Making a prepayment meter work for you

A prepayment meter lets you pay for gas or electricity before you use it.

Some people choose a prepayment meter to keep a close eye on what they spend. Others are moved onto one by their supplier because of a debt.

These notes draw on guidance from Ofgem, the energy regulator, and on advice from Citizens Advice.

Topping up

With a smart prepayment meter, you may be able to top up online or in your supplier's app. With an older meter, you buy credit at a PayPoint shop or a Post Office using the meter's key or card. Keep the key or card even if you top up online, in case the app stops working.

When the credit runs out, the gas or electricity stops until you top up again.

If you cannot reach your meter easily, ask your supplier to move it. You may have to pay a fee. Moving it yourself is illegal.

Standing charges

Every day you pay a fixed fee for being connected, called the standing charge. The meter takes it even on days when you use no gas or electricity.

If the meter has no credit, the standing charges build up. The meter takes everything owed when you next top up.

Keeping the supply on

You might be able to get friendly hours credit, which keeps the supply on at night, at weekends and on bank holidays. Smart meters give it automatically. You might also be able to get emergency credit if you cannot get to a top-up point. Both are paid back when you next top up.

If you cannot afford to top up, talk to your supplier. Ofgem says suppliers must offer help, such as extra credit for people in a vulnerable situation. Your supplier must also agree a repayment plan you can afford.

Switching back to paying by credit

If you have a smart meter in prepayment mode, you can ask your supplier to switch it to credit. If you have an older meter, you can ask for a smart meter, which can switch between the two. Your supplier usually won't switch you to credit while you owe it money.

Tenants who pay the supplier directly can change how they pay without their landlord's permission. Citizens Advice suggests telling your landlord all the same.

If a supplier fits one without asking

A supplier can move you to prepayment without your agreement if you are building up a debt and other ways of recovering it have failed. It can do this with a warrant to enter your home, or by switching a smart meter to prepayment remotely. Ofgem calls this a last resort.

First, the supplier must try to agree another way to repay. It must make at least 10 attempts to contact you, using different methods. It must also visit your home to check that prepayment is safe and suitable for you. The person visiting should wear an audio recorder or body-worn camera.

Ofgem's rules say a supplier must not fit one in any of these households.

Anyone has a terminal illness or a severe health condition.
Someone depends on a continuous supply because of a medical condition or powered medical equipment.
Everyone is 75 or over, with no one else at home who can help.
A child under 2 lives there.
No one can top up the meter because of a physical or mental health condition.
Temporary circumstances, such as pregnancy or a bereavement, make it unsafe or unsuitable.

Contact your supplier first and ask what checks it carried out. If you are unhappy with its answer, make a complaint. If you are unhappy with how the supplier handled your complaint, you can contact the Energy Ombudsman.