Meter and meter readings FAQs
How do you read your meter?
How do you read a dial meter?
- If your dial meter has the two top dials in red, ignore them.
- Take your reading from the bottom set of dials - from left to right.
- If a pointer is between two numbers, write down the lower number.
- Note the direction of the numbers on each dial - they will alternate between clockwise and anti-clockwise.
Be safe
- If your meter is high up, make sure you can reach it safely.
- Call an electrician if there are any loose or exposed wires.
How do you read a digital meter?
- Read from left to right.
- Ignore the red numbers or anything after the decimal point.
- If the meter is multi rate, take each reading separately. They will either show as R1 and R2 or as Day and Night.
- The rates may show automatically or you may need to press a button to scroll through them.
Be safe
- If your meter is high up, make sure you can reach it safely.
- Call an electrician if there are any loose or exposed wires.
How do you read a mechanical meter?
- Read from left to right.
- Ignore the red numbers or anything after the decimal point.
- If the meter is multi rate, take each reading separately. They will either show as R1 and R2 or as Day and Night.
Be safe
- If your meter is high up, make sure you can reach it safely.
- Call an electrician if there are any loose or exposed wires.
How do I take a meter reading from a smart meter?
- Depending on the type of smart meter you have installed, you may need to wake up the screen using either the ‘A’ button, orange button, or ‘OK’ button.
- View the readings either by watching as the screen automatically scrolls through your information, or manually scroll through by pressing the same button used to wake the screen.
- The display will show a total reading (often called total import). If you have a multi rate meter, please send each reading separately instead of using the total reading.
Be safe
- If your meter is high up, make sure you can reach it safely.
- Call an electrician if there are any loose or exposed wires.
Can you submit a meter reading at any time?
You can log into your online account to enter your meter readings as often as you like. This allows you to track your energy usage and make sure your bills are an accurate reflection of how much you're actually using.
Prepayment meters
Is there a tariff available to customers that have a prepayment meter?
Unfortunately not, our tariffs are only available to customers with standard credit, restricted credit or Economy 7 credit meters.
What happens if I get moved on to a prepayment meter?
If you move onto a prepayment meter for any reason whilst you are with us, we will work with you to smoothly switch you to our partner E.ON Next. On an E.ON Next prepayment tariff you will not be eligible for bonus Nectar points, which are exclusive to Sainsbury’s Energy Find out more about our partnership with E.ON Next.
Frequently asked questions
Why am I being asked for a meter reading when I have a smart meter?
All new customers need to send an opening meter reading when they switch to a new energy supplier, even if you have a smart meter. If you have a smart meter that was installed by another energy supplier it may not currently be compatible with us. In this case, your meter will still work like a normal meter, but the smart features will not be usable.
Why is my smart meter reading different to my bill?
Having a smart meter should improve the accuracy of your energy bills by automatically sending regular readings. If your bill is incorrect it is possible there is a fault with your meter, which you should report immediately.
The In Home Display (IHD) for your smart meter may not match your bills if you have a smart meter installed by another supplier. This happens because we can’t connect to the smart features, which prevents us from sending your tariff information to your IHD.
Therefore, your IHD will still give you real-time energy usage data, but it will not be at the correct price for your tariff.
What happens if I don’t submit a meter reading?
If you don’t submit a meter reading we will send you an estimated bill. This happens after three months if you are on a fixed tariff paying by Direct Debit, or after one month if you are on a variable tariff paying by Direct Debit or you pay on receipt of bill.
In order to avoid unexpected billing charges we recommend that you submit regular meter readings, so that you have an accurate and up to date picture of the energy you are using.
Do I have to read my own meter or will Sainsbury's Energy read it for me?
You can enter your own meter readings online whenever you like. However, we’ll still need to read your meter as well. We aim to read meters on a half-yearly basis depending on what type of meter you have and where you live. If your meter is located inside your home we’ll need to arrange access with you.