MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis has given some urgent advice to people with pre-payment energy meters to top up if they can before April 1.
UK homes are currently dealing with increases in the cost of energy bills , fuel , food and more.
Speaking at the Ideal Home Show last week, Lewis said that people with non-smart pre-payment meters could save money by buying energy before prices go up at the start of next month.
The cost of the average variable rate energy bill, for the average household, is capped by regulator Ofgem.
That cap is rising from £1,277 a year to £1,971 on April 1 .
Lewis said: "If you’re on a non-smart pre-payment meter, then look to top-up as much as you can before April 1, because the regulators confirmed to me that you get the rate on the day that you top-up, not the day that you use energy.
"So, that means put as much as you can in in March before the big April 1 price hike, and then you’ll still be able to use it in April but paying the cheaper price, and then not top-up again until you really need to. When you top-up again, it’ll change the price."
Lewis added that people paying by monthly direct debit should also do a meter reading on March 31, the day before the 54% rise in the April price cap.
He said: "You need to draw a line in the sand with your energy provider, so that you’re saying ‘everything I’ve used up to this point should be charged the cheap rate’, rather than just letting it estimate what you’ve used in March and what you’ve used at the higher rate."
I’m on a fixed deal, is my bill going up?
No, not while your fixed deal lasts. The cap relates to the energy providers’ standard variable tariffs – these are the tariffs that customers are on as a default and have traditionally been more expensive than the fixed-rate deals on offer.
The reason the energy cap was introduced was to stop these customers paying high prices because of their loyalty.
If you are on a fixed deal, you will carry on paying the same rate until the end of the term – unless your provider fails and you get switched to a new company. If that happens, you will be moved onto their variable tariff.
Households are in a strange place at the moment because moving to a new fixed deal would mean paying higher prices. It is likely that if your deal ends soon you will be better off moving on to your provider’s standard tariff than going on to a new fixed rate.
Annual food bills are going up by around £180 as the cost of living crisis continues to squeeze households.
Council tax bills will also increase by around £100 in April because of the spiralling cost of social care.
