Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis urged Good Morning Britain viewers to take an energy meter reading this week ahead of the price cap change as bills are due to marginally drop – but not by as much as previously thought. 

Speaking on the ITV show on Wednesday, Mr Lewis said: “It’s worth digging under those numbers to see what’s really going on. We’re actually going to see the standing charge, that poll tax that we all pay just for having the facility of gas and electricity, going up by around one percent.

“A complete mistake by Ofgem, the regulator. It should not be doing this.

“I don’t understand why it wants to do this. It’s incredibly unpopular and I think it is a real moral hazard to charge the lowest users such a great fee for using energy. But it’s doing that. I will continue to campaign against it.”

According to Mr Lewis, the price of electricity will drop by roughly nine percent and the price of gas will drop by roughly eight percent in accordance with Ofgem’s new October price cap.

Mr Lewis said: “All in all, the average is seven percent. So that means for every £100 you pay now, on average, you’ll pay £93 from Sunday.

“But it’s worth noting lower users get less of a drop, higher users get more of a drop because of the way they’ve structured it by putting standing charges up and putting unit charges down.”

However, Mr Lewis urged: “Because prices are changing, I call this meter reading week and that means if you are on if you pay by monthly direct debit and you don’t have a working smart meter, you should be doing a meter reading sometime during the next week.”

Explaining how to take the reading, Mr Lewis said: “Go to your meter, take a quick picture of it. That’s the easiest way, and put it in.

“With prices changing on Sunday, what we want to do is reduce any error where the energy firms assume more of your usage is at the current high rates rather than after Sunday’s lower rates.”

Mr Lewis said it doesn’t matter which day this is carried out – people can always “backdate” their reading. 

Issuing one final and “important” tip, Mr Lewis said: “For anyone going to do this slowly on a non-smart electricity pre-payment meter specifically. Those meters change the price you pay on the day that you top up. 

“So if I had one of those, what I’d be doing is trying not to top up this week unless you really need to, in which case just top up, top up what you’ll use this week and then go and top up on Sunday.

“Because by topping up on Sunday, that’s what tells your meter you should be charging a new lower price. So even if you don’t need any extra energy on Sunday, go and top up your electricity on Sunday just by a quid so that your meter knows to charge you less.”

Energy supplier OVO is also campaigning for the Government to remove the standing charge for households vulnerable customers this winter and backing its own cause, will not be passing on the permitted standing charge increase to customers in October.

Raman Bhatia, CEO of OVO, said: “Energy bills are set to stay high despite the recent price cap reduction. This leaves many households with stretched finances struggling to pay. We are calling for a reform of the unpopular standing charge and a social tariff for the most financially vulnerable.”

Vikki Brownridge, CEO of charity StepChange added: “This winter will continue to be challenging for households across the UK. The support announced by OVO will offer welcome relief to those continuing to struggle with the cost of living crisis.

“Government must look at all options to deliver more to support consumers – particularly those on pre-payment meters – ahead of another bleak winter. StepChange has long called for the implementation of a social tariff, which will help to shield the most vulnerable in our society from continued high energy costs.”

Martin Lewis also urged his followers on X, formerly known as Twitter, to know their facts as the energy cap drop approaches.

He wrote: “Spread word… it’s Meter Reading Week. On Sunday energy bills will FALL an average 7%, but it’ll still cost lots.

“I’ve 9 need-to-knows & dos for you, including whether you should switch, the fact standing charges are UP, free insulation and more…”

The financial expert linked to his Money Saving Expert website, which points out that the seven percent fall is simply an average and that the actual figure can “vary wildly depending on location and usage”.

He told non-smart prepay meter users that they will see price changes when they top up and also urged energy users to check whether they are due to receive free insulation to help keep costs low.

Britons should also check to see if they are getting all the Government help to which they are entitled as winter’s colder temperatures loom, he wrote.

The energy help that is available includes a £300 cost of living payment, a winter fuel payment for pensioners that is worth up to £600 and a £250 Warm Home Discount that is available to some people on benefits who have high energy usage.