Prepayment Meters: Emergency Credit and Your Rights

Last checked November 2026. Offers and rules change: confirm with the provider before you rely on them.

With a prepayment meter you pay for gas or electricity before you use it, by topping up a key, a card or a smart meter. If you run out of credit there is emergency help you can ask for, and Ofgem's rules stop suppliers forcing a prepayment meter on many older and vulnerable households.

How prepayment works

Traditional prepayment meters use a key (electricity) or a card (gas). You take it to a shop with PayPoint or Payzone, or to a Post Office, pay to add credit, then put the key or card into the meter at home.
Smart prepayment meters let you top up by phone, text, app or online as well as in a shop, and the credit usually reaches the meter without you touching it. Your balance shows on the in-home display, so you do not have to bend down to a meter cupboard. See our guide to smart meters.

If you run out of credit

Do not sit in the cold or the dark. According to Citizens Advice, these are the usual safety nets:

Friendly-hours credit. If your credit runs out at night, at a weekend or on a bank holiday, the supply should stay on until the next working morning. Smart prepayment meters do this automatically; with other meters, check with your supplier.
Emergency credit. A small amount, usually about £10, that you switch on at the meter or on a smart meter's display. Your supplier's leaflet or helpline will tell you how.
Additional support credit. If the emergency credit has gone, or you cannot get to a shop, your supplier may give further credit if it treats you as vulnerable. Being over State Pension age, being disabled or having a long-term health condition can all count. You have to ask.

Fuel vouchers

A fuel voucher is a code, sent by letter, text or email, that adds credit to your meter and does not have to be repaid. They are given out by some councils, food banks, local advice charities and suppliers. Ask your supplier, your council or a local Citizens Advice. You redeem the voucher at a PayPoint or Payzone shop or a Post Office, taking the code and some identification. Vouchers expire, sometimes within about two weeks, so use one promptly.

Can a supplier force you onto prepayment?

A supplier can sometimes fit a prepayment meter, or switch a smart meter to prepayment mode, without your agreement to recover a debt. But Ofgem's rules, which apply in England, Scotland and Wales, say this must be a last resort, and there are households where it must not be done at all.

Ofgem says a supplier cannot install a prepayment meter without your permission if:

everyone in your home is aged 75 or over and nobody else lives there who can provide support;
anyone in your home has a terminal illness or a severe health condition;
someone depends on a continuous energy supply for a medical condition or for powered medical equipment;
a child under 2 lives in the home;
nobody in the home is able to top up the meter because of a physical or mental health condition;
temporary circumstances, such as a bereavement, make a prepayment meter unsafe or unsuitable.

Before going ahead in any other household, the supplier must make reasonable efforts to agree another way for you to repay, make at least ten attempts to contact you by different methods, and visit your home to check that a prepayment meter would be safe and suitable for you. If one is installed, the supplier must add £30 of credit to start you off. The full rules are on Ofgem's website.

Watch out: Suppliers can only apply these protections if they know about your circumstances. Tell your supplier your age and any health conditions, and join the Priority Services Register. If letters about a debt are arriving, do not ignore them: ring the supplier, or ask Citizens Advice to speak to them for you.

Is prepayment right for you?

Some people like prepayment because there is never a surprise bill. But it has real drawbacks in later life: the meter may be hard to reach, getting to a shop in bad weather may be difficult, and running out of credit means losing heat and light. If any of those worry you, ask your supplier to move you to a credit meter and pay by Direct Debit or on receipt of a bill. A supplier can ask for a credit check or a deposit, but it must consider the request, and should move you if prepayment is no longer safe or practical for you.

Paying off a debt through the meter

If you owe money, the meter can be set to take a slice of each top-up. If the slice is so large that you cannot keep the heating on, tell the supplier: it must take your ability to pay into account and can lower the rate. Check too that you are getting everything you are due, including the Warm Home Discount, which prepayment customers normally receive as a top-up voucher or a credit sent to the meter, the Winter Fuel Payment and the Cold Weather Payment.

Common questions

Is prepayment more expensive than Direct Debit?

Prepayment rates are capped by Ofgem and have been brought much closer to Direct Debit rates in recent years. Check the current figures for your region on Ofgem's price cap page, and see choosing an energy tariff.

I rent my home. Can I change the meter?

If you pay the energy bills yourself, you normally have the right to choose your supplier and to ask for a different type of meter. Check your tenancy agreement, which may ask you to tell the landlord.

Who can help me argue my case?

Citizens Advice runs a consumer helpline and can refer urgent cases involving vulnerable customers to a specialist team. Your local Age UK can help too.