I have a traditional PAYG meter that has never been a problem before, even with brief power cuts. However, earlier this week, there was a longer power outage in my area and it came back on after about 10 minutes. I didn’t check the meter, as I was rushing out the door to head off to work. When I went to check the amount on the meter, with the intention of topping it up shortly, I found the screen was blank and from other conversations, it appears that my meter has gone into ‘vend mode’, as I still have power. As it is a Sunday, I shall have to wait until business hours to contact someone, but in the meantime, does this happen a lot with PAYG meters? I also read that today (21st June, 2026) there was a scheduled outage so I wouldn’t have been able to top up today anyway. Is it possible that the meter could reset itself, or would an engineer need to come and look at the meter? Thanks
Traditional PAYG Meter Screen Blank
+9- Super User
Howdy
Gonna have to be a Rip N’ Replace job I’m afraid - these units are no longer reset when they hit Free Vend Mode because they become a pain when it happens again and causes yet another engineer visit. It’s a safety feature to prevent faults from nuking the supply, so you have “unlimited” juice until it’s fixed - however it’ll also rack up a debt that needs to be repaid later so please don’t use too much just because you can.
Happens to the Traditional PAYG Meters a lot more than I’d like to admit… Another reason to get rid of those old dinosaurs...
The scheduled outage today is unrelated - that’s for Smart Meters.
+4Hey
Blastoise186 already left some advice on this one, if you’ve not had a chance to check it out and follow that please check out the topics below and contact the Support Team to get the meter exchanged:
Do let us know how you get on.
HI. Thanks for your advice. I have contacted the Support Team who will be in touch within a couple of days. I have a nagging suspicion they may suggest getting a smart meter, as I know the old key meters will one day become a thing of the past as technology moves forward. For now, I’m not using the electricity excessively. Only what I need.
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