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Updated on 26/03/24 by Abby_OVO

 

Frequently asked questions for topping up your traditional meter

 

Topping up for the first time?

 

To register your new electricity key or gas card, put it into the correct meter for at least a minute. The electricity meter will show a message to let you know it's registered, and the gas meter will beep.

 

How much credit can I top up in one go?

 

This depends on where you’re topping up, as different shops can have different minimum amounts. But these are the usual top-up limits:

  • The minimum you can top up is £1

  • The maximum you can top up your gas meter in one go is £49 

  • The maximum you can top up your electricity meter in one go is £50 

  • You can only top up in full pounds 

  • The maximum amount a payment card can hold is £249 and the most a key can hold is £250

 

How do I add credit to my meter?

 

To top up your meter, take your top-up card or key to:

Once you’ve topped up, follow the instructions below.

 

For gas meters

  • Insert your card into the gas meter and follow the instructions on the screen.

  • Make sure the gold-coloured chip is facing the meter display. Press and hold the red ‘A’ button, and the credit will appear on your meter.

For electricity meters

  • Insert your key into the electricity meter, and follow the instructions on the screen. 

  • Make sure the arrow on the key is facing upwards. The new credit should show automatically.

If you’ve topped up at a shop, keep your receipt each time just in case. If the money doesn’t appear in your meter, we’ll need to look into it for you.

 

My key/card isn’t working – what should I do?

 

We recommend taking the key/card out of the meter and wiping the chip with a clean, dry cloth. If you re-insert it in the meter and it still doesn’t work, please get in touch with us and we can send you a replacement.

 

Is your meter showing an ‘error code’ when you insert your key/card? Was there an error code when the shop assistant popped your key or card in a PayPoint terminal? If so, note the error code down and compare it to the list of codes we’ve listed in our guide on error codes here. That’ll help us work out how to fix the issue quicker when you contact our Support team (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, and 9am to 5pm on weekends).

 

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

 

You can get a new meter key/card from any shop that stocks replacement OVO Energy keys/cards.

 

But before you go, you’ll need to contact our Support team to let us know you’re going to get a new key/card. We’ll provide you with an 8-digit ‘TAG’ code within an hour. Give this code to the shop assistant and they’ll be able to set up your new key/card with our rates and other relevant information so you can register it when you get home.If you don’t need to top-up urgently, we can send you an already programmed key/card in the post. You’ll get it within 3-5 days.

 

Before you add any credit with your new key/card, please register it in the meter. If you try to do a top-up before registering your key/card, the credit could be wiped.

 

If I pay in advance, how can I owe money?

 

There are a few different ways:

  • You used the emergency credit to keep your power on. If this happens, you’ll need to pay back the amount you used. If you need to do this gradually, get in touch via one of the methods below to discuss spreading the cost of the repayment. 

  • You’re repaying a debt through your Pay As You Go meter(s), which will take credit from your balance each day to repay your debt. 

  • If you've asked us to apply discretionary credit to your meter, we’ll add this as a debt to your meter. You’ll need to repay it through your Pay As You Go meter(s).

  • You missed one or more daily standing charge payments due to not having enough credit. This would mean your meter goes into a negative balance.

  • You were in a period of “non-disconnect” overnight or on the weekend (this means you wouldn’t run out of electricity at these times). But as a result, you might’ve built up a negative balance.

You can always contact our Support team if you’re worried or struggling to pay for your energy. 

 

How will I pay my debt back on a traditional Pay As You Go meter?

 

If you use any emergency credit, you'll need to pay it back in full from your next top-up. So if you can, make sure you buy enough credit to pay back the emergency credit, and still have some left for you to use for energy.

 

If you're paying back a bill debt or we lend you some credit when you contact us, we’ll agree how you’ll pay it back at the time. We can spread the cost and you won’t need to pay it back in one go. You can pay it off gradually through your meter, a week at a time.

 

Part of your gas top-ups will be used for your weekly repayments. This is collected from the first top-up you make from Wednesday each week. Your electricity repayments will be spread out evenly throughout the week. So please make sure you’re making regular top-ups to cover these repayments and the energy you use.

 

If the repayment rate is ever set too high, please contact our Support team. For information on how to check your repayment rate, see "Understanding your electricity meter screens” or "Understanding your gas meter screens". We’re here to support you and we’ll always find a repayment plan that works for you. Once you've repaid the credit we lent you, your meter will automatically stop taking repayments. You’ll just pay for the energy you use from then on.

 

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

 

Even though you might not be using any energy, there's a daily standing charge. Also, any debt you might be repaying through your meter will continue to be charged. So if you're away from home or not using any energy for a period of time, please make sure there's enough credit in the meter to prevent the supply from going off. If not, any appliances that need continuous supply, such as your fridge or freezer, might be at risk.

 

Anything missed?

We’ll aim to update this content  to keep it relevant and accurate. If any of the advice doesn’t fit with your experience, leave a comment below to let us know. 

Thanks for your response to my situation. 

 

I am still waiting for further information ion regards to what went wrong as to leave an individual without electricity for 3weeks despite the fact that I had contacted the customer services team on several occasions for assistance and just got either lied to or given misinformation. I hope that things are highlighted soon and that things move forward in a progressive manner. 

 

I have another smart meter installation apt booked tomorrow which I am certain will go well.

Basically the title. If the amount I put on the key takes the meter over the £250 limit, what happens?  Does the remainder stay on the key? Does the remainder get lost? Or does the meter refuse to accept anything from the key until there is no remainder ie the value on the key no longer takes it over £250?

Good evening @MagsMcLean ,

In this situation, nothing happens - the meter rejects the credit transfer and leaves ALL the credit on the key. Once the meter balance is low enough to accept the transfer in full, it will accept the credit. You have to transfer all the credit at once though, the meter won’t accept just some of what’s on the key!

 I thought that was the most likely scenario. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

No worries, glad I could help.

Just a bit of advice though - if you’re planning on regularly keeping the meter at high credit levels, please be advised that a meter failure could cause you to lose that credit. There’s ways of recovering it of course, but they’re not exactly… Quick…

You may want to consider upgrading to Smart Meters as this would ensure your credit balance gets backed up on a daily basis - if there’s a meter fault and you’re on Smart, OVO can far more accurately and far more rapidly recover any lost credit in order to restore it to the replacement meter.

If you’re up for it, let Support know and they’ll discuss it with you.

Hey @MagsMcLean,

 

@Blastoise186 has already answered this for you. I’m in the same position as you and have a key meter for my electricity. You can only transfer the total amount from a key to a meter, and if you plug it in and it’s too much, you’ll get an error! I found this out the hard way when the government support vouchers were still a thing.

 

Let us know if you’ve got any follow up questions 😊

Thank you for your help Blastoise186 and Chris_OVO.

At the moment, my key is sitting with the maximum of £249 on it, which I can’t put into the meter until the balance is below £1. I’m kind of ok with that, apart from the fact that I can’t put the meter onto Emergency Credit until the balance is below 50p. It’s very frustrating to go out in the morning, knowing that the meter will run out before I get back, but the balance is JUST too high to activate the Emergency Credit or put the key in.

I’m well aware that a Smart Meter would be a benefit to me. Not least, being able to top up online instead of having to walk a mile mostly uphill to the only place in town I can use my key.

I have been asking SSE and OVO for years to get a Smart meter. They always say ‘not installing in your area’. Even when I know they are. I know the real problem is that they don’t know what to do with THTC (Total Heating Total Control) customers - the tariff that I am on. FYI the ‘total control’ is at their end, not the customer’s. It’s very much a North of Scotland thing.

Any insight would be very welcome.

The THTC migration in your case should be coming out sooner or later. We’ll update the Forum when we know.

You should be able to transfer the credit over once the meter drops below £4 balance - it can hold £255 at once, the key is limited to £249.

Hey @MagsMcLean 

 

Sorry to hear about the situation you’ve been in with this.

 

Did you get that top up onto the meter over the weekend?

 

Let us know if there’s anything else we can help with.

The THTC migration in your case should be coming out sooner or later. We’ll update the Forum when we know.

You should be able to transfer the credit over once the meter drops below £4 balance - it can hold £255 at once, the key is limited to £249.

This is really good to know, thank you.

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