We’d really recommend that you only use this in an emergency because you’ll need to pay back what you’ve used before you’re able to use it again. Don’t forget that your daily standing charge will still be taken from the meter, but during this time we won’t take any debt repayments that you should be making. 

You’ll need to pay back all of the emergency credit that you’ve used (as well as any debt balance that has built up such as standing charge) to be able to access your energy supply again.

If your meter doesn’t automatically let you use the emergency credit, then you’ll need to manually tell it to do so. There are three ways you can do this.

If you don’t have any gas, or your most recent top-up hasn’t gone on to the meter, please get in touch. We’ll need some information from your meter’s displays to work out what’s going on, so please take a photo or make a note of each one as follows:

❯      Press the red A button to see displays 01, 02, 03 and the Meter Index.

❯      Without the card in the meter, press and hold the A button until the meter beeps and the display changes. You’ll then be able to press the A button to scroll through the other displays.

❯      If no new displays have appeared and the meter didn’t beep, put the card in the meter and hold down the A button.

❯      The display will change, and you’ll be able to scroll through the other readings by tapping the A button.

Your meter’s digital screen can display a variety of information. You can access this by pressing and holding the red ‘A’ button until it beeps, then release the button and scroll through the different displays, as shown below, by pressing the ‘A’ button separately.

Your meter always displays your credit or debit balance.

Your meter can show a lot more information. For example, you might want to see the amount of energy you’re using. If you’re repaying a balance through the meter, you might want to see how much is left.

If you don’t have any electricity or your most recent top up hasn’t gone on to the meter, we’ll need information from your meter displays to work out why. We recommend taking photos or making a note of the info on each screen.

Here’s how to bring up each display on your meter:

❯      Without the key in the meter, press the button to scroll through displays A through K.

❯      Insert your key in the meter and press the button to scroll through displays R, S and T – these displays relate to debt.

A full list of the displays and what they mean are shown below:

We’d really recommend that you only use this in emergencies, because you’ll have to pay back all the emergency credit you’ve used before you can access it again. Also, because we assume that the only time you’re going to use this feature is in an emergency – and therefore need to use the energy – we don’t take your daily standing charge from the meter. This can mean that you can start to build up a debt on the meter that will need to be paid back when you next top up. Because of this we’d advise that you keep a £10 float on your meter at all times.

If your meter doesn’t automatically let you use the emergency credit, then you’ll need to manually tell it to do so. Put your electricity key or gas card in the meter, and a message will appear on the screen advising you to press the A button to activate the emergency credit feature.

If you’re having a hard time keeping credit on the meter, please get in touch with us because we might be able to help you out.

We will launch the new Ecotricity App soon without top-up functionality, so that we can get it to the rest of our customers quicker. For a period of time, pay as you go customers with a smart meter will need to use both apps – one for topping up and the other new app for managing their account. In time we will move the top-up functionality into the new app, allowing you to do everything in one place.

If you need to top up your meter, you can do so easily through our Top-Up App.

We don’t want you to go off supply when we’re not about to help you, so we allow you to exceed your emergency credit during these times.

Because these times are subject to change, the best way to check them is on your meter. 

You’ll need to go to the meter itself and press the number 8 button on the keypad. 

The meter display will show you when the friendly credit times are specifically, but they usually follow this pattern:

❯      Friendly credit will turn on half an hour before our contact centre closes between Monday and Friday, and turn off at 8:30am the following working day. 

❯      For instance, if we were closing at 7pm on a Tuesday the friendly credit would turn on at 6:30pm and turn off at 8:30am Wednesday morning. 

❯      If it was a Friday and we were closing at 6pm then your friendly credit would turn on at 5:30pm Friday evening and turn off at 8:30am on the Monday morning.

Friendly credit is also turned on for bank holidays when our call centre is typically shut – although we do have an emergency contact line.

The easiest way to do this is to show them the barcode in the Top-Up App, found in the menu under “Pay In Store”. They will scan this and you can make a cash payment to top up your meter. You can also give them the 19 digit Prepay Account Number (PAN) which we sent to you when you first registered with us for smart Pay As You Go. If you have lost this, don’t worry, get in touch with our customer support team and they can re-issue it to you. Ecotricity does not normally provide physical prepayment cards to save on unnecessary plastic usage.  However, you can still request one if you would still like a physical prepayment card to use.

You can take this to a PayPoint store to top up – the credit will automatically be added to your smart meter.

You’ll be given a receipt with your 20-digit payment code on it – please keep this just in case you need to add the credit to the meter manually. The credit can take up to an hour to be added to your meter.

When your meter goes into armed mode it prevents you from using any energy in your home. This is to ensure that it’s safe for an engineer to work on if they’re called out.  

Your meter may go into armed mode if there’s been a power cut or you’ve used all of your emergency credit. If your meter is in armed mode it will look something like this:

Despite this, and us doing our best to keep our prices as fair as possible there may still be times that you’re finding it hard to keep credit on your meter. We’ll do our best to help you out in these situations. 

Or you will have received an email with the Prepay Account Number (PAN) when your meter was first set to prepay mode. 

If you’re struggling to find this, please contact Ecotricity on 0345 555 7100 and we will be able to look up your Prepay Account Number (PAN) for you.

 You can see our smart meter guides Help with Smart Meters | Ecotricity to find out how to operate the meter you have.

 You can see our smart meter guides Help with Smart Meters | Ecotricity to find out how to operate the meter you have.

It might also be that you’re paying back a debt. Here how to find out how much you’re paying back each day:

❯      Smart meter - see the FAQ How much debt do I have on my Secure 100 smart meter

❯      Traditional meter - see How much debt do I have

Please don’t call from a mobile as this may ignite a spark. Use a neighbour’s phone or take a mobile phone outdoors.

You should also:

❯      Check the pilot light – turn all gas appliances off. If the pilot light remains on there may be a gas leak.

❯      Turn the main gas tap off – do this by turning the emergency control valve on the pipe leading into the meter to the ‘OFF’ position. The gas supply is off when the ridged line on the spindle is across the pipe.

❯      Open doors and windows to clear the gas.

❯      Don’t turn light switches on or off, use doorbells, mobile phones or any other electrical switches.

❯      Don’t smoke, light a match or use any other kind of naked flame.

❯      Don’t leave it to someone else – you could be putting yourself and others at risk.

If your meter has credit on it but you’re not getting gas coming through, there are several things that could have happened. 

If there’s an error message on the meter, we’ll need to know about it in case there’s a fault. 

However, there are some common error messages below and the things that you can do to fix them.  

If the screen is blank or says ‘Call help’ then please get in touch as soon as you can. 

If your meter is a smart meter it may be in ‘Armed Mode’ – we’ve got a guide on how to put it back in normal operation here.

Card Fail 35, Card Fail 38, Dead Card or CNA

The meter is having an issue reading the card. Try cleaning it with a soft cloth and re-inserting it.

Card Fail 4       

The card was too cold for the meter to read it. Try to keep it somewhere warmer.

Has the meter been capped?

A cap is a small metal disc inserted into one of the gas pipes right next to the meter.  

❯      If you own the property, you’ll need to call a gas safe engineer to remove it if it’s safe to do so. 

❯      If you don’t own your property, speak to your Landlord or Letting Agent to get further advice.

Is the main gas tap on?

There will be a valve, normally right next to the gas meter, that you can use to stop the flow of gas down the pipe to your boiler.  

The handle should be pointing the same way as the gas pipe. If it’s not, then the flow of gas has been interrupted.

❯      In an emergency we may have lent you some credit which you now need to pay back

❯      Your daily standing charge may have built up if you’ve not topped up in a while

❯      You may have a large balance that you’re paying back from a previous credit account

This can be stored on your meter two different ways:

❯      Accrued debt – shown as part of your balance

❯      Loaded debt – shown as part of a debt repayment plan that we’ve set up with you.  

It’s possible to have both kinds of debt on your meter, so check both types so that you know how much you owe in total.

Is there a red light on your meter?

Yes 

This means that there is power going to the meter and so you should have electricity. If it’s safe to do so, you should check your fuse box and trip switches. All the trip switches should be in the on position. 

❯      If one isn’t then it may indicate that a circuit in your property has been overloaded.  

❯      If the switch won’t come on, or if this happens a lot, then you might need to speak to an electrician to have it looked into. 

❯      If all of your switches are in the on position and you still don’t have power, then please let us know as we may need to offer you further assistance.

No 

This means that you’re being affected by a power cut so the meter isn’t getting power. You need to speak to your distributor - the people that maintain the power lines into your property. 

The best thing to do is to ring 105 for the National Power Cut Helpline. They’ll be able to offer further assistance or advise you of how long they think the power cut may last for.

Even if the lights are on in your neighbour’s house, or streetlights are on you may still have had a power cut to your property so it’s worth checking your meter.

Despite this, and us doing our best to keep our prices as fair as possible there may still be times that you’re finding it hard to keep credit on your meter. We’ll do our best to help you out in these situations.