Millions on pre-payment meters could claim ’emergency top-ups’ to switch on heating bills as temperatures plummet
MILLIONS of households with a prepayment meter can get help with their energy bills this weekend if they are struggling during the cold snap.
Energy bills rose for four million households with a prepayment meter this week.
Under the new price cap, households with prepayment meters will spend £1,690 a year on their energy bills – up £21 from the previous quarter.
This will pile further pressure on those who are already struggling to make ends meet.
It will also deal a fresh blow to thousands of pensioners who will no longer receive a Winter Fuel Payment of up to £300 this year.
Meanwhile, after spending big over the festive season many of us will be counting our pennies until payday.
But help is at hand if you are struggling.
Some energy suppliers will give you emergency credit to top up your meter and you can choose how to pay it back at a later date.
Here we explain how you can access the credit and what other help is available.
Utilita
Energy supplier Utilita will give customers up to £100 if they are running low on credit.
You could get up to £60 of gas and £40 of electricity credit and can choose how to pay it back.
To be eligible you must have less than £2 credit in your account, a meter that communicates correctly and below £20 debt on the energy supply you need to top up.
You cannot get the credit if:
- You still have credit available on your meter
- You have more than £50 debt on a meter
- You requested a Power Up for your other meter more than 10 hours ago
- You have requested an account credit from the Extra Care team over the phone
- You do not have a smart meter
- Utilita cannot communicate with your smart meter
To apply you must download the My Utilita app.
You can apply for Power Up from the Home or Payments screen in the app.
What energy bill help is available?
There's a number of different ways to get help paying your energy bills if you're struggling to get by.
If you fall into debt, you can always approach your supplier to see if they can put you on a repayment plan before putting you on a prepayment meter.
This involves paying off what you owe in instalments over a set period.
If your supplier offers you a repayment plan you don’t think you can afford, speak to them again to see if you can negotiate a better deal.
Several energy firms have schemes available to customers struggling to cover their bills.
But eligibility criteria vary depending on the supplier and the amount you can get depends on your financial circumstances.
For example, British Gas or Scottish Gas customers struggling to pay their energy bills can get grants worth up to £2,000.
British Gas also offers help via its British Gas Energy Trust and Individuals Family Fund.
You don’t need to be a British Gas customer to apply for the second fund.
EDF, E.ON, Octopus Energy and Scottish Power all offer grants to struggling customers too.
Thousands of vulnerable households are missing out on extra help and protections by not signing up to the Priority Services Register (PSR).
The service helps support vulnerable households, such as those who are elderly or ill.
Some of the perks include being given advance warning of blackouts, free gas safety checks and extra support if you’re struggling.
Get in touch with your energy firm to see if you can apply.
To start you simply tell Utilita when you can next top up.
Then you select a Power Up amount and a recovery rate.
This means that when you next pay to top up your meter a portion of the cash you add to your account will go towards paying back your emergency credit.
You can choose what percentage of the top up you would like to go towards paying back your debt to make sure you can repay what you borrowed.
British Gas
At British Gas you can activate a £10 credit on your meter when you run out of normal credit.
To access it you must have a normal credit balance of below £1.
Your meter should let you know when you’re low on credit.
British Gas will deduct the amount you used when you next top up your meter.
For example, if you use £6 of emergency credit then your meter will show £6 owed.
If you top up £10 next time, the £6 will be taken off, leaving you with £4 of normal credit.
To access the emergency credit on your electricity key meter you must have your key in the meter.
A flashing “e” on the meter display means that emergency credit is available.
Meanwhile, a solid “e” means that your meter is already in emergency credit.
When you have used all of your emergency credit your electricity supply will disconnect.
To restore your supply simply top up the meter with enough to repay all the emergency credit used and any debt or standing charges due.
You should also add some credit for your normal usage.
Tap screen “b” and add £1 to confirm the total top-up required.
It is the same process to use emergency credit on your gas meter.
When you have used all of your emergency credit on your gas meter your supply will disconnect.
Octopus
You could get up to £30 of emergency credit if you have non-smart electricity and gas meters.
£10 emergency credit is available for non-smart electricity meters.
Meanwhile, you could get £20 emergency credit on a non-smart gas meter.
To get the credit you must be down to the last £1 of your electricity credit or £2 of your gas credit.
Insert your electricity key or gas card to activate the emergency credit.
Any emergency credit you use will be taken off your balance the next time you top up.
If your emergency credit runs out and you cannot afford to top up then you should contact the supplier as soon as you can.
Email emergencies@octopus.energy or call 0808 164 1088 between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Thursday and 9am to 4pm on Friday.
Octopus may be able to provide you with extra support to help you get back on supply.
You must pay back any borrowed credit but you can spread the cost so you are only ever paying back what you can afford.
EDF
EDF will put £10 of emergency credit on your non-smart electricity prepayment meter.
You can use the credit when the balance on your meter drops to 50p or less.
Your meter should beep and there should be a flashing “e” on the screen.
To start using the credit just take your key out of the meter then put it back in.
It will also give you £10 of emergency credit on your gas prepayment meter.
To pay it back just top up your key as normal.
EDF will automatically take payment for all your emergency credit debt.
Your electricity won’t come back on until you have paid back your debt.
The top up needs to cover:
- The emergency credit you’ve used
- Any missed standing charges or debt repayments
- Any friendly non-disconnected energy you may have used before you used your emergency credit (not all prepayment meters have this service)
You can use the credit when the balance on your gas meter drops to £0.
To start using the credit just take your card out of the meter then put it back in.
You can either pay back all your emergency credit debt in one go or pay back in stages.
To pay it back in one go just top up your card to cover the emergency credit you have used, any missed standing charges or instalment plan payments and your ongoing gas use.
When you put your card in the meter EDF will take a payment to clear your debt.
Any credit left after that pays for your ongoing energy use.
You can also pay back your emergency credit debt in stages if you don’t put enough credit on your card to pay it back in one go.
There is a different process if you want to pay your debt back in stages.
As soon as you put your card in the meter EDF will automatically take 70% of your credit to pay some of the debt.
The remaining 30% is put towards your ongoing energy use.
This happens until you have paid back all of your emergency credit debts.
What should I do if I am struggling?
If you are struggling to keep up with your energy bills then you should contact your supplier immediately.
Your supplier should be able to discuss your situation and give you ways they can help.
They should also provide advice on how to avoid getting into debt, how you can pay back your debt and a summary of what you currently owe.
You should be able to pay off your debts in instalments as part of a payment plan.
To do this you will pay fixed amounts over a set period of time depending on what you can afford.
The plan will cover what you owe and an amount for your current use.
Your supplier may be able to pause your payments if you are struggling to pay.
You may be able to get a grant from your energy supplier if you cannot afford to pay back your debt.
The following suppliers offer energy grants:
- British Gas – Energy Support Fund
- Scottish Power – Hardship Fund
- Ovo – Customer Support Package
- E.ON Next – Energy Fund
- EDF Energy – Customer Support Fund
- Octopus – Octo Assist Fund
If you can’t get a grant from your supplier then you may be able to get a grant from the British Gas Energy Trust.
These grants are available to anyone – you do not need to be a British Gas customer.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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