise your current bill, please get in touch with an accurate reading.
2. Did you give us an incorrect meter reading?
If you’ve sent us a reading and it isn’t the right one, then we’ll change our records for your account. ʹapp’ll need you to send us a photo of the meter so that we can double check your meter reading and send you an accurate bill.
3. Is the balance on your bill higher than usual?
It might be that we’ve been estimating your usage for a while and have now had an accurate reading from you which was higher than our estimates. It’s really important that we get accurate readings from you to stop this happening as it can be hard to make a larger payment sometimes.
If your bill is higher than usual and you’d like to discuss some ways that we can work together to help you pay it, please get in touch.
For both smart and non-smart meters:
1. Are the dates on your bill wrong?
Maybe you’ve moved in or out of your home and haven’t told us yet. In that case we’ll need to revise your bill for you. To amend the dates on your account we’ll need to see a copy of your tenancy agreement or a document showing your completion date.
Please send it to us and we’ll correct the bill � don’t worry, just a photo will do � we don’t need the original!
2. Have you been billed on the incorrect tariff?
If that’s the case, we’d really like to know so that we can put you on the right tariff. If you’d like to change your tariff, all we need from you is a meter reading and to know which tariff you’d like to be on.
Please remember that some meters will only support certain tariffs, and so if you’d like to switch to one that your meter won’t support, you’ll need to talk to us about changing your meter.
3. Have you only been billed for one fuel?
There could be a lot of reasons for that, especially if you’ve only just switched to us. Please get in touch and let us know if this is the case � it’s helpful if you can send us a photo of the meter that we’ve not billed you for, to help us look into this for you.
4. Is your meter reading higher than you think it should be?
ʹapp’ve got some great advice on how to save money on your energy bills which you may want to look at to be more efficient at home.
If you’re already careful about how much energy you use and still feel that your bill isn’t right, please get in touch so that we can look into it.
There are several reasons that this might happen, so you’ll need to work out which set of circumstances apply to you. Depending on what your situation is, we might need to have the meter replaced as a priority. If you have a Secure 100 smart meter, please .
For your electricity meter
You might have had a power cut � most electricity meters with an LCD display will have a red light on them to indicate that there’s power going to the meter.If the light is off you should call 105 � you’ll get put through to your local network operator who’ll be able to advise you of any power outages in your area.
❯If the screen is blank on your electricity meter but you still have power to your property, then it’s most likely a fault with the meter itself.Please contact us so that we can offer further help and if necessary arrange for the meter to be replaced.
❯If you don’t have power but after ringing 105 you’ve found that it’s not a power cut, and you’ve checked things like your fuse box and trip switches � as long as it’s safe to do so � then it may be that the meter is faulty and needs to be replaced. For customers that are off supply we’d do our best to replace your meter as a priority. Please contact us as soon as you can.
For your gas meter
❯If the display is blank it may be that the meters battery needs replacing. If you’re a Pay As You Go customer, we may need to send an engineer to your property. If the screen of your gas meter is blank, please get in touch with us as soon as possible so we can look into the problem.
This is completely normal � your meter will stay on standby mode to conserve power. Simply press any button to wake it up. If you press the red B button it will scroll through the displays on the meter. If you press a button on the keypad but the screen doesn’t turn on, please get in touch because there could be a fault with your meter.
The country is split into areas known as blocks. These sections are categorised by one letter between A to V.
If you experience a power cut and you have completed your preliminary checks to ensure this issue is not in connection with your meter or balanceon your meter you can find out which electricity network you're connected to by entering your postcode into the postcode finder search box using this link � Your Rota Block letter and Distribution Network Operator (DNO) code will be confirmed.
Submit a Business Meter Reading
If you're a business customer, please use the button below to submit your meter readings.
Submit a Microtricity Meter Reading
If you're part of Ecotricity's Microtricity scheme for customers who export green energy, please submit your readings using the button below.
Can't find an answer to your question?
Send an email to [email protected], our average response time for email and app queries is 2 working days.
If you would like to speak with someone, give us a call on 0345 555 7 100
Monday to Friday 9am - 7pm
Saturday and Sunday 9am - 5pm
Prefer to phone a landline, or calling from abroad? Call 01453 761482
Alternatively, if you are a business customer, please contact [email protected]
Smell gas? Call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999