Submitting meter readings

Meter readings are how Octopus turns your meter display into an actual bill. With a working smart meter, this usually happens automatically. If the meter is not communicating, you have a traditional meter, Octopus asks for a one-off reading or you need an export reading, a manual reading keeps your account away from avoidable estimates.

Meter-reading source check, 7 June 2026: Octopus still points customers to online account, reminder, app-camera and email routes for readings, says connected smart meters normally send readings automatically and says a first reading is still needed when you join. Its separate timing guidance still recommends monthly readings for traditional or non-connected meters, plus a reading on or close to a tariff price-change date if the meter is not connected. Octopus’s smart-meter guidance says a new smart meter can take about 14 days, plus a few extra days, to fully connect. Citizens Advice says estimated or inaccurate bills are a sign to ask whether automatic smart readings are landing, and says suppliers should check a smart-meter problem within five working days of contact.

This page is most useful if you want the steps. If you are trying to understand a wider account problem, keep three links handy: your first month with Octopus for the handover period, understanding your Octopus bill for statement checks and why app usage and bills do not always match if the numbers still look odd afterwards.

If you have a smart meter

A working smart meter sends readings to Octopus automatically. Octopus says a newly installed meter can take around 14 days to get into its systems and another few days to fully connect, so a short gap after installation is not automatically a fault. Citizens Advice also says readings can take a few weeks to settle after a supplier switch.

You normally do not need to submit manual readings if recent smart readings are appearing on your bill or in the account. You may still need a manual reading when you first switch, when Octopus requests one, when the smart meter is not yet communicating or when you have an export reading to provide.

To check whether automatic readings are landing, look at the meter readings shown on your Octopus statement as well as the usage graph in the app. A bill reading marked estimated, or with an E beside it, usually means Octopus has not received an actual reading for that billing point. The app usage graph can lag, so treat the statement reading as the better check for billing accuracy.

If the meter has recently stopped communicating, submit monthly manual readings while Octopus investigates. If the problem is not just account setup, Citizens Advice says suppliers should check whether a smart meter is working as it should within five working days of being contacted and offer to explain what they found. If the supplier misses those steps, Citizens Advice says the smart-meter guaranteed-standards compensation can apply. If a newly installed meter cannot connect to the smart-meter network, the DCC connection issue can also bring a 90-day expectation into play.

For more detail on smart-meter handovers, read what happens when you switch with a smart meter and reading your smart meter data.

If you do not have a smart meter

Submit readings through the Octopus app or your online account at least once a month. Octopus says monthly readings help keep bills and payment forecasts based on actual use rather than estimates. Open the app, choose the meter-reading option and enter the numbers from the meter display. If the app offers camera capture, check the recognised numbers before you submit them.

You can also use the Octopus website, type the numbers into a meter-reading reminder without logging in, email a clear photo or contact Octopus if you cannot use the app. The important part is not the channel, it is that Octopus receives a recent actual reading for the right fuel and register.

Every time you submit a reading you may get a spin of the Wheel of Fortune, with a chance to win account credit. Treat that as a small extra, not the reason to submit readings. The useful reason is a cleaner bill.

If this is your first manual reading after switching, pair it with your first month with Octopus. That guide covers the rest of the handover checks, including tariff confirmation, Direct Debit sense-checks and what to expect from the first statement.

When to submit: monthly is a sensible baseline for a traditional meter or a smart meter that is not connected. A day or two before your billing date is useful because it helps the next statement use an actual reading rather than an estimate. Also submit a reading when you move home, switch supplier or change tariff. If Octopus tells you a Flexible or other price change is due and your meter is not connected, a reading on or close to the change date gives a cleaner boundary between old and new rates.

Weekly readings will not harm anything, especially if your usage has changed, but most households do not need to send them that often once billing is stable.

How to read your electricity meter

Digital display meters: press the button until you see a number followed by kWh. Write down the numbers before the decimal point. Ignore leading zeroes if the app does not need them.

Smart electricity meters: the button sequence depends on the model. Octopus’s own guide gives model-specific examples, but the display you usually need is an import reading such as IMP, IMP KWH, TOTAL ACT IMPORT or a similar kWh import screen. If you are unsure, use the Octopus guide or ask support before guessing.

Economy 7 or Economy 10 meters: these have two readings. One is the off-peak or night register and one is the peak or day register. Submit both. If you are unsure which register is day and which is night, check which number moves during daytime use.

Dial meters: read from left to right. For each dial, note the number the pointer has just passed. If a pointer sits directly on a number, check the dial to its right. If that one has not passed zero yet, record the lower number on the first dial. Dial meters are becoming rare, but some properties still have them.

How to read your gas meter

Gas meters display volume rather than energy. They usually show either cubic metres, written as m3, or cubic feet, written as ft3. Octopus converts gas volume into kWh on your bill using the standard gas-calculation method.

Imperial meters in cubic feet: read the first four digits on the left of the display. Ignore numbers in red and anything after a decimal point.

Metric meters in cubic metres: read the digits before the decimal point. Some displays have leading zeroes; they are usually harmless, but the actual reading is the whole number before the decimal.

If you are not sure which type you have, check the unit on the display or submit a photo if Octopus asks for one. Octopus should have the meter type registered for your property, but a clear photo helps if there is a dispute or a meter exchange.

Import, export and generation readings

Solar and battery homes need extra care because not every number is an import reading.

Your normal electricity bill uses your import reading, which is the electricity pulled from the grid. Export tariffs use an export reading from the smart meter, which is the electricity sent back to the grid. A solar generation meter, if you have one, records what the panels produced and is not the same as the export reading.

Octopus specifically warns not to mix up import, export and generation readings. If you are submitting an export reading, use the export screen on the SMETS1 or SMETS2 meter, not the in-home display and not the generation meter. If you are not confident which register is which, pause and ask Octopus rather than sending a plausible-looking number.

For the background, read import, export and generation explained and export rates explained.

Estimated readings and why they matter

When Octopus does not receive a reading, either from a smart meter or from you, it estimates your usage. Octopus says non-smart accounts can receive estimated statements when readings are not submitted, and that connected smart meters normally avoid that because readings arrive automatically. Estimates can be reasonable for a while, but they drift if your real use changes, if the meter has stopped communicating or if a meter exchange has not been reconciled cleanly.

The correction normally happens when an actual reading arrives or the next statement is produced. If estimates were too low, you may see a catch-up charge. If estimates were too high, your balance may be credited back. A single estimate is not usually a crisis, but months of estimates can make the later correction feel much larger.

The simplest prevention is a monthly reading while automatic readings are unavailable. If your next statement still looks wrong after an actual reading, check understanding your Octopus bill before assuming the account is broken.

What to check after you submit a reading

Once the reading is in, there are seven sensible checks:

1. Make sure the reading was accepted. The app or website should show the new number. If it rejects the reading, check that you chose the right fuel, meter and register, and left off decimal digits.
2. Check the bill reading, not only the graph. Usage graphs can lag or miss half-hourly detail, especially after weekends, smart-meter faults or supplier switches. The statement reading is the billing evidence.
3. Keep a photo when the timing matters. This is useful when moving home, switching supplier, changing tariff, dealing with a meter exchange or challenging an estimated bill.
4. Record the context. Note the date, fuel, meter serial number and whether the reading was import, export, day, night or gas. That matters if Octopus later asks for evidence.
5. Compare the serial number if the bill looks impossible. Citizens Advice suggests checking the meter identifier on the bill against the meter at the property when you think readings might be coming from the wrong meter.
6. Wait for the next statement if the account is otherwise stable. A reading can be accepted before the bill recalculates. The correction often appears when the next statement is generated.
7. Escalate if estimates continue despite readings. If smart readings are not landing and bills keep being estimated, ask Octopus what they have checked, whether smart mode is enabled and whether there is a meter, battery, signal or smart-meter-network fault. Keep the date you first reported the problem, because the Citizens Advice five-working-day smart-meter standard runs from contact.

If your smart meter has only recently stopped sending data after a switch, what happens when you switch with a smart meter explains why that gap can happen.

Special situations

Moving house: submit a final reading on the day you leave and a first reading on the day you arrive at the new property. Take photos of the meters so the timing is clear.

Switching tariffs: submit a reading on the day of the switch if Octopus asks for one or if the meter is not sending automatic readings. This gives a clean boundary between the old and new rates.

Meter exchange: keep the old meter’s closing reading, the new meter’s opening reading, meter serial numbers and any engineer paperwork or photos. If a later bill looks impossible, these are the first facts to compare. The related guide to wrong bills after a meter exchange or missing readings explains how to turn that evidence into a calm query.

Solar panel or export setup: do not use a generation meter as an export reading. Export should come from the smart meter export register.

Reading rejected or suddenly far higher than expected: do not keep trying random smaller numbers. Check whether you are reading the import register, export register, day register, night register or gas volume, then send Octopus a photo if the account still rejects a plausible actual reading. If a past estimate was too low, the new actual reading can create a catch-up bill even when the reading itself is correct.

Hard-to-access meters: if you cannot safely reach the meter, ask Octopus about support options. Citizens Advice points people who need extra help towards the Priority Services Register, which can include help with meter access or readings.

Useful next steps

Choose the next link based on what you are trying to sort out:

• You have sent a reading because you have just switched. Read your first month with Octopus so you can check the tariff, first-bill timing and Direct Debit as well.
• The reading went in, but the numbers still look off. Read why app usage and bills do not always match and then understanding your Octopus bill.
• Your smart meter still is not sending data. Start with what happens when you switch with a smart meter and reading your smart meter data. If the gap is dragging on, the 90-day smart-meter fix guide explains what to ask Octopus to check.
• A meter exchange or missing readings made a bill look wrong. Keep photos, serial numbers and register details, then compare them with the statement using understanding your Octopus bill and the meter-exchange billing checklist.
• You are still deciding whether Octopus is worth it. Start with how switching works or the broader how to switch guide.
• You have decided to switch and just want the current offer. The Octopus referral code and link page explains it without the usual faff.