The time has come to check our meter readings before the energy price cap goes up on 1 April.

Unless we have a smart meter, we need to make sure our energy bills are at the lower rate for as long as possible.

It’s because our supplier will try to calculate how much energy we used before and after the price cap went up. So it’s in our best interest to have meter readings to make sure we only pay more after 1 April.

The price cap is the maximum amount suppliers can charge us per unit of energy on a standard tariff. 

It had already gone up in October 2021 and is about to rise by another 54 per cent.

We’re in this position now because demand for energy is rising as countries around the world get back to full speed after the Covid slowdown.

At the same time, supplies of energy are down. A cold winter last year meant we were using more energy than usual, so there’s pressure on what’s left in storage.

Gas that’s piped from Russia is also in short supply. The war in Ukraine is putting even more pressure on that.

We also use gas to produce about 40 per cent of our electricity in the UK. That’s why bills are rising for both energy sources.

If we have an older prepayment meter and a few quid to spare this month, we could stock up on energy at the lower price.

It’s just delaying the rise – but it’s legal and worth doing if we can afford it. 

It won’t work with smart prepayment meters though – that will know exactly what we’ve used and when.

And don’t forget – we can try to beat the bills in other ways with our Future-Proof Finance Quiz.