Martin Lewis has appealed to people to 'spread the word' to all British Gas, OVO, E.ON, EDF, Shell, Bulb, or SSE customers. It comes in what is known as meter reading week.

The consumer champion made the plea on Twitter, now known as X, according to BirminghamLive, and said: "Spread word... it's Meter Reading Week On Sunday energy bills will FALL an average 7 per cent, but it'll still cost lots."

He went on to explain: "I've 9 need-to-knows & dos for you, including whether you should switch, the fact standing charges are UP, free insulation and more...", before linking to consumer site Money Saving Expert.

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It prompted a response from X users, with Daveyon replied: "Could I easily switch from using smart meter to regular meters? This “smart meter” seems to be robbing me hundreds."

Another, named as Chris, said: "They won't install a dumb metre now. Have you seen usage increase? Or just money increase. You can still read the meter and check it's the same as the intelligent read."

"Have you considered adding the April CPI+3.9% increases into your helpful mobile phone comparison tool? With inflation so high it really skews the monthly equivalent and changes the balance of upfront/outright ownership costs," asked another.

Faversham said: "EDF have recently told me I have to read my meters every month now rather than every quarter. I don't because I can't reach one of them so they estimate. Is it right that it now has to be done every month? I want to go back to quarterly billing."

"Someone needs to get the Govt to bring down electricity costs. I don’t have gas and yet I’m being penalised for going with a fuel source that’s rapidly becoming run off of renewables. It should be gas users with higher rates if we’re going to get to net zero," Allison typed.

Why should people check their gas and electric meters this Saturday?

Natalie Mathie, energy expert at Uswitch.com, said: “The cost of energy for those on standard variable tariffs is going down on October 1. Unfortunately though, most households will face similar, or in some cases more expensive, energy bills compared to last winter because there is now no Government bill support available.

“Rates are also predicted to rise again in January, just when households use more energy to heat their homes. If you don’t have a smart meter, it’s important to submit regular meter readings to your supplier – especially when rates change – to ensure you’re charged correctly for the amount of gas and electricity you’ve used.

“There are steps you can take now to stay in control of your energy bills ahead of winter. For example, with the heating switched off for the last six months, you don’t want to wait until the first freezing cold day to discover that there’s a problem with your boiler or radiators - so bleed them now and think about getting a boiler service.

“Remember that the price you pay is determined by how much energy you use. The more you use, the more you’ll pay. This means it’s more important than ever to keep an eye on your energy usage and submit regular meter readings.”

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