SEFE ENERGY
If you’re having trouble with your bills or struggling with the numbers, then we understand. Meter readings can be a source of confusion for many businesses, resulting in over-paying or under-paying on your consumption, problems with data collection and a whole host of other issues.
Whatever problems you’re having with your readings, you’ll find the answers to your meter queries here. Whether it’s finding out your eligibility for AMR installation or info on how to send us your meter readings for more accurate billings, we’ve got the key questions covered below.
Can’t find the answer to your question here or just want more information on meter readings and its related topics? Please get in touch with our friendly Customer Service team by visiting the Contact Us page and fill in the relevant forms or give us a call on 0161 837 3395 – we’re always on hand to help you with any queries, whatever the problem is.
There are several different ways to provide a meter reading. For both gas and electricity, you can supply them by phone, email or online – whichever is easiest for you.
Online: My SEFE Energy
Telephone: 0161 837 3395
Fax: 0207 756 9789
Email: enquiries@sefe-energy.com
Please submit gas and electricity readings by the 1st day of the month. These will then be included within your latest invoice.
Note:
All our gas and electricity customers are eligible for a free automated meter reading (AMR) device within their contract. Customers with these devices can benefit from additional data service packages. You’ll need to pay for them, but they can add real value when it comes to monitoring and managing your energy use.
A gas opening meter reading is important for a few different reasons. Not only does it provide us with a start point, but by getting things right now, we’ll avoid potential issues in the future. Your opening read needs to be submitted up to 10 working days after your supply goes live.
If you have an automated meter reading device on your meter or a smart meter, you should still provide an opening read. Opening reads can be provided via the online portal or via the AMR Team.
If we don’t obtain an opening read, we’ll use an Industry Estimated Read (MBR) instead, which could cause issues with your invoices and possibly result in a Shipper Agreed Read (SAR) dispute with your previous supplier. If you have any queries regarding your opening meter read, then you can get in touch with us at: amr@sefe-energy.com
AMR is a system that:
Put simply, it’s the ability to take a meter reading - and monitor use - without the need to physically visit the site. To enable automated meter readings, you will need to install either a data logger (for gas) or an advanced meter (for electricity).
Gas customers:
All of our gas customers are eligible for free AMR Installation.
Interested? You can request this by contacting us on 0161 837 3371 or emailing amr@sefe-energy.com.
And if you’re a small micro-business, you can read more about our Smart Meter Rollout here
Electricity customers:
All our non-half-hourly electricity customers are eligible to receive AMR.
Half-hourly metering for larger sites is also automated. Any site that is currently read by someone visiting the meter can request a free AMR device by calling 0161 837 3392 or emailing dataflows@sefe-energy.com.
AMR works by using GPRS or SMS technology to send your meter readings directly to SEFE Energy. That means your bills are based on accurate actual readings.
For new customers, once you have transferred to SEFE Energy and you’re eligible, our AMR partner will contact you to arrange a suitable installation date for you.
For electricity customers, one of our AMR partners will replace your existing meter with a smarter Advanced Meter. After that, you’ll be able to reap all the benefits of AMR.
For gas, installation timescales for AMR devices can vary. Installation is subject to either SEFE Energy or our partners being able to schedule a suitable date to carry out the work.
A data logger is plugged into an external port on the meter so there is no need to disconnect the gas supply. Generally, installation takes around 20 minutes with minimal disruption to the site.
For electricity, your full meter has to be exchanged, so it takes a little longer. We aim to complete installation within 3 months of you starting with us.
You may experience a brief loss of power depending on the type of supply you have. But don’t fret, this usually lasts no longer than an hour.
Once AMR technology has been installed, we’ll sometimes encounter issues with the read or its collection. Your invoice may then be based upon an estimate rather than an actual read. We monitor any such issues and look to resolve them as soon as possible.
If you believe the read we have collected and used to create your invoice is inaccurate please contact us and we’ll get to the bottom of things and inform you of any issues.
Gas customers can click here for more details on how to report a faulty meter or AMR device.
Electricity customers can call us on 0161 837 3392 or email dataflows@sefe-energy.com.
If you have a 2-rate meter, also known as Economy 7, then you can view your energy usage through the day and night.
Which number is which can often vary from meter to meter. To help you distinguish one from the other, your meter might have these identifiers on the meter itself or it may say Normal or N (day) or Low or L (night) next to the readings.
Other meters may only display day readings during the day and vice versa with night readings. Further still, the readings may also be listed as Rate 1 and Rate 2, or Rate 1 and Rate 4.
However this is marked on your meter, read each row from left to right, including any zeroes, and make sure to ignore any numbers after the decimal point or in red.
