Below you’ll find information that will be helpful if you’ve just recently had a Pay As You Go meter installed or have moved into a property with this type of meter. Pay As You Go can make it easier to budget for your energy needs alongside other household bills. With a traditional Pay As You Go meter you have to top up in-person whereas with a smart Pay As You Go meter you can top up in-person or through the ScottishPower app. If you’re looking for quick answers read our Pay As You Go help guide.
How do I top up?
For traditional meters you bring your meter key/card to an outlet. You can top up from as little as £1 up to a maximum of £99 per transaction at any Post Office or Payzone outlet, or a maximum of £49 at any PayPoint outlet. Once you've topped up your key/card, simply insert it into the meter and the credit will transfer over. You'll need to top up again when your credit starts to run low. Traditional electricity meters can hold up to £255 of credit and traditional gas meters can hold up to £999.99. Please run down the credit on the meter until this is below £255 for electricity or £999.99 for gas, before topping up again.
What happens if I don't top up?
Your meter has £10 emergency credit built in (£30 in Winter for traditional gas meters.) This is to help keep your energy supply on until you’re able to top up or this credit runs out. Once you run out of emergency credit, your supply may self-disconnect until you’re able to top up your meter. You must repay any amount of emergency credit used plus standing charges, and any payments you are making towards an outstanding balance (if applicable). It's important to also top up enough credit to cover the cost of the energy you’ll use.
If you run out of credit during periods when it may be difficult to top up, your meter's friendly credit hours will be activated,won't turn off. If you have traditional electricity meter your friendly credit hours are from 6pm to 11am Monday to Saturday, all-day Sunday and bank holidays.
Please note gas Pay As You Go meters don’t have the friendly credit hours function and once you run out of credit, your supply will turn off.
How do I top up?
With a smart Pay As You Go meter you can top on the ScottishPower app or at any Post Office, PayPoint or Payzone outlet. Credits cover electricity/gas, standing charges.
Once you have downloaded the ScottishPower app from the Google Play store or the Apple App Store and you then log in, select the ‘Top Up’ option on the home screen. You can choose between gas and electricity and decide how much you want to top up – the minimum amount is £1. The credit will then be applied to your meter.
How do I top up if I don't have the app?
You can still top up at your local Post Office, PayPoint or Payzone outlet using your unique barcode, in your welcome letter which was sent when your meter was installed or changed to Pay As You Go mode. If you have the app you can also see your barcode there.
What happens if I don’t top up?
Your meter has £10 emergency credit built in. This is to help keep your energy supply on until you’re able to top up or this credit runs out. Once you run out of emergency credit, your supply may be temporarily disconnected until you top up your meter. Emergency credit has to be repaid - you must repay any amount of emergency credit used plus standing charges and any payments you’re making towards an outstanding balance. It's important to also top up enough credit to cover the cost of the energy you’ll use. Remember when your meter runs out of credit it changes to Disabled Mode, which then means you need to top up. Topping up changes the meter status and allows you to reconnect your meter.
If you run out of credit during periods when it may be difficult to top up, your electricity meter's friendly credit hours, which is a safety function to ensure your energy supply won't turn off, will be activated. This lasts from 6pm to 11am, November through March or 7pm to 12pm, April through October Mondays to Saturdays, and also includes all-day Sunday and bank holidays.
How will I know when to top up?
Your In-Home Display will alert you when your meter credit falls below £1. It will make a sound and the screen will flash. Watch our meter balance video to see how to check your meter balance and the alerts.
If your credit falls below £1, your In-Home Display will indicate that you can access emergency credit. If you don’t have an IHD, your meter will display when you’re low in credit and you’ll also be able to access emergency credit through your meter.
Last updated: 23 October 2024