If you export electricity to the grid and you don't have a smart meter, you might have two meters installed instead: a generation and an export meter. This is most usual when you have a 

Still not sure? Have a look at the diagram below.

What is the difference between a generation and an export meter?

What is the difference between generation and export meters?

Find out all the details you need to know on 

our migration page for prepayment customers

What do I do if I'm a Shell customer with a prepayment meter?

What do I do if I'm a Shell customer with a Prepayment meter

We know it can be scary to ask for help, but if you have prepayment meters and are unable to top up, please

We may be able to offer you extra credit as a loan (also called 

), which can be repaid in manageable daily instalments and deducted from your balance when your meter is in credit. This way, we can make sure that the repayment fits comfortably within your budget.

tell us a bit more about your financial situation

to help us work out what additional support you’re eligible for. We also have 

more information about the support we offer

It's might also be worth reading our article on 

whether smart prepayment is the right option for you

Is there support available if I’m struggling to pay?

Is there support available if I'm struggling to pay?

Your top up meter screens can tell you information about:

From time to time, we may ask you for specific information from your meter. This guide explains how to find that information. 

You can see basic information without inserting the gas card. To start, press the red A button once. Press it again to cycle through the following:

You can find more detailed information by inserting the gas card. The most important screens are listed below, and your meter might show them in a different order.

To start, insert your gas card. The meter will read ‘Please wait…’, beep once, and then show how much credit is on the card.

Take your card out and immediately press and hold A until you hear another beep. Press the red A button to scroll through the display screens.

 Last amount taken to repay emergency credit

To start, put the key in the meter and press the blue button to switch between the following screens.

If there’s an ‘E’ after the number, or ‘Debt’ above the number, and you don’t have electricity

You’ve used up your emergency credit, or there is additional debt on your meter. To turn the power back on, you'll need to top up this amount plus at least £1. This will restore supply and repay any emergency credit used, making the emergency credit available again. 

This screen is for engineers’ use only.

If your electricity is off, you'll need to top up this amount plus at least £1. This will restore supply and repay any emergency credit used, making the emergency credit available again. Find out more about emergency credit on your electricity meter.

[C] Current time and rate (2-rate meters only)

The rate at the time you’re reading the meter - ‘R1’ or ‘R2’. This usually corresponds to day and night rates

[D] Current date and rate (two-rate meters only) 

The tariff rate at the time you’re reading the meter.

The total amount of credit added to the meter since it was last reset by an engineer.

[F] Standing charge and debt collection amount (if applicable)

If there’s no electricity debt on the meter this will only show the weekly standing charge. 

If there’s more than £3 of electricity debt on the meter, this will show the sum of the weekly debt repayment (usually £3) plus the weekly standing charge. 

[G] Total units used in the meter’s lifetime

The total number of units recorded on the machine since it was manufactured.

If you have a 2-rate meter, this is the meter reading for R1.

If you have a 2-rate meter, this is your R1 price per unit.

[J] The current meter reading for R2 (2-rate only)

If you have a 2-rate meter, this is the meter reading for R2.

[K] Price per unit of electricity for R2 (2-rate only)

If you have a 2-rate meter, this is your R2 price per unit.

How to read your top up (prepayment) meter

If something's wrong with your top up meter, key or card, your meter will show an error code or message.

Here are the most common errors, along with advice on what to do next.

This happens when your meter goes into fail-safe mode, usually after a power cut.

We’ll need to replace your meter, but you can top up as normal until we do.

 and we’ll book an appointment to get your meter replaced.

Your gas meter’s screen turns itself off to save battery. 

Press the red A button on the meter to wake up the screen. 

Top up meter error codes and messages

We hate goodbyes, but if you want to leave Octopus, all you need to do is sign up with another supplier.

If you have a traditional (non-smart) prepay meter

If your traditional (non-smart) prepay meter still has credit when you switch supplier

Don't insert the new supplier's key / card as it will wipe the remaining credit. You can either:

If you want a refund: please take a picture of your meter showing the leftover credit balance and 

When you're ready make sure you use your new supplier's key / card to top up: you shouldn't keep using the old key / card you have from Octopus.

Leaving Octopus if you have a prepay meter

 The first time you use your prepay key or card

If you're unable to top up your meter for a long period of time, your meter will build up standing charge debt. Standing charge is the cost of keeping you connected to the network. The fee is taken from your meter every day, even if you're not using gas or electricity.

So if you top up your meter after a long period of time, and your credit doesn't last as long as you were expecting, some of it may have been taken to repay standing charge debt.

You can look up the cost of your daily standing charge at 

Topping up after a long period of time

Your meter might be sleeping! Press one of the buttons on the meter to see if it wakes up.

If you have a prepayment meter and the screen shows the word "OFF", then you will need to reconnect that meter before you can use electricity or gas.

If you’re off-supply for electricity or gas:

If you’ve tried the above and it hasn’t turned your power back on, or you’re having trouble following the reconnection instructions, 

get in touch with us and one of our team will help

Why is my meter screen blank?

If you would like to switch from prepayment to credit please get in touch with us so we can discuss the best option for your situation.

If I'm on prepayment can I go back onto a credit meter?

This depends on the type of prepayment meter you have.

How can I tell if I'm using prepayment emergency credit?

If you lose your card, please contact us on 0808 164 1088  or email us at 

Once you have a new card, if you find the old one it will no longer work.

In the meantime, if you have a smart prepayment meter you still top up using the Octopus app, your online account, or using the top-up number (PAN) which you can find on your online account, and any top up email we have sent you.

What should I do if I lose my prepayment top up card?

Yes! We currently support both smart and traditional prepayment meters for electricity and gas.

Do you support prepayment meters?

that Octopus have installed or can operate, you can use your online account or the phone app to make top ups. You can also call or email us to request a top up.

The most you can top up online or through the app is £81 per transaction.

If you prefer to top up in store, you can top up at 

We can also send you an email containing your PAN if needed. There are separate cards for your gas and electricity meters. And there is a minimum top up amount:

In the PayPoint store, ask the cashier to scan the barcode on your top up card, or type in the long number underneath it. Once you’ve paid for your top up, make sure to keep your receipts.The most you can top up at a PayPoint vendor is £75 per transaction at PayPoint.

You can make multiple transactions if you'd like to top up more.

 you will need to take your electricity key or gas card to any Paypoint or Payzone store to top them up:

Please keep the receipt from the top up until the credit has been transferred to the meter.

The most you can top up is £75 per transaction.

There is a hard limit of £255 total credit on an 

. If you try and top up above that limit, the top up won't be added to your meter.

Where can I top up my prepayment meter?

Where can I top up my meter?

When you add credit to your prepayment meter, you may notice that you have less credit than you expected. Here are a few reasons why this can happen:

To check for a debt balance on your electricity meter, pop your key in the slot and press the blue button until it cycles to a screen marked 'S'. This amount is total debt.

To check on your gas, hold down the red button until you hear a beep, and then press it until the screen shows '27'. The figure on this screen shows any additional repayment balance added by your supplier. There is also a screen that says OWED. This will show if you have used your emergency credit or built up standing charges if your meter hasn't been topped up in a while.

If you need any help in working out your balances or would like to discuss how you make repayments, 

Where has my prepayment top up gone?

Where has my top up gone?

Traditional prepayment meters are programmed by the key or card that you use to top up. This means that if you top up using a key or card from a previous supplier, you'll still be paying their unit rates and standing charges.

You'll also miss out on other important things too, like our 

If your old key or card expires, you also risk losing power.

If you've switched to us, but have not received a top key or card for your prepayment meter, or your existing key/card has stopped working, just 

What happens if I top up using another supplier's key or card?

checking our "Where has my top up gone" FAQ here

If the credit you've topped up hasn't appeared on your meter, your key / card may be damaged or faulty.

 and we will be able to send you a new one.

What if my top up didn’t work or I have lost my key or card?

If you are struggling with the charges on your meter, or topping up, 

 and one of our friendly team members will see what we can do to help.

Click here for more information on how we can help

 along with details to contact independent experts if you need extra support. 

There's also lots of useful information available on 

I can’t afford to pay off the debt on my meter, what can I do?

You need to pay for the energy you use, but if there is debt on your meter which is not yours we will be able to help. Please send the following information to hello@octopus.energy.

There is debt on my meter that is not mine, can you wipe it?

Why is there debt from a previous tenant on my meter?

When your meter is running low on credit, you are able to access emergency credit all year round.

is available on both your smart gas and / or electricity meter.

, you can activate emergency credit on your In-Home Display (the little screen which shows you information about your meter).

Want to know how to check if your smart prepayment meter is using emergency credit? We've 

If the meter screen is off, press either button once to wake it up. The screen will show a message about activating emergency credit.

Press either button once to activate emergency credit.

Important: If your supply is already off, make sure any electrical appliances are switched off before 

is available on a non-smart electricity meter.

, once you are down to the last £1 of your electricity credit, or £2 of your gas credit, you just need to insert your electricity key or gas card to activate the emergency credit.

Please be aware that any emergency credit you use will be taken off your balance the next time you top up.

emergency credit runs out and you can’t afford to top up

 then please contact us as soon as possible so we can help.

You can email us via emergencies@octopus.energy, or call us on 0808 164 1088. Our phone lines are open 9am - 5pm Monday to Thursday, and 9am - 4pm on a Friday.

We may be able to provide you with additional support to get back on supply. You will need to pay back any borrowed credit, but we can spread the cost so you’re only ever paying what you can afford.

What is emergency credit?

What is Emergency Credit?

Friendly credit hours are a feature on prepayment electricity meters that let customers keep using electricity, even after you run out of credit (or emergency credit) during evenings, weekends or Bank Holidays.

Our friendly credit hours depend on whether you have a traditional (non-smart) or smart prepayment meter.

In very rare cases - if you have a much older model of prepayment meter, you may not be able to access friendly credit. We can get this sorted by replacing your meter; please 

If you run out of credit during these times, the supply won't shut off

. You'll move automatically onto 'friendly credit' if you hit £0 on your meter. The cost of any energy you use will be added onto your meter as debt, and will then be deducted the next time you top-up.

I'm in a friendly credit period, but my meter has switched off?

here's what to do when you've got no gas or electricity