How to activate emergency credit on a smart meter?

We never want you to be left without an energy supply. So we put £10 of emergency credit on your electricity meter, and £10 on your gas meter.

You can activate your emergency credit from your in-home display when your balance drops below £1.

But remember, it's only there to give you a bit of time to top up: your meter will disconnect when your £10 of emergency credit runs out.

Watch our video to find out how to activate your emergency credit – or follow the instructions below:

Step by step: Activate via your in-home display

Model type: Chameleon 3

Press ‘Menu’ to find ‘Emergency Credit’ then press ‘OK’ Choose whether you want to activate emergency credit for gas or electricity.

Model type: Geo Trio II

Look out for a grey “e” on the balance screen when your credit drops below £1. Press Home and scroll to Prepay. Use the selection button to scroll to ‘Activate Emergency credit’. Use arrows to choose between electricity and gas. Use arrows and selection button to select ‘OK’.

Get instructions for other types of in-home display

What happens after I've activated my emergency credit?

Once you've activated your emergency credit, the 'e' on your meter's balance screen turns green (it can take up to 30 minutes to see the green 'e' on a gas meter, as it only wakes up every half hour).

The 'e' will turn red once your balance reaches £0.00, and increase to show how much you owe.

We'll automatically deduct a payment for any emergency credit you've used when you next top up. This keeps you covered in case of another emergency. Find out how to pay back your emergency credit