Why is there debt on my meter even though I pay in advance with Pay As You Go?

Debt repayment from Pay Monthly 

If you switched to a Pay As You Go account with an outstanding balance on your Pay Monthly account, the debt would have moved over too. We'll work with you to set up an affordable repayment plan and you'll pay the debt back on your Pay As You Go meter. 

Additional support credit 

If you've been in touch to ask for financial support, we might have applied additional support credit to your Pay As You Go meter. We’d have also set up an affordable repayment plan with you and that is what you could be repaying through your meter.

Emergency credit use

You might have used the emergency credit in your meter to avoid losing power. This is then paid back from your next top-up. If that’s the case, try to top up enough to pay back the emergency credit, and still have credit left for your energy use. 

If you need to pay this back over a period of time instead, please get in touch. We can talk through the financial support that’s available, and we might be able to offer additional support credit over the phone.  

Standing charge

You pay a daily standing charge. If you’ve missed one because there wasn’t enough credit on your meter, it’ll be repaid from your next top up. If you need to pay this back slowly over a period of time, please get in touch. 

Times when your power stays on

There are times when your power stays on (called “non-disconnect hours”), even if you run out of credit. 

There’ll still be a charge for any energy you use that’s not covered by the credit on the meter during these times. 

It’s important to still top up during these times to avoid losing power when these periods of time end. 

If you have a smart meter as long as you had credit at the start, you won’t lose power during these times:

• Between 5pm and 9am Monday to Friday

• Before 9am or after 3pm on Saturday

• All day on Sunday

• Easter Sunday, 25 and 26 December, and 1 January

If you have a traditional electricity meter as long as you had credit at the start, you won’t lose power during these times:

• Between 6pm and 9am on weekdays

• From 6pm on Friday until 9am on Monday

• Christmas Day

If you have a traditional gas meter you’re unfortunately not covered by any non-disconnect hours (times when the power stays on). Smart meters have built-in non-disconnect hours for both gas and electricity. You can find out more about . 

Explore our meter guides

Need more help with your meter? Check out our easy-to-follow guides on topping up, reconnecting your meter, activating emergency credit, and troubleshooting common issues.