British Gas and Eon websites crash as Brits rush to give meter readings

Energy company websites are buckling under the volume of customers trying to log in and submit up-to-date meter readings before prices skyrocket at midnight tonight

Energy company websites are crashing this morning as Brits scramble to submit meter readings before power prices soar from midnight.

The websites of British Gas, Eon, Scottish Power and SSE all had problems today, according to the website DownDetector.

Energy firms are seeing increased traffic because households are trying to pay less for their gas and electricity.

At around 8am today customers began logging complaints about the issue. Customers are seeing problems across the country.

Almost all the problems are that customers cannot log in or use the energy companies’ websites.

On Twitter, one British Gas customer said: “I was transferred from People’s Energy, still no access to my account to submit meter readings, no bills, no communication about current rates or upcoming changes. Why is this so difficult for you to sort out?”

Another energy company customer said: “I am trying not to be cynical here but is there a reason why your website is down on the final day before the price cap is lifted? I am trying to submit my readings…like thousands of others I guess!”

Eon was not available to comment, and all other energy companies have been approached for comment.

@ScottishPower How's access to your website doing today folks? Failing repeatedly just now.
Not a good look for you is it, on the day before your prices go through the roof?

— Alistair Rutherford (@alrutherfurd)

At midnight tonight energy regulator Ofgem is increasing its price cap. For an average home on a default tariff paying by direct debit, the price cap is going up by almost £700, in a huge hit to household bills.

Experts including MoneySavingExpert’s Martin Lewis have explained that if you take a meter reading on March 31, you can tell your energy provider exactly how much gas and electricity you used before the price cap increase.

This means any energy used up until March 31 will be charged at a lower price, rather than the higher rate kicking in at midnight on March 31.

The energy price cap for those on default tariffs who pay by direct debit is rising by £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 from April 1.

Prepayment customers will see a bigger jump, with their price cap going up by £708, from £1,309 to £2,017.

The reason for the climbing price of energy is a squeeze on gas prices around the world, caused by the Covid pandemic.

Businesses being shut down led to low global energy consumption, which then followed by a rapid bounceback as the economy began to open up again.

Soaring prices of wholesale gas – which have quadrupled in the last year – mean suppliers are passing on the cost on to customers.

Since the beginning of 2021, around 30 energy companies have also gone bust under the weight of the crisis, leaving over two million customers moved over to another provider.

We’ve got a full list of all the energy firms that have gone under here.