How gas prepayment meters work

You pay for your gas up front when you have a gas prepayment meter. This can give you more control: you choose when you top up – and how much you spend each time.

You top up by taking your gas card to your nearest Payzone, PayPoint or Post Office outlet.

Find out more about topping up

You'll find lots of useful information on your prepayment meter – you just need to know where to look!

Use the red button to scroll through the different screens. Press and hold it until you hear a beep, then keep on pressing it to get to your screen.

Not all meters give you the screens in order, it's good to double check you're on the right number. And some screens only show when you have your card in the meter.

00 – credit on your meter

This screen shows you how much credit you have on your meter.

01 – your last debt payment

You pay back part of any debt you have every time you top up your meter. Screen 01 shows you how much of your last top-up was used to pay back any missed standing charges or instalment plan payments.

02 – your last emergency credit payment

You pay back part of any emergency credit you've used every time you top up your meter. Screen 02 shows you how much of your last top-up was used to pay back emergency credit.

03 – credit available for gas use

The number you see on Screen 03 tells you how much of your latest top-up is available for you to use on gas.

OWED This screen tells you what you owe for the emergency credit you've used, as well as for missed standing charge or instalment plan payments. You can only see this screen when you have your card in the meter.

17 – standing charge

Screen 17 shows your standing charge. This is the daily charge you pay to maintain your energy supply.

22 – emergency credit allowance

This screen confirms that you get £6 of emergency credit allowance on your gas prepayment meter.

26 – weekly instalment

Go to Screen 26 to see how much you pay each week on your instalment plan. You can only see this screen when you have your card in the meter.

27 – instalment plan balance

Go to Screen 27 to see how much you have left on your instalment plan. You can only see this screen when you have your key in the meter.

You can scroll through the screens in the normal way.

A traditional gas prepayment meter (not smart) can help you manage your energy spend:

• Choose when you top up, and how much to spend each time – so there are no unexpected bills to worry about
• Set a limit on the amount of credit you spend at one time – so you can save the rest for later (only available with some meter types)

Budget function

Does your gas prepayment meter have a black button on it? If so, you can set a limit on the amount of credit you spend in one go.

How it works:

1. Top up your card in the usual way, and put it into your meter
2. Press the black budget button, until you see the amount of credit you're happy to spend (press it once to release £1 of credit; twice for £2; and so on)
3. Once you've used up this credit, your gas supply will stop

To get your gas started again, just take out your card and put it back into your meter.

You have £6 of emergency credit on your gas prepayment meter that you can use in case of emergency.

If you run out of credit and emergency credit, you won't be able to turn your gas on. You'll also start going into debt for any daily standing charges and debt repayments you miss.

Your gas will come back on as soon as you top up.

Struggling to pay for your energy? Please get in touch. We can work with you to see what help is available.