Get a smart prepayment meter
Take control of your energy costs and choose to pay in advance.
With a smart prepayment meter, you’ll have access to Pay As You Go energy and can top up your account only when you need it.
What is Pay As You Go energy?
Pay As You Go energy, also known as prepayment energy, means you won’t receive bills for your gas or electricity usage. Instead, you buy credit to top up your energy meter, which powers your home. Your credit then reduces daily as your standing charge, energy payments, and any debt repayments are taken.
What’s a prepayment meter?
A prepayment meter lets you use Pay As You Go energy. You can top up your prepayment meter, also called a Pay As You Go meter, by using a special gas or electricity key or card at designated top-up locations – like the Post Office. Once your key has been loaded up with credit, you’ll need to insert it into your prepayment meter to be able to access Pay As You Go energy.
However, upgrading to a smart prepayment meter makes it even easier to manage your energy usage. Smart Pay As You Go meters let you top up from wherever you are, and come with more benefits than traditional prepayment meters, including a free smart meter in-home display.
What’s the difference between a traditional and smart Pay As You Go meter?
Traditional Meter
Top up at the shop only
Insert key / card to apply top-up
Limited visual display on meter
No energy usage information
No control over settings
An obstacle to environmental targets
Holding Britain back
No average change in spending
Smart Meter
Top up anywhere, any time
Top-ups are applied automatically
Free in-home smart meter display
See real-time usage in pounds and pence
Customisable spending alerts and budgets
Helps reduce carbon emissions
Driving Britain forward
Save up to £61 a year*
The legal bit
* Ofgem’s analysis of smart savings calculated in June 2023 showed average savings of 3.4% for electricity and 3% for gas when a customer switched to smart meters. Based on the Estimated Annual Consumption (EAC) for electricity and Annual Quantity (AQ) for gas for all UW energy customers as of 17/01/2025, at least 25% of customers would achieve electricity savings of 145.48kWh and gas savings of 447.78kWh. The monetary savings figure for this energy reduction is calculated against the unit rate for our Value tariff for customers paying by Direct Debt as of 01/01/2025.
What are the benefits of a smart prepayment meter?
Quick and simple energy
There are just two steps to getting a smart Pay As You Go meter: book an appointment and get visited by one of our expert engineers for installation.
Easy top-ups
Add credit from your phone or in a shop, which is automatically applied to your account in minutes.
Take control of your usage
With your smart prepayment display device, you can see your energy use in pounds and pence. You can also set budgets and alerts (so you don’t forget and run out of credit), apply top-ups, and view your top-up history.
No more bills
Since you pay for your energy before you use it, you won’t receive a monthly or quarterly bill that you’ll have to pay.
What are the disadvantages of a prepayment meter?
There are some reasons why Pay As You Go energy might not be for everyone. Here are some things to consider before you get one:
If you run out of credit or forget to top up, you risk your supply going off. But with a smart prepayment meter, you can easily top up your meter from your home at any time.
You must make sure you have enough credit on your meter to cover standing charges. This is because your standing charge is deducted from the meter’s credit daily, even if you don’t use gas or electricity.
You’ll need to top up your meter even when you’re away from home. This is to avoid losing your supply when your appliances, such as your fridge, freezer, heating and hot water, are kept running. Don’t forget – you’ll also need to cover standing charges while you’re gone.
Take a look at our energy tariffs and smart meter options here.
What happens if I run out of credit?
If you run out of credit and aren’t able to top up, don’t panic – you might not lose your supply right away as you may have access to:
Emergency Credit
Non-smart prepayment meters will have an Emergency Credit of £10–£20, while smart meters have a £10 Emergency Credit. Some meters automatically enable the credit, while others need you to accept it manually.
Friendly Credit
If you use up your Emergency Credit, customers with some prepayment meters will have access to Friendly Credit. Friendly Credit is available at specific times of the day or night when it can be difficult to top up at the shops.
You can learn more about Emergency or Friendly Credit here.
Remember, if you have a smart prepayment meter and run out of credit, you can add credit to your meter by logging into your UW account or the UW app.
How do I top up my smart prepayment meter?
Topping up is easy. Here are just some of the ways you can add more credit to your smart prepayment meter:
Top up online
The easiest way to top up is by using your mobile phone within the Energy section of the UW app or by accessing your online UW portal. Your new balance can sometimes take up to 45 minutes to appear.
If you haven’t already done so, we suggest you register an account for quicker and smoother payments; you’ll just need your bank card details and top-up number.
Top up in-store
Simply take your top-up number to your local PayPoint outlet. Find your nearest PayPoint outlet here.
Buy the amount of credit you'd like. You can add £5–£49 at a PayPoint retailer.
The cashier will top up your key or card and give you a receipt. After inserting your topped-up key into your meter to transfer the funds, keep ahold of your receipt until the credit is showing on your display, just in case.
Top-up through your smart meter display
If you need access to your top-up sooner, or on rare occasions when your PayPoint retailer's automated top-up doesn’t register on your meter, follow the links below.
Choose the link depending on which generation of smart meter you have installed.
Your account at your fingertips
Download our app in seconds, and top up your smart prepayment meter from home (or anywhere!).
FAQs
What is the standing charge on a prepayment meter?
How much is the standing charge on a prepayment meter?
Can I owe money on a prepayment meter?
Do I still have to take meter readings with a prepayment meter?
Are prepayment meters more expensive?
What should I do if I lose my prepayment key or card?
Where do I find help for meter problems?
What additional support is available?
I can't afford to top up – what do I do?
Can I switch suppliers?
What is the standing charge on a prepayment meter?
The standing charge for Pay As You Go energy is a daily fixed rate you’ll have to pay to cover the costs of maintaining your connection to the power network.
It’s similar to a standing charge for a non-prepayment meter; however, the difference is that it’s taken from your meter daily rather than added to a monthly bill.
How much is the standing charge on a prepayment meter?
The price of your standing charge depends on a number of factors, like your location, tariff, and whether your prepayment meter is for gas or electricity.
The standing charge for your prepayment meter is a fixed amount that won’t change based on your energy consumption.
Can I owe money on a prepayment meter?
We always recommend setting reminders to top up your meter or adding more credit than you think you’ll need to ensure you don’t lose your supply. However, there are some situations where you may find that you’ve accrued debt on your prepayment meter:
If you’ve used your Emergency Credit
If you’ve missed standing charge payments
If you missed a debt repayment
To check if you owe money on your Pay As You Go energy meter, you can follow these simple steps:
For gas meters:
Press the red button on the meter to navigate through the different screens.
Screen 27 will show you how much debt remains on the meter.
For electricity meters:
With the key in the meter, press the blue button on the meter to navigate through the different screens.
Screen S will show you how much debt remains on the meter.
Do I still have to take meter readings with a prepayment meter?
No, you won’t have to take and send us meter readings if you have a prepayment meter. Your readings will be automatically sent to us each time you top up.
Are prepayment meters more expensive?
Before 1 July 2023, having a prepayment meter was more expensive on average than paying by Direct Debit (source: gov.uk).
However, from 1 July 2023, the UK government got rid of unfair price increases to bring Pay As You Go energy costs in line with Direct Debit customers.
What should I do if I lose my prepayment key or card?
If you've lost or damaged your prepayment key or card, please contact us and we'll send you a new one as soon as possible.
For electricity, sometimes the quickest way to get a new key is to pick one up from a local outlet. Please have a pen and paper handy when you call us, as we'll give you an eight-digit reference number to take with you if this is the case. The outlet should ask who your supplier is and will issue you with a compatible key (this may be an Npower, EDF or E.ON key).
If this can't be arranged, we'll post one to you. Please note that this can take up to five days to arrive. So, if you think you might run out of credit and have your supply switched off during this time, please get in touch as soon as you know.
If you've lost your key outside our opening hours, you can still call us and receive out-of-hours support instructions.
Where do I find help for meter problems?
You can find support on a range of common issues regarding your prepayment meter here.
Or view our traditional prepayment meter user guide here.
What additional support is available?
We provide a range of services to support people who may need extra help, such as people living with frailty, illness, or physical impairment. You can find out more here.
I can't afford to top up – what do I do?
If you’re having difficulty paying for your energy, we’re here to help. Please contact us right away so our friendly, specialist team can support you. You can get in touch with us at 0333 777 3215, or you can find more information here.
Can I switch suppliers?
Having a prepayment meter doesn’t stop you from switching energy suppliers, but if you owe a debt to your current supplier, you may need to take additional steps. You can find out more here.
Things you should know:
Please be aware
of doorstep scams
Never buy credit for your meter from someone who comes to your door – energy companies never sell energy in this way.
Removing or resetting a prepayment meter
We’ll sometimes consider removing or resetting your prepayment meter. For example, if your prepayment meter isn’t safe or practical based on your situation, or where you’ve paid off any debt which we were recovering through the meter.
If we agree to the exchange, your prepayment meter will be exchanged for a smart credit meter. Or, we can simply switch the meter to credit mode if you already have a smart meter. We’ll advise you how long it’ll take as it may depend upon your circumstances. Please contact us if you’d like more information.
Contact us
If you have any questions, or want to find out more about prepayment meters, simply hit the button below.
