What additional help is there if I'm struggling to top up my prepayment meter?
This page is about prepayment meters. If you have a credit meter, please click
.If you’re running out of credit and can’t afford to top up, you risk your supply going off. This is because your standing charge is deducted from the meter’s credit each day even if you don’t use any gas or electricity.
So if you can't afford to top up, please contact us.
If you don’t buy enough credit to cover your energy usage, standing charge and any debt repayments, then your energy supply will stop – this is called ‘self-disconnection’. We don't want this to happen to you.
We have a friendly, specialist team who will support you in the best way we can, which may include providing you support credit so you can stay on supply. It will depend on your circumstances whether support credit is then repaid. Call our UK-based customer services team on 0333 777 3215.
It’ll also be helpful to tell us if:
Anyone in the household has a long-term illness or disability that means they need a constant supply of electricity.
You have mobility issues that may reduce your access to your prepayment meter.
Anyone in the household is over 60.
You’re facing extreme financial difficulties.
Your home will be empty for a while.
Alternatively, visit our
page.When you contact us we can:
See if you’re eligible for schemes that may be able to provide financial support, such as the
.Discuss reducing the collection rate, if you have debt that you’re paying back.
Direct you to
who can offer support if you have debt that you are paying back.Discuss moving you to a more convenient payment method that may be cheaper.
Emergency and Friendly Credit
Emergency credit
Most meters have Emergency Credit so you won't lose your energy supply before you top up.
Some meters automatically enable the credit, while others need you to manually accept it. Find out how to access the Emergency Credit on your prepayment meter
.Smart meters have £10 Emergency Credit available.
On traditional (non-smart) meters, the Emergency Credit has recently increased from £10 to £20.
Friendly credit
If you run out of Emergency Credit, Friendly Credit is automatically available on many prepayment meters at specific times of the day for when it can be difficult to get out to top up:
Most traditional electricity prepayment meters:
Weekdays: 6pm to 9am
Weekends: 6pm on Friday to 9am on Monday
Smart electricity and gas prepayment meters:
Weekdays: 4pm to 10am
Weekends: 4pm on Friday to 10am on Monday
Don't forget, you need to repay any Emergency and Friendly Credit the next time you top up. If you think you are going to struggle to pay this back in one go, please call our UK-based customer services team on 0333 777 3215.
Support credit
When you contact us if you’re struggling to top up, we may be able to offer you some support credit if you’re either off-supply or at risk of going off-supply.
It will depend on your circumstances whether support credit is repaid.
Energy efficiency advice
Explore our
for simple, affordable ways to save energy at home and help your top-ups go further.Switching suppliers with an outstanding balance
You can switch to another supplier if you have a debt of less than £500. You’ll need to speak with your new supplier first to let them know how much you owe, and that you want to repay it through your meter once you’ve switched to them. They’ll then contact us to confirm your details and to let us know when you’ll be switching.
We can also provide
help with paying your mobile, phone or broadband bills
.