5 Mar 2021
If you don't have a smart meter that sends meter readings from your business to British Gas automatically, it's important to know how to read your electricity meter manually. We've put together a handy guide, with a link to our main help article with photos and videos, to show you exactly how to read your business electricity meter and submit your readings to us.
There are three common types of electric meter. Below you'll find a short description of each meter type and how to read it. It's important to submit regular meter readings to your energy supplier to avoid estimated bills, so you only pay for the energy you've used.
The single rate electricity meter is a small, white meter. The display is straightforward with one set of numbers that are digitally displayed across the meter. Reading from left to right, write down the first five numbers you see including any zeros and ignoring any numbers after the decimal point, or which may be shown in red, and you're done.
The two-rate electricity meter is very similar to the single rate meter. The main difference being there are two rows of numbers. Looking from left to right, make a note of the first five digits in each row including any zeros and ignoring any numbers after the decimal point, or which may be shown in red. For the electronic meter just press the blue button to change the screen display and write down all the numbers from left to right, including any zeros but ignoring any after the decimal points. Remember, when you submit your business electricity meter readings to us online, you'll need to provide two separate readings. Be sure to know which reading is which so you give us the right readings for the right meters.
At first glance, the dial rate meter looks like a confusing and complicated arrangement of dials, but, it's much easier to read than you may think. When looking at the meter, you'll see six different circular dials. To accurately read the meter, you need only pay attention to the first five dials (the sixth dial is usually red in colour – you can ignore this dial). Reading the dials from left to right, make a note of the number that each pointer is aimed towards. If the dial is pointing between two different numbers, write down the lowest of the two numbers to ensure greater accuracy.
Find more information, including helpful photos and videos at how to read my business energy meter.
As a British Gas business customer, once you've made a note of your electricity reading or readings, you can easily submit them to us online. How you do this will depend on whether you have an online account with us or not. Select one of the links below to submit your meter reading(s) and only pay for the energy you've used. You'll need to do this regularly to get accurate bills.
If you're looking to avoid having to read your business electricity meter and submit your reading(s) manually, you should consider upgrading to a smart meter. Once you're connected, we'll regularly receive your smart meter readings. With your smart readings your bills will be more accurate as you'll only be charged for the energy you've used, and you won't have to submit monthly readings any longer.
Find answers to the most common questions about smart meters for business on our FAQs page.
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