Pay As You Go smart meter - top up issues

Top up issues and frequently asked questions

How can I top up my Pay As You Go meter?

You can add credit to your meter from £1 to £200 using the following options. If you have both electricity and gas meters, remember to add credit to each one separately.

1. OVO Energy Top-up app
   Download the OVO Energy Top-up app from Apple’s App Store or Google Play to add credit anytime, anywhere. You’ll need to use your top-up card (PAN) numbers – this is the 20-digit number on your gas or electricity Pay As You Go top-up card that we sent you. The app also lets you track all your top-ups and save bank cards to make the process easier
    

2. PayPoint shop or Payzone shop
   You can top up at any PayPoint or Payzone shop. Just show them your top-up card numbers or the barcodes in your OVO Energy Top-up app
    

3. Find your nearest PayPoint/Payzone shop
   Visit paypoint.co.uk or payzone.co.uk and enter your postcode
    

4. Top up online
   Make payments online here

When you buy credit, it generally arrives at your meter within about 40 minutes. If you ever find that the signal in your home is too weak to pick up your credit, don’t worry. You can easily add it yourself. Just enter the 20-digit "VEND" code from your payment receipts, and you're good to go.

I've lost my top-up card – what do I do?

You don’t need a physical card to top up your account. If you have the PAN numbers from an old top-up receipt, you can top up online or through the OVO Energy Top-up app. Just enter the numbers into the app to get a barcode you can use to top up at a shop.

You can also take your receipt to a shop, and they can do a manual top-up using the card numbers.

If you want us to send you a replacement, please let us know by clicking the green chat icon at the bottom right of your screen.

I topped up but my credit hasn't appeared on my meter – what should I do?

For older smart meters (with a keypad)

There are 2 ways to top up manually:

1. The easiest and fastest way is to use your In-Home Display (IHD)

• press the Account button

• Choose the fuel you want to top up

• Enter your PayPoint code

• Press enter

Then your top-up will appear on the screen.

2. Use your gas or electricity meter:

• Press A on your gas or electricity meter

• Enter the code from your receipt

• Tap B to confirm

Then your top-up will appear on the screen.

If this doesn’t work, please check your code and try again.

For newer smart meters (usually either an Aclara electricity meter with 2 buttons, or a Flonidan gas meter with 3 buttons)

There are 2 ways to top up manually:

1. The easiest and fastest way is to use your In-Home Display (IHD):

• Tap the menu icon at the bottom right of the screen

• Press Top-Up

• Choose the fuel you want to top up

• Press OK

• Enter your PayPoint code

• Tap OK

The IHD will then confirm that your money has been added to your meter.

2. Use your Aclara electricity and Flonidan gas meter.

For electricity, use your Aclara meter: 

• Press A on your meter until you see Enter Top Up Code

• Press and hold A to begin typing

• Enter your code using the A and B buttons to navigate through the digits

• Press and hold B when complete

If successful, the top-up amount will appear on the screen.

For gas, use your Flonidan meter:

• Press C on your gas meter to enter the menu

• Using A and B, scroll to Prepayment and press C

• Tap A and B until you see New Payment

• Press C to select it

• Use A and B to enter your code

• Tap C again

EDMI meters

Electric

1. Press the OK button to enter the main menu

2. Press and hold the OK button on the Main Prepay screen

3. Press and hold the OK button on the Prepay Top-Up screen

4. To enter the Top-Up Code number, use the arrow buttons to increase or decrease the digits and the OK button to move on to the next digit.

5. When all digits have been correctly entered, press and hold the OK button to confirm the Top-Up Code. If successful, confirmation of the top-up amount accepted will appear, e.g. £10.00.

Gas

1. Press the OK button to enter the main menu

2. Press the OK button to enter the Prepay menu

3. Press the OK button to enter the Top Up menu

4. To enter the Top-Up Code use the arrow buttons to increase or decrease the digits and the OK button to move on to the next digit

5. When you've selected all 20 digits correctly, press and hold the OK button to enter the code into the meter. If successful, confirmation of the top-up amount accepted will appear, e.g. £10.00.

How to top up YouTube Tutorial series:

How to top up your electricity credit on your Secure meter

How to top up your gas credit on your Secure meter

How to top up your electricity credit on your Landis & Gyr meter

How to top up your gas credit on your Landis & Gyr meter

How to top up your electricity credit on your Aclara SMETS2 meter

How to top up your gas credit on your Aclara SMETS2 meter

How to top up your electricity credit on your EDMI meter

How to top up your gas credit on your EDMI meter

How to top up your gas on your Elster meter

How to top up your electricity or gas credit on your Geo In-Home Display

How to top up your electricity or gas credit on your Smart Energy Tracker

Need some more information about your smart meter? Check out the following smart meter manuals:

SMETS1 Secure Guide

SMETS1 Aclara Guide

SMETS2 Aclara Guide

SMETS1 Elster Guide

SMETS2 Elster Guide

SMETS2 EDMI Guide

SMETS2 LNG Guide

What happens if I run out of credit during the night or at the weekend?

As long as you had credit at the start, even emergency credit, you won’t lose power during these times:

• During the night – between 6pm and 9am, Monday to Saturday

• Saturday from 4pm through until Monday morning at 9am.

• All day Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, and Easter Sunday

Do I need a top-up card to top up my smart meter?

No, you don’t. When you set up the top-up app, you’ll be asked to enter the number on your top-up card. This will create a barcode in the app that you can use to top up at a PayPoint.

Why do I have to keep my supply topped up if I'm not using any energy?

You will still have to pay a daily standing charge even if you are not using any energy. Any debt you are paying off through your meter will also continue to accumulate charges. If you are away from home or not using energy for a while, make sure there is enough credit in the meter to keep the supply on. If the credit runs out, appliances that need continuous power, like your fridge or freezer, could be at risk.

Why is my In-Home Display (IHD) balance different from my app balance?

The app balance gets updated once a day after midnight. If you've used energy or topped up since midnight, then your app balance will be out of date. 

It might also be that your meter isn’t communicating with us, in which case your balance won't update in the app. But your IHD will usually communicate with your meter throughout the day to stay up to date.

Got a meter error code?

Our Help Centre has a list of every error code you may find on your meter and what that means. 

How will I pay my debt back on a smart meter in Pay As You Go mode?

If you use any emergency credit, just a heads up that you'll need to pay it back in full with your next top-up. So, if you can, try to buy enough credit to not only cover the repayment but also have some leftover for your energy needs.

If you’re paying back a debt or we've helped you out with some extra credit when you reached out, we’ll add that amount to your meter. We'll then set up a daily repayment rate that works for you, based on what you’ve shared about yourself and your home. 

Once we’ve loaded the debt to your meter, your daily charges will be calculated by:

• The amount of energy you’ve used

• Our daily standing charge

• The daily debt repayment rate

Any top-ups you make will be added to your meter balance. 

Please make sure your meter has enough credit on it to cover standing charges and debt repayments, even while you’re away and not using energy. Or, you might come back to find your credit has run out and your supply has disconnected. You can avoid this by getting our OVO Energy Top-up app and opting into low balance notifications.

If there’s an emergency with your meter

If there’s an emergency with your meter or you can’t top up and the advice above hasn’t helped, you can chat with us online. Just click the green chat icon at the bottom right of your screen. Or call the team on 0330 175 9669 – we can help.