Send a meter reading
Read your meter properly and send the number in, so the bill is what you actually used.
A bill marked estimated is the utility guessing from last year. Sending a real reading replaces the guess with a fact, and it takes about a minute.
The practice utility below is called Ashvale Energy. Yours will look a little different, and every one of them has these same four steps: find the page, read the meter, type it in, confirm.
Key points
- Read the black digits, left to right, and ignore the red
- Send a reading in about a minute from a computer or a phone
- Use the "does this look right?" screen as the safety net it is
- Check your bill says actual rather than estimated
What to remember
- A "does this look right?" screen is a safety net, not a telling-off. It catches a mistyped digit before it becomes a bill.
- Black digits only. If in doubt, photograph the meter — then you can check the number against the picture at your leisure.
- Look for the word actual on a bill. If it says estimated month after month, your readings are not getting through.
Try this
Photograph your own meter, whatever kind it is. Having a picture on your phone means you can send a reading from an armchair rather than from a cold basement.
Practice: Send a meter reading. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.