Dial meters are tricky to read. It’s also tricky describing how to do it! So, below are three help sheets from three different energy suppliers – if you don’t understand one set, please try another.
If you are still unsure, please take a clear photograph of the meter showing all the dials and e-mail it to Karen Atkinson, Energy Data Officer, who will let you know what the correct reading is.
Email: Karen.p.atkinson@northyorks.gov.uk
nPower:
Dial meter instructions.
- Always write down the number the pointer has passed (this is not necessarily the nearest number to the pointer). So if the pointer is anywhere between, say, 4 and 5, write down 4.
- If the pointer is directly over the figure, say 5, write down that figure and underline it. The sample meter reading shown will be 4 5 9 2 8.
- This reading now requires adjusting to eliminate small variations to the pointer positions. Look at the figures underlined. If one of these is followed by a 9, reduce the underlined figure by 1. The correct reading in this example is 44928.
- As with the digital meter, when you’ve worked out this reading, subtract the previous reading shown on your bill to find the number of electricity units used.
EDF Energy:
Reading a dial meter
If the pointer falls between two numbers, always read the lower number – in Fig A you would write down the number 4.
If the pointer is directly over a number always record it – in Fig B you would write down the number 5.
If the pointer on a dial falls between 9 and 0, reduce the reading already taken for the dial on the left by one – for example, if your original recorded 5, reduce this to 4.
Following these instructions, the correct meter reading for the dial in the diagram will be 44928.

British Gas:
Dial meter

- Each dial turns in the opposite direction to the one before it, so check which way each turns.
- Read the dials from left to right along the bottom row only – ignore any others.
- Write down the number closest to each pointer. If the pointer is between two numbers, give the lower number. If the pointer is between 9 and 0, write down 9.
The reading for the above meter is: 3 4 5 6