Prepayment meters and pay-as-you-go energy with E -
All you need to know

Prepayment energy meters, commonly referred to as pay-as-you-go meters (PAYG) require you to pay in advance for the gas and electricity you use.

With prepayment meters, you top-up your meter with credit which is then deducted as you use your gas and electricity supply. When your credit starts to run low, you'll need to top-up again to prevent you from going off supply if credit runs out. This is very different from credit meters where you are billed for your consumption after usage.

There are 2 main types of prepayment meter, key and card meters and smart meters.

1. Prepayment key / card meters: With key and card meters, you will have a physical electronic key (electricity) or card (gas) which you can take to any Post Office, PayPoint or PayZone to top-up with credit. When you are back home, you'll need to insert the key or card into the relevant meter to add the credit you have purchased.

2. Smart prepayment meters: With a smart prepayment meter, you can top-up your meters through our mobile app; MySmartE, online or at your local PayPoint outlet and the money will credit your meter instantly. Smart prepayment meters are convenient as you can top-up without even needing to leave your home and they also come with an in-home display unit which allows you to monitor your energy usage by showing you how much energy you are using in near real time.

Of course there are advantages and disadvantages to prepayment meters, lets take a look to help you decide if they are right for you:

Here's a few of the advantages:

• Help you budget, you know how much you spend on your energy and when.
• You only pay for the energy you are using, when you're using it.
• If you need to pay back a debt, you can pay back set amounts through your meter.
• Emergency and friendly credit facilities available. For more information, see here

Here's a few of the disadvantages:

• You'll need to keep topped-up with credit to ensure you don't go off supply.
• If you're going away, you'll need to ensure you're topped-up enough to cover any appliances that may be left on such as; fridges and freezers and if applicable, to cover any standing charges.
• You'll need to budget to top-up more through the winter months as your usage increases.