Gas meter reads come up less often than electricity — but when they do, it's usually because something looks off on a bill. This guide walks you through the different types of gas meter a customer might have and how to read each one accurately.
Before you start
Ask the customer to locate their gas meter before walking them through the reading. Gas meters are most commonly found:
- In a cupboard inside the property, often near the boiler
- In an external meter box on an outside wall
- In a communal meter room (for flats and apartments)
Remind customers to take care around gas meters — they should never try to tamper with or move them. If a customer reports any smell of gas near their meter, stop the reading process immediately and follow the Gas leak protocol.
Digital gas meters
Most modern gas meters have a digital display. Read the numbers from left to right. You'll typically see five digits before the decimal point — those are the ones to record. Ignore any digits after the decimal point.
Example: A display showing 01583.72 should be submitted as 01583.
If the display is blank, the customer may need to press a button to activate it. Some meters cycle through multiple screens — the reading they need will usually be on the first or main screen.
Dial gas meters
Older gas meters use dials, similar to older electricity meters. There are usually four or five dials, alternating between clockwise and anti-clockwise.
To read them:
- Read each dial from left to right
- Note the number the pointer has most recently passed
- If the pointer sits directly on a number, write it down — but if the dial to its right hasn't yet passed zero, reduce by one
- Ignore any red dials
As with electricity dial meters, these can be tricky. Take it slowly with the customer and sense-check the final reading against their previous one.
Understanding gas units
This is where gas meters differ from electricity meters — and it's a common source of customer confusion.
Gas meters measure the volume of gas used, in either cubic metres (m³) or cubic feet (ft³). This volume reading is then converted to kilowatt-hours (kWh) for billing purposes, using a calorific value and a conversion factor.
Customers sometimes notice that the unit on their meter doesn't match the unit on their bill, and wonder if they've been overcharged. The short answer is: this is completely normal. The conversion is standardised and applied consistently to all accounts. If a customer wants more detail, you can reassure them that the calculation is set by industry standards and is the same for all energy suppliers.
Smart gas meters
Smart gas meters work the same way as smart electricity meters — readings are sent to us automatically and customers don't need to submit them manually. If a customer wants to check their current reading, they can press the display button and look for the main consumption figure, then read it as they would a standard digital meter.
