How to read your electricity meter

Dial meters

Even if your meter dials look different from what’s below, the steps we’ve described remain valid. But when taking your reading, please ignore:

• Any red dials or numbers in red
• Dials without a pointer or numbers
• Dials marked 1/10

For the relevant dials on your meter, please take these steps:

If you didn’t get it right, you’ve probably entered a ‘4’ instead of a ‘3’. Look again at the guide above to see why a ‘3’ is correct.

Standard mechanical meters and digital meters

These meters can be single rate or dual rate.

Single rate meter: you pay the same unit rate at all times of the day.
Dual-rate meter: you pay one unit rate during the day and a reduced rate at night.

For both types, write down the numbers left to right. You can ignore any numbers appearing:

• After a decimal point
• In red
• With a 'T' before them (digital meters only)

For dual-rate meters

Your dual-rate meter will display two lots of numbers in one of the following ways:

1. The Day rate and Night rate displays are both visible
2. The meter alternates between the Day rate and Night rate displays
3. Press the button that switches between the Day rate and Night rate displays

In all cases, please note down the two readings and give them to your supplier separately.

How to submit your meter reading

Please send your reading to: meterread@drax.com. Alternatively, you can use the meter-read form on our website.

Other providers may have different requirements, so ask your supplier how to submit your reading.

Smart meters

If you have a smart meter, you don’t need to supply meter readings.

If you don’t have a smart meter, these are their benefits:

• Accurate bills (and no estimates), so you only pay for the energy you use
• Near real-time information on your energy usage, so you stay in control
• The opportunity to improve your energy management, helping you save money
• No need for manual meter readings, thanks to the automatic transfer of data
• The chance to reduce your emissions and have a positive impact on climate change

If you’re interested in discovering more about smart meters, please get in touch: smart@drax.com