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A crash between a semi-truck and a dump truck sent one person to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

MILLIONS of households need to take and submit meter readings now to avoid paying too much for their energy.

Bill payers have until tomorrow to get an up-to-date reading before the Ofgem price cap goes up by 10%.

EPA

Millions of households need to take an energy meter reading ahead of tomorrow[/caption]

It will see the average dual-fuel bill paid by a direct debit customer hiked by £149 from £1,568 to £1,717, although you could pay more or less based on your usage.

It’s important to submit a meter reading around the time the rates change to make sure all your energy usage up until that point is charged at the lower rate.

If you don’t, you will be given an estimated bill which means some of your energy usage after October 1 could be charged at the new higher rate.

If you have a smart meter, you don’t need to take a reading as information is automatically sent to your supplier.

However, you should do a quick check to make sure it is working properly and reporting your usage accurately.

There’s also no need to submit a meter reading if you’re on a fixed energy tariff or have a traditional prepayment meter.

If you do have a non-smart energy meter, the exact deadline for submitting readings differs depending on your supplier.

Some will allow you to backdate the reading from the date it was meant to be submitted.

In some cases, you have an extra two weeks to submit a reading.

Here are the deadlines suppliers have confirmed to The Sun for submitting meter reads as the energy price cap changes.

It comes after Martin Lewis urged households to go for fixed energy deals to save on their bills as experts at Cornwall Insights predict the price cap will fall by 1% in January.

• British Gas

British Gas customers can submit their meter readings up until October 14.

This can be done through an online account, through the British Gas app, over the phone or through a form on the firm’s website.

You can call British Gas on 0330 100 0056 Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.

• EDF

EDF customers will be able to back date their meter reads at any time up to and including Wednesday October 9.

Customers will be able to leave meter reads via the EDF App, or online via their MyAccount. Readings can also be submitted via telephone, email or by text and WhatsApp.

• Octopus

Octopus Energy customers have until the end of October 8 to submit their meter readings.

Meter readings can be submitted through online accounts, a form on the provider’s website, app or email.

• Ovo

Customers can submit their meter readings via the app, online account, phone, Whatsapp or webchat at any time. 

• Scottish Power

Scottish Power has no deadline for meter readings. Customers can update meter readings as and when they wish to provide them.

If you are on a standard variable or default tariff with Scottish Power, then the energy price cap will automatically apply.

However, if your prices need to increase as a result, there’s no need to contact them.

Scottish Power said: “We’ll write to you by letter or email to let you know what your new prices will be before the change takes place.”

How to take a meter reading

Taking a meter reading should only take a minute, and once you have noted down the figures you can usually give to your provider by text, online or through an app.

Look up the individual options with your own supplier.

It’s a good idea to take a quick picture of your meter reading when you submit it – just in case you need it as evidence in any disputes that arise.

Exactly how you take a meter reading depends on the type of meter you have.

Electricity meters

If you have a digital electricity meter, you will just see a row of six numbers – five in black and one in red.

Take down the five numbers in black – you don’t need the red number.

If you are on an Economy 7 or 10 tariff which gives you cheaper electricity at night – you will have two rows of numbers and need both.

If you have a traditional dial meter you will need to read the first five dials from left to right, again you don’t need the red ones.

If the pointer is between two numbers, write down the lower figure and if it is between nine and zero write down the number nine.

If the dial is directly over a number, write down that number and underline it.

If you’ve underlined a number, check the next dial to the right.

If the pointer on that dial is between nine and zero, reduce the number you’ve underlined by one.

For example, if you originally wrote down five, change it to four.

Gas meters

If you have a digital metric meter showing five numbers and then a decimal place, you only need to write down the first five numbers from left to right.

If you have a digital imperial meter, your meter will read four black numbers and two red numbers – note down the four black numbers only.

If you have a dial gas meter, follow the same steps as the dial electricity meter, but you don’t need to follow the process of underlining figures.

THE crestfallen face of Olympic gold medalist Tom Dean, 24, after he became the first contestant to be voted off Strictly last night, melted millions of hearts.

But even more gut-wrenching were the words he whispered to his dance partner Nadiya Bychova, 35, after it was revealed that the pair had been eliminated.

BBC

Tom was visibly gutted to be leaving the competition which led to an outpouring of sympathy[/caption]

BBC

Many believed that he left the competition prematurely and deserved a second chance[/caption]

As Tess Daly told the partnership to take to the dancefloor once last time following the judge’s vote, Tom whispered to Nadiya, “I am so sorry.” To which Nadiya replied: “Don’t be sorry.”

The BBC ballroom show enraged the viewers last night after Olympic swimmer Tom, 24 and his partner Nadiya were sent home after going head to head in the dance off with Toyah Wilcox, 66, and Neil Jones.

The judging panel was divided over the decision, with Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse choosing to save Toyah, but Anton Du Beke preferred Tom’s performance.

Ultimately however, head judge Shirley Ballas had the casting vote and opted to save Toyah.

But the decision sparked outrage among die-hard fans, who aired their theories on why Tom had been stitched up.

Some have claimed it was to even out the cast’s gender imbalance while others think he angered producers by prematurely announcing his participation over the summer.

Last night and for much of today, the chatrooms of Reddit have been ablaze with post show analysis.

One wrote: “My only thought for getting rid of Tom is because of the male/female weighting and a concern that it’ll become too male heavy too quickly.”

Someone else said: “My only thought for getting rid of Tom is because of the male/female weighting and a concern that it’ll become too male heavy too quickly.”

A third pointed out: There’s already a gender discrepancy and they’re probably concerned about losing the female cast. You can guarantee that either Punam or Sam, or both, will be in the bottom next week.

Elsewhere, another suggested: “Are producers mad he revealed he was on the show before the announcement?” with a fifth agreeing: “The thought did cross my mind…”

Breaking her silence, Nadiya wrote: “I really appreciate all the messages but I’m not ready to talk about what happened tonight just yet.”

Her former partner on the show Dan Walker was also furious at the decision as he stated that Tom had potential and deserved a longer run to find his rhythm.

He said: “What just happened on Strictly feels a bit messed up.

“@tomdean00’s departure will go down as one of THE early shocks. Lovely bloke who really could have become a great dancer. He looked like he was loving every second of it and @nadiyabychkova looked like she loved teaching him.

 “I’m not an expert – and I’m happy for someone to explain – but how he lost that dance off is completely beyond my comprehension. Genuinely thought they could have gone a long way.”

Tom shared both posts, before commenting on the journey himself.

Former It Takes Two presenter Zoe Ball seemed to be on the same page and told Nadiya: “Love you Lady. gutted for you and Tom.”

While Gorka Marquez told Tom: “Gutted for you man but should be product.”

Katya Jones commented: “So gutted for you and Nadiya.”

Following the public vote, the gold-medallist swimmer faced singer and actress Toyah, 66, in the dance-off.

Dazzling in a sequinned fringed outfit to match his dance partner Nadiya, Tom performed the cha cha to Earth Wind and Fire’s Boogie Wonderland with gusto.

Having kicked off the live show on Satruday with the routine he received a score of 20 from the judges bringing his overall total to 43 after being given 23 points for his tango to Harry Styles Golden last week.

Meanwhile Toyah and professional partner Neil Jones restaged their jaunty jive to Nutbush City Limits by Ike and Tina Turner. But they only picked up 18 points and remained at the bottom of the leaderboard with a total score of 30 from her efforts last week.

BBC

Presenter Dan Walker was outraged that Tom was voted off and lead claims that the show is fixed[/caption]

BBC

Too little too late: the early shock of the series came as Tom Dean was voted off[/caption]

Thousands of people are expected to gather for the largest free cycling event in the state on Sunday.

Verizon users across the country are reporting a widespread outage.

The hard-right's victory is causing unease in Brussels.

Introduction In the world of boxing, missing a major match simply isn’t an option for true fans. But with cable TV subscriptions becoming increasingly expensive, many are turning to online streams to catch all the action. However, finding reliable boxing streams can be a challenge. This guide aims to help you easily locate trustworthy streams …

Amid ongoing political, economic, and social challenges across Africa, the School of Politics, Policy, and Governance (SPPG) will host the Africa Conference 2024, titled “Good Governance in Africa: Leaders and Citizens Converge to Drive Systemic Change.” The event, scheduled for October 3-4, 2024, at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, aims to rethink governance […]

As part of the activities marking the 64th Independence Anniversary of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will make a nationwide broadcast by 7am on October 1, 2024. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, disclosed this in a statement, on Monday. He said the broadcast is part of activities to commemorate […]

When it comes to raising her little ones, Rihanna is putting in that work, work, work, work, work.  The singer showed off her and A$AP Rocky’s older son RZA, 2, putting his agility and climbing...