How Much Is The Standing Charge On A Prepayment Meter

What is a prepayment meter standing charge?

Daily cost of energy: the standing charge – Prepayment meters include a standing charge. This is a fixed daily amount that you have to pay, no matter how much energy you use. A standing charge covers the cost of supplying your home with gas or electricity and everyone has one, whatever sort of meter or payment plan they have.

It’s a bit like a phone line rental, but for your energy. If you forget about the standing charge you may have less credit available than you think you do. And, if you haven’t topped up for a while, when you finally do add credit to the meter it will automatically deduct all, or a percentage of, the unpaid standing charge, swallowing up lots of the credit you’ve just added.

The same goes for any fuel debt repayments being taken.

Do prepayment meters have a daily charge?

You’ll pay a daily fee – As well as paying for the gas and electricity you use, you pay a daily fee for being connected – known as a standing charge. You pay this with a normal meter too, but when you’re on prepayment you need to have credit to pay it – even on days when you don’t use any gas or electricity.

How do you avoid standing charges?

There are few scenarios where you can avoid paying a standing charge, but you might be able to get it removed if you have bought a property but haven’t yet moved in. If the property is likely to be empty for a while with no gas or electricity being used, it’s worth contacting the supplier to explain the situation.

What are the standing charges for Scottish Power?

How is my bill calculated – Your consumption charge for electricity is calculated by multiplying the units you’ve used by the unit rate, specified as part of your tariff For gas, the calculation is more detailed.

1. Multiply the number of gas units used by the Calorific Value and then the Volume Correction
2. Divide the answer to step 1 by 3.6 to covert into gas kilowatts used

Please note: If you have an imperial gas meter, you’ll need to multiply the gas units by 2.83 to convert imperial units to metric units before conducting the above calculation. To find out if you have an imperial meter, take a look at the meter reading guide section of our website.

The Calorific Value and Volume Correction figures can be found on your bill. Once your consumption charge has been calculated, the standing charge is added for each fuel (gas and electricity). This is a daily charge for each day of the bill period. What does KWH stand for kWh stands for kilowatt hour. It’s a measure of the amount of energy used in one hour.

For example, if you have a 1,000 watt heater and you keep it on for one hour, you’ll use 1kWh What are standing charges? Standing charges are fixed costs of supplying customers with gas or electricity – these are costs that don’t vary with energy consumption.

Standing charges include the costs of providing and maintaining meters in customers’ homes, and customer support, along with some of the charges we pay for distributing and transporting energy. For most customers, the standing charge is a daily rate on your bill. However, if you’re a Pay As You Go customer, the standing charge will be collected as a fixed weekly amount from your meter.

To ensure tariffs are comparable across the energy market, Ofgem, the energy market regulator, requires all tariffs to have a unit rate and standing charge component What is a bill period? The bill period is the period of time (usually in days) covered by a particular bill.

What is the cheapest standing charge for electricity?

Cheapest Standing Charge Electricity Tariffs

Supplier	Tariff	Standing Charge (Daily)
Octopus Energy	Flexible Octopus November 2022 v1	0.40 pence
British Gas	The Fixed One v23	0.40 pence
Utility Warehouse	Value	0.41 pence
OVO energy	Simpler Energy	0.42 pence

How is standing charge shown on smart meter?

Do smart meters show standing charges? – Yes. If you have a smart meter, your standing charge (if any) will appear on your smart display whether you’re using electricity that day or not. The monitor works together with your to show your energy usage daily, weekly and monthly.

What is the standing charge?

What is a standing charge? – A standing charge is added to most gas and electricity bills by your supplier as a fixed daily amount that you have to pay, no matter how much energy you use. Your standing charge covers the cost of supplying your property with gas and electricity. Think of it as a line rental, but for your energy. The standing charge is used to cover the costs of, among other things:

Using and maintaining the energy supply network that gets electricity and gas to your home. Meter reading visits. Government support schemes.

Why are people on prepayment meters?

New rules for energy suppliers restrict the forced use of prepayment meters – but charities and campaign groups warn they do not go far enough. Energy regulator Ofgem announced the guidelines after an investigation into claims of British Gas contractors forcing pay-as-you-go meters on vulnerable people.

The Times investigation alleged Arvato Financial Solutions – a company used by British Gas to pursue debts – forced their way into people’s homes despite clear signs they were disabled or vulnerable. Here, Sky News explains how prepayment meters work, why they are used and what the risks are around them.

How do prepayment meters work? Prepayment meters are pay-as-you go gas and electricity meters. They can be topped up online or with a card at certain shops and post offices. About four million UK households have them. They are mostly used by people who are struggling financially – as they allow you to pay for small amounts at a time.

But this means that when the money runs out, your electricity and heating switch off. Three million people ran out of credit on their prepaid meter last year, according to Citizens Advice. When someone is unable to pay their energy bills and has fallen behind on them significantly, energy providers seek to switch them on to a prepaid meter – so they stop getting access to energy they haven’t paid for.

According to Ofgem, this is being done by several firms without customers’ knowledge. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Boss of British Gas owner ‘truly sorry’ What are the risks? The households on prepayment meters in the UK largely fall into these groups: • People living in social housing • People who have moved into a property where the previous tenants had issues with their bills • People who have had issues with credit or their bills themselves “People on prepayment meters are usually people who are financially vulnerable,” Erik Porter, head of financial wellbeing at Wagestream, tells Sky News.

Prepayment meters are charged at different rates to pay-monthly tariffs – and traditionally have been far more expensive. This is still the case in some circumstances, but the energy crisis has changed things. “With the increase in energy prices and the government’s energy price guarantee, we’re all largely paying the same, very high price for energy,” Mr Porter says.

He adds: “If your meter runs out at 3am and you don’t live in a city where shops stay open all night, you’re going to struggle to top up. At the moment you’re also going to be doing that in -5C. “You’re also expecting people to have cash in their pockets when they need it.

“If you need to top up on Monday but don’t get paid until Tuesday, you’re going to have to use credit or an overdraft, which with high interest rates will keep you trapped in that downward spiral.” Citizens’ Advice, End Fuel Poverty and the Labour Party have called for a total ban on force-fitting prepayment meters when bills aren’t paid, to put barriers between people and disconnection.

But this would mean more bailiffs getting involved in cases – instead of resolving debt by prepaid meter or a payment plan – which the government wants to avoid. What are the rules around them? If someone hasn’t paid their energy bills, their supplier has several ways to get them to repay the debt. One of these is by installing a prepayment meter. According to Ofgem, getting a court warrant to force-fit a prepayment meter should be a “last resort” after “all reasonable steps have been taken to agree payment”.

The provider can also only do so if it is “safe, practical and easy to use and get to”. On vulnerable customers, Ofgem says: “Suppliers can’t force-fit a prepayment meter under warrant for people in very vulnerable situations if they don’t want one or charge them for warrant costs on debts. “Nor can they use warrants on people who would find the experience very traumatic.” In guidelines announced on 18 April, Ofgem said energy firms must now try to contact a customer at least 10 times and do a “site welfare visit” before they can forcibly install a prepayment meter.

Installations should also not take place where people have severe health issues – including terminal illness – and in homes of people 85 and over. Customers with a condition that would be made worse by the cold – such as emphysema – will also be protected, as will those who need electricity for medical kit.

There is also a government “Breathing Space” scheme, which gives people 60 days’ reprieve from creditors to allow time to seek advice and find a viable solution to their debt. And generally you can’t be disconnected over winter (1 October to 31 March) if you are of pension age, disabled or chronically ill.

Providers have vulnerability pledges to help safeguard their vulnerable customers, but these are not legally binding. Spreaker This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.

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Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts What is Ofgem and the government saying? Business and Energy Secretary Grant Shapps had previously written to energy suppliers with a cease-and-desist order on all force-fits of prepayment meters.

1. He also demanded data on the number of warrants requested to “name and shame” the worst offenders.
2. Jonathan Brearley, the Ofgem boss, said April’s updated guidelines against the force-fitting of meters for over-85s and people with serious medical conditions had been signed up to by all Britain’s domestic suppliers.

He reiterated that such measures should only be used as a last resort and that “customers in vulnerable situations will be given the extra care and consideration they deserve”. However, the Liberal Democrats are among several groups to say the changes still leave people unprotected.

“This half-measure is an insult to all the people who had their homes broken into by big gas companies,” said energy spokesperson Wera Hobhouse MP. “These new plans will leave too many vulnerable people, retired pensioners and hardworking families unprotected. “Predatory prepayment schemes cannot go on a moment longer.

No one should need to pay a poverty premium because of this government’s incompetence.”

What is the maximum I can top up my prepayment meter?

How much can I top up in one go? –

At a PayPoint you can add up to £49 to your key or card every time you top up. At a PayZone or Post Office you can add up to £99 to your key or card every time you top up.

What is the difference between standing and running charges?

12 November 2013 Computation of Machine Hour Rate Computation of Machine Hour Rate in different from all the above mentioned methods. Under this method, the machine is treated as a small department or cost center to apportion various expenses to the machines just as the expenses charged to bigger departments.

• While computing machine hour rate, the fixed and variable expenses need to be segregated to yield a better result.
• Even if the machine is idle, it does not have any impact on the fixed overheads, whereas it has a significant effect on the variable expenses.
• Because of these reasons we need to compute Machine Hour Rate in a systematic manner.

Steps for Computation of Machine Hour Rate Step-1: Each machine or group of machines should be treated as a separate cost center. Step-2: Overheads are classified into two groups such as standing charges and machine expenses. Standing charges are fixed expenses which do not vary with the use of machine.

Examples of standing charges are rent, rates, lighting, insurance, etc. Machine expenses are variable expenses which vary with running of machines, such as depreciation, repairs, power, maintenance, etc. Some accountants treat depreciation as a standing charge. Infect depreciation can be treated as fixed or variable expenses depending upon the method followed for its calculation.

However for all practical purposes we have treated depreciation as a machine expense for computation of machine hour rate. Step-3: The effective machine hours of each machine for a given period need to be calculated as shown below: Step-4: The standing charges are estimated for a given period (year, month or week) for every machine and the total sanding charges are divided by the total number of effective working hours of the machine to arrive at the hourly rate of standing charges.

• Step-5: The machine expenses of each machine are treated separately in order to compute the hourly rate.
• Each machine expense of a machine is calculated either by allocation or by apportionment.
• Step-6: The aggregate of the standing charges per hour and hourly rate of all the individual machine expenses is calculated to arrive at the simple Machine Hour Rate.

When the machine operator’s wages added to the simple machine hour rate, it is known as Comprehensive Machine Hour Rate. Comprehensive M.H.R. = Simple M.H.R. + Machine operator’s wages While computing machine hour rate some of the overheads may require to be apportioned for the desired machine cost center.

What is the standing charge per day?

How much is the standing charge for electricity and gas? – Standing charges apply to both gas and electricity and will vary by supplier, where you live, how you pay and what meter you have. Generally, homes in more rural locations – where the gas or electricity supply has to travel further from where it’s generated – have higher standing charges.

The energy price cap, set by the energy regulator Ofgem, limits the amount a supplier can charge if you’re on a standard variable tariff. Prices change quarterly in January, April, July and October. Check out our average bill guide for the latest rates. When you compare energy suppliers check the prices for gas and electricity unit rates and standing charges.

If you’re going direct to the supplier also check that your quote is based on the same annual consumption as often suppliers use different assumptions to generate quotes.

What is the maximum amount on the Scottish Power prepayment meter?

Topping Up – How do I top up? You can take your key or card to any Post Office, PayPoint or Payzone outlet to top up your meter with credit.

Then, simply buy enough credit (i.e. top up) to keep your meter topped up and to cover any debt recovery rates set on your meter. Please keep the receipt as proof of purchase to confirm your transaction has been successful. You can top up from as little as £1 for gas and electricity up to a maximum of £99 per transaction per fuel if you are topping up at a Payzone or Post Office. If you are using a Pay Point, the maximum top is £75 per transaction. Once you’ve topped up, simply insert your key or card into the meter and the credit will transfer over. You’ll need to top up again when your credit starts to run low.

What happens if I don’t top up?

Your meter has £10 emergency credit built in. This is to help keep your energy supply on until you are able to top up or this credit runs out. Once you run out of emergency credit, your supply may be temporarily disconnected until you top up your meter. Emergency credit has to be repaid – To return the meter to normal after using emergency credit, you must repay any amount of emergency credit used plus standing charges and any payments you are making towards a debt (if applicable). It’s important to also top up enough credit to cover the cost of the energy you will use. If you run out of credit during periods when it may be difficult to top up, your electricity meter’s friendly non-disconnect period, which is a safety function to ensure your energy supply won’t turn off, will be activated. This lasts from 6pm – 11am Monday to Saturday and all-day Sunday and bank holidays, providing there was credit at the start of the period. Again, you’ll need to pay any credit you use over this period the next time you top up. Please note gas pay as you go meters do not have the friendly non-disconnect function and once you run out of credit, the supply will turn off.

Are standing charges more expensive in Scotland?

16 March 2023 The SNP is working hard to push a false narrative that Scots are being “ripped off” or “shafted” on energy bills compared to the rest of the UK. This brief article explains that Scottish households actually pay energy tariffs almost identical to those in the rest of the UK. Based on actual usage, there is no substance to the claim that Scots face higher bills. In fact, a typical Scottish household pays, per annum, £10 more for gas, but £60 less for electricity, compared to a typical household in the rest of the UK. Context On 2nd March 2023, The National newspaper sent an email to its subscribers with the subject line “Scottish customers are being ripped off on energy prices”, encouraging them to read a story headlined: 1 https://www.thenational.scot/news/23351986.energy-bills-scotland-pay-england/ “Energy bills: Why does Scotland pay more than England?” On 5th March 2023, The Herald on Sunday published a front page splash headlined: 2 https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/homenews/23363696.scots-set-pay-1000-rest-uk-energy-bills/ “Scots now set to pay £1,000 more than the rest of the UK for energy bills” SNP MP John Nicholson tweeted an image of the front page, adding “Scotland gets shafted again”.3 https://twitter.com/mrjohnnicolson/status/1632152787826950145?s=46&t=y9v1mXDn2DQJqjCpgZcKXg And on 15th March 2023, the SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, said this at Prime Minister’s Questions: 4 https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2023-03-15/debates/225C92FA-C2BF-44DD-A36B-1D9373CA5EE9/Engagements#contribution-902762A2-9E53-4EEF-9E18-5B64480E592F ” for households in Scotland energy prices have not been frozen at two and a half grand – indeed, the average bill in Scotland has been closer to £3,500″ Flynn was very likely referencing the Herald On Sunday story, which included this claim in the text of the article: “A £2,500 price guarantee will mean the typical Scots household will still be forking out close to £3,500 a year in energy bills.” These Islands has contacted both the Herald on Sunday and Energy Action Scotland (who are quoted in the article) and neither has been able to substantiate this claim (see Addendum).

1. Analysis To get to the truth of how energy bills in Scotland compare to the rest of the UK, the question needs to be broken down into three parts: gas tariffs, electricity tariffs, and the number of households relying on oil for central heating.
2. The UK Government’s Energy Price Guarantee means there is now very little difference between the tariffs available from different suppliers.

For the purposes of this analysis, we will use EDF’s published tariff for the period 1st January 2023 – 31st March 2023: 5 https://www.edfenergy.com/sites/default/files/goelectric_new_epg_prices.pdf Gas tariffs Looking at the final two columns of the table above, we can see that standing charges for gas are the same in every region, and unit charges vary only slightly. Standing charges are fixed daily rates that are payable regardless of usage, and unit rates are what is charged per unit of consumption, measured in kWh. Mean The median Scottish household uses 1.4% more gas than the GB average, and the mean Scottish household uses 2.1% more. Applying the relevant tariffs to median consumption shows that in absolute terms, a typical Scottish household connected to the gas grid pays about £10 more per annum than the typical GB household.7 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18ptbApoIGNGyNNi4zAfXnAQzycUSbHG5Z4-GWJ-Z4Dw/edit (Gas tariffs tab) That’s effectively the price of Scottish weather.

1. Not a scandal.
2. And not something that would change with independence.
3. Electricity tariffs For electricity we will look at the “single-rate” figures in the first two columns of the EDF tariff table.
4. For other types of tariff, the numbers would be slightly different, but the argument is essentially the same.

Electricity tariffs have greater regional variation than gas, in both standing and unit charges. The average tariffs (simple average of regions, from the data in the EDF tariff table) are: GB (excluding Scotland) Standing charge: 45.60 p/day Unit charge: 34.14 p/kWh Scotland Standing charge: 50.88 p/day Unit charge: 33.33 p/kWh In Scotland, standing charges are 5.27 p/day higher than in the rest of GB, but unit rates are 0.82 p/kWh lower. Mean So, both the median and mean Scottish household use comfortably more than the amount of electricity at which the Scottish tariff becomes cheaper. But, in contrast to gas, the typical Scottish household actually uses less electricity than the GB average (about 6% less, on a median or mean basis).

Applying the relevant tariffs to median consumption shows that in absolute terms, a typical Scottish household pays about £60 less per annum than the typical GB household for electricity.9 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18ptbApoIGNGyNNi4zAfXnAQzycUSbHG5Z4-GWJ-Z4Dw/edit (Electricity tariffs tab) So, a typical Scottish household is, per annum, £10 down on gas, but £60 up on electricity.

Off gas grid households relying on oil for heating Some households, particularly in very rural areas, are not connected to the gas grid, and rely on oil for central heating. They have been hit particularly hard by recent fuel price rises because the price of heating oil is unregulated, and falls outside the UK Government’s Energy Price Guarantee (although other schemes do exist to mitigate costs for these households).

The Herald on Sunday article states that there are 129,000 such households in Scotland. The figure is unsourced but looks to come from the Scottish House Condition Survey: 2019, published by the Scottish Government in December 2020 and the most recent edition available.10 https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-house-condition-survey-2019-key-findings/pages/4/ This is not as robust as census data, but Scotland’s 2022 census was beset with problems and the data is not yet published.129,000 is 5% of Scotland’s total households.

What the Herald on Sunday article doesn’t mention is that we know from the 2021 census 11 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18ptbApoIGNGyNNi4zAfXnAQzycUSbHG5Z4-GWJ-Z4Dw/edit (Heating oil tab) in England Wales, and Northern Ireland that there are 1.25 million households in the rest of the UK who rely on oil for central heating.

Which, coincidentally, is about 5% of total households in the rest of the UK. So, the percentage of households in Scotland impacted by the particular issues with heating oil is about the same as the percentage impacted by the same issue in the rest of the UK. The Herald on Sunday headline would have been much more honest if it had read: “A small number of Scots will pay more than most other Scots for energy bills.

Situation very similar in the rest of the UK.” The Energy Price Guarantee The UK Government’s Energy Price Guarantee is sometimes described as a cap on energy bills, but that’s not correct. The £2,500 “price guarantee” is based on Ofgem’s typical usage assumptions.12 https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/average-gas-and-electricity-use-explained The assumption is per annum consumption in a typical dual-fuel household of 12,000 kWh of gas and 2,900 kWh of electricity.

• Based on Ofgem’s assumed consumption, a typical Scottish household pays £2,489.
• And based on actual median consumption (which is slightly lower in Scotland than Ofgem’s assumptions, for both gas and electricity) the typical Scottish household pays £2,313.13 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18ptbApoIGNGyNNi4zAfXnAQzycUSbHG5Z4-GWJ-Z4Dw/edit (Gas and Electricity tariffs tabs) In both cases – Ofgem’s assumptions or actual median consumption – the typical Scottish household pays less than an equivalent household in the rest of the UK.14 The ONS publishes annual survey data: Family spending in the UK.

The most recent edition covers the year to March 2021, ie well before the energy crisis. It shows a very similar picture: Scotland’s average household energy bill in that period was very close to the UK average (just 3% higher). https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/expenditure/bulletins/familyspendingintheuk/april2020tomarch2021 So it wasn’t just the headline in the Herald on Sunday that was false, but the copy of the article too, which included this key claim: “A £2,500 price guarantee will mean the typical Scots household will still be forking out close to £3,500 a year in energy bills.” Conclusion Typical Scottish households pay slightly less than typical households in the rest of the UK for energy bills.

• Atypical households (ie those in a particular predicament because of reliance on heating oil) are no more prevalent in Scotland than in the rest of the UK.
• Addendum These Islands contacted the Herald on 6th March 2023, the day after the article was published, to ask how it could be justified.
• We received a reply which stood by the story, and said: “The headline is justifiable because Scots are now set to pay £1,000 more than the rest of the UK – just not all of them – around 400,000 homes which is explained within the copy as you acknowledge yourself.” This response does not justify either the headline or the claimed £3,500 energy bill for “the typical Scots household” (and These Islands had made no such acknowledgement).

The Herald has not responded since a draft of this article was shared with them on 9th March 2023. These Islands has also contacted Energy Action Scotland – the only source mentioned in the Herald on Sunday article. Energy Action Scotland deny being the source for the specific claims debunked in this article: 15 Email to author, 9th March 2023, from Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Energy Action Scotland “We didn’t state the £1000 difference in the Herald.

Who is the cheapest energy supplier UK?

British Gas – British Gas is an energy and home services provider in the UK. It is one of the cheapest energy suppliers and offers different types of tariffs such as fixed tariffs, green tariffs, electric vehicle tariffs, etc. It has a fixed-rate tariff that is priced below the Energy Price Guarantee.

How much is Electric Ireland standing charge?

NightSaver

SST Rates	ex. VAT	inc. VAT
Peak Standard Rate	33.34c/kWh	36.34c/kWh
SST Annual Standing Charges	ex. VAT (€)	inc. VAT (€)
Urban (DG1)	277.91	302.92
Rural (DG2)	349.05	380.46

Who has the cheapest electricity in Ireland?

Electric Ireland named cheapest electricity provider – 29/06/2023 : The CRU have announced a €900 difference between the cheapest and dearest electricity provider in Ireland. Electric Ireland had the cheapest standard electricity tariffs available at €2,023 per year.

Does Scottish Power smart meter include standing charge?

The IHD calculates your consumption using your current tariff’s unit rate and daily standing charge.

Can I turn my smart meter off at night?

Can I turn my smart meter off at night? – You cannot turn off the smart meter itself at any time, but you are not charged for the electricity it takes from the supply in order to run. The Smart Energy Display that comes with your smart meter is optional to use, and so you can unplug it at any time. However, you will no longer be able to view your energy usage whilst it remains unplugged.

Is my smart meter overcharging?

Check your smart meter is working properly – If you do have a smart meter, you should check that the readings from it are in line with what’s on your energy bill. If there’s a discrepancy between them, this could be an indication that your meter isn’t working properly.

What is the difference between a prepayment meter and a credit meter?

A prepayment meter is what you’ll have if you ‘pay-as-you-go’ for your energy. That means you pay for energy up front, and add money to your meter with your top-up card, online or through the Boost app. A credit meter is what you’ll have if you pay for your energy after you’ve used it (for example, by Direct Debit).

Does smart meter include standing charge Scottish Power?

Your IHD calculates your consumption using your current tariff’s unit rate and daily standing charge.

Is a prepayment meter the same as a smart meter?

If your mobile signal is weak – Communications coverage is one of a range of technical and commercial reasons why your supplier may not offer you a smart meter just yet. But a range of technologies is being used in the rollout, not just mobile signals.

It’s best to ask your supplier to understand when you can get one. Under current arrangements, you pay for the cost of your meter and its maintenance through your energy bills. This will be the same for smart meters. You won’t be charged separately for a smart meter or the in-home display. Use the to check what type of meter you have in your home and if your smart meter is working in smart mode.

When you switch supplier with a first-generation meter it will continue to accurately record your energy usage as before. However, if the new supplier can’t run your meter in smart mode, you may need to temporarily take manual meter readings. Energy suppliers must tell you if this is a risk.

• The Data Communications Company (DCC) is responsible for the national infrastructure that enables communications between smart meters and all energy suppliers.
• First-generation meters are being connected to national infrastructure through a remote upgrade.
• This will enable them to get back their smart functionality if it is lost when switching.

Over time, all suppliers will be able to operate first-generation meters as smart meters. Suppliers are currently installing second-generation smart meters which all suppliers will be able to run. Smart meters can work as either a prepayment or credit meter too.

Can you be in credit on a prepayment meter?

Can you be in credit on a prepayment meter? – The idea of a prepaid meter is that you are always in credit to prevent unexpected gas and electricity debts. If you switch suppliers, any credit you have should be refunded by the previous supplier.