The prime minister has been urged to "publicly correct" her statement on how much households can expect to pay for energy after October 1.

The government has promised an energy price guarantee limiting the average bill to £2,500.

However, this does not mean households won't have to pay more than this, prompting claims Liz Truss has "misled" the nation.

During the prime minister's round of radio interviews on Thursday, she repeatedly raised the recently announced energy price guarantee.

The reality is that the government’s plan only caps the cost per unit that households pay, with actual bills still determined by how much energy is consumed.

What did Liz Truss claim?

Although she initially described the figure as being for a “typical” bill during an interview with BBC Radio Nottingham, she went on to say: “The biggest part of the package we announced is the support on energy bills, making sure that people across this country are not facing energy bills of more than £2,500 and that businesses can get through this winter.”

On BBC Radio Kent, she stated: “We have taken action by the government stepping in and making sure that nobody is paying fuel bills of more than £2,500.”

She repeated the claim on BBC Radio Leeds, saying: “The action we’ve taken on energy bills will mean that Leeds and other people in West Yorkshire aren’t going to be facing energy bills of £6,000 which is what was forecast, they’re going to be, through the energy price guarantee, the maximum will be £2,500.”

What does the price freeze actually mean for household bills?

According to government figures, the typical bill for a detached house under the price freeze will be £3,330, £2,650 for a typical semi-detached house and £1,750 for someone living in a purpose-built flat.

Fact-checking charity Full Fact said it wrote to Ms Truss on Wednesday to stress that “it is vital the public have accurate information about energy bills in the context of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis”.

Full Fact chief executive Will Moy said: “We wrote to the prime minister about getting this wrong only yesterday. The government’s energy plans will affect every household in Britain this winter. And yet Liz Truss has repeatedly misled listeners this morning.

“She must now publicly correct her mistake to make sure people are not misled about their energy prices and hit with unexpected and unaffordable energy bills this winter.”

In a tweet on Thursday, MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis wrote: “The reason it is so important not to communicate that there is a £2,500 cap (is) it risks some people, possibly vulnerable elderly people, thinking they can keep the heat on max all winter, and they won’t pay more than a certain amount.”

Last chance to take a meter reading before the price hike

Friday (September 30) is the last chance to submit a meter reading to your energy provider before prices rise on October 1.

People should submit a meter reading to their provider to prevent firms from estimating usage and charging for energy used before October 1 but at the higher rate.

Households will be hoping they do not experience a repeat of the wide-scale crash of energy firms’ websites ahead of the last price cap increase on April 1, when millions of customers rushed to submit readings at once.

Industry body Energy UK said high call volumes and website traffic were expected, and recommended customers check beforehand for the best way to submit readings as most suppliers were allowing for a few days either side of October 1.

Suppliers offered numerous channels including text, email, apps and online account submissions, but these varied.

The easiest way to take a meter reading is to take a picture of it and then submit it online.

Citizen's Advice has a useful guide for how to read different types of meters here.