How to read and submit a business meter reading

To submit a business meter reading, note the figures shown on your meter (ignoring red digits), photograph them, and send them to your supplier through its online account, app, phone or email. Do it on or near the same date each month and keep a copy.

Why readings matter

Your supplier bills from readings. Without them it estimates, and estimates drift from reality; see estimated business energy bills. Accurate readings also protect you when you change supplier, move premises or dispute a charge. At a change of supplier, the opening reading on the new account is what sets your starting point, and a wrong one can inflate bills for months.

Find the right meter

Many premises have more than one meter. Match the meter's serial number to the bill, and the meter point numbers: the MPAN (electricity) and MPRN (gas). If you share a building, check the meter is yours and not a landlord's or neighbour's. Our guide to finding your MPAN and MPRN helps.

Reading a standard electricity meter

• Digital display: write down every digit, left to right. Ignore any digit after a decimal point or in red.
• Two-rate meters: you will see two registers, often labelled for day and night (sometimes 1 and 2, or normal and low). Submit both. See day and night rates.
• Dial meters (older): read each dial left to right; the usual convention is to take the lower number when the pointer sits between two. If in doubt, send a clear photo with your reading.

If the display cycles through screens, press the button to find the one in kWh showing total consumption.

Reading a gas meter

GOV.UK explains the two types:

• Metric meters show cubic metres (m3). Read the digits left to right, include leading zeros and ignore the red digits after the decimal point.
• Imperial meters show cubic feet. Read the black digits and ignore any red ones.

You usually submit the raw meter figure; the supplier converts it to kWh. But you should know how, so you can check the bill.

Worked example: converting gas to kWh

The formula is: kWh = volume in m3 x calorific value x 1.02264 / 3.6. For an imperial meter that reads in hundreds of cubic feet, multiply by 2.83 first to get cubic metres.

Say your metric meter read 04512 last month and 04687 now, and the calorific value on your bill is 39.2 MJ/m3.

1. Volume used: 4,687 - 4,512 = 175 m3
2. Multiply by calorific value: 175 x 39.2 = 6,860
3. Multiply by 1.02264: 6,860 x 1.02264 = 7,015.3
4. Divide by 3.6: 7,015.3 / 3.6 = about 1,948.7 kWh
5. Cost at an illustrative 8.8p/kWh (Moneysupermarket micro fixed gas average, Oct 2026): 1,948.7 x £0.088 = about £171.49 before standing charge, CCL and VAT

Use our gas units to kWh converter to avoid the sum. Check the unit marking on the meter, because imperial meters may count in hundreds of cubic feet.

Smart and advanced meters

If you have a smart or advanced meter, readings should travel automatically. Check your bill shows them as actual. If not, read it by hand and tell your supplier the meter is not communicating. Citizens Advice notes that where a smart meter is not sending readings, you should read it yourself and send the figures.

Half-hourly meters

Larger supplies sit on half-hourly meters whose data is collected remotely, so you typically do not submit readings, but still compare bills against the meter display now and then.

How to send the reading

1. Take a dated photo that shows the meter display and its serial number.
2. Log in to your supplier's online account or app, or call or email.
3. Give the account number, meter point number, meter serial number, date and every register.
4. Save any confirmation. If you phone, note the date, time and name.

Set a calendar reminder for the last working day of the month and make it part of your closing routine.

How often?

There is no single rule you must follow, but monthly is a sound habit. In a July 2025 Westminster Hall debate a minister said suppliers must try to obtain readings at least twice a year. Even so, supplying your own is the surest way to keep bills close to actual use.

If a reading looks wrong

If usage seems much too high or low, switch off equipment and see whether the meter still moves; see disputing a high bill for faulty-meter steps.

Common mistakes

• Including the red digit on a metric gas meter or an old electricity meter.
• Submitting only the day register on a two-rate meter.
• Reading the wrong meter, such as a sub-meter or a landlord's.
• Sending a reading without a date.
• Not keeping proof that the reading was sent.

Multi-site and shared buildings

If you run several premises, make a simple spreadsheet with a row per meter, with the meter point number, serial number, location and the date you last read it. If your meter is in a shared plant room, agree with the building manager how and when you can get access.

Never force a locked meter cupboard or interfere with a meter seal. Under Ofgem's backbilling rules, obstructing meter reads or tampering can remove a microbusiness's protection against bills for energy used more than 12 months ago.

When you change supplier or move

Take readings for every meter on the day the switch takes effect, or on the day you take over or hand back keys. Send them to both the outgoing and the incoming supplier if you can. These two figures decide where one supplier's charges stop and the next one's start, so they are the most valuable readings you will ever take. After a switch, check the final bill from the old supplier and the first bill from the new one: the closing and opening readings should match. If they do not, ask both suppliers to reconcile them, quoting your photos. A short delay now avoids a long argument later, because a wrong opening reading can inflate bills for months.

Next steps

• Take today's readings and photograph them.
• Submit them and request a corrected bill if the last one was estimated.
• Use our guide to reading your business energy bill to check what comes back.