What is Smart Pay As You Go?
How do I top up on the app?
Once you have downloaded the ScottishPower app, select the ‘Top Up’ option on the home screen. You can choose between gas and electricity and decide how much you want to top up – the minimum amount is £1. The credit will then be applied to your meter.
If you are seeing an error message in the app, please come back later and try again. If you must to top up immediately to prevent your supply going off, please use your barcode to top up at your local Post Office, PayPoint, or Payzone outlet.
How do I top up over the phone?
You can either call us from the phone number registered to your account, or enter your 11-digit ScottishPower account number, found on the front top right corner of your ScottishPower bill, and in most other communication from us. If you have an online account, you can find it in the ‘My Account Overview’ section.
You’ll also need to have a mobile number or email address registered with us to ensure we can send a follow up communication to confirm the success of your top up. You can register your mobile or email address here.
How to top up over the phone?
1. Call our freephone number anytime, day and night, on \*\*0800 634 0010\*\*. 2. You’ll hear the following: ‘To top up your smart prepayment meter press X’.
3. You’ll be asked to provide your 11-digit account number of the fuel you wish to top up, if you haven’t already entered it.
4. You’ll hear several top up amounts you can choose from based on your previous top up history, or you have the option to enter a different amount to top up.
5. You’ll be asked to confirm the amount you want to top up.
6. You can enter card details manually or use a previously saved card.
7. Once the payment is successful, you’ll hear a confirmation message. You should also receive a text message or email within 10 minutes to confirm the successful top up.
8. The credit should reach your smart meter within one hour.
9. If you have more than one prepayment account with us, you’ll be asked if you want to top up another meter, go back to the main menu or end the call.
What if my top up doesn’t work?
- Top ups can take up to 1 hour to update on your meter.
- If your top up doesn’t automatically apply, you can manually type into your In-Home Display or directly into your meter the Unique Transactional Reference Number (UTRN) you received after your purchase.
- You may need to reconnect your meter. Further advice on how to reconnect your meter can be found here.
- If you're topping after not having used your supply for a period of time, you may have built up daily standing charges, which are applied to your meter even when you’re not using energy.
- If you have agreed to an outstanding balance recovery rate and haven’t made regular top ups, you may have built up an outstanding balance. To start using energy again, you’ll need to top up enough to clear any outstanding balances on your meter, plus the amount of credit you’d like to add.
What is a credit advance?
If you’re struggling to top up your smart meter, you can request a credit advance via the ScottishPower App. This means you’ll get credit added to your meter to keep your energy supply running. We’ll ask you to pay this back in small manageable amounts deducted from your meter over time, this is also known as a repayment rate.
I am paying back an outstanding balance, how is this collected from my meter?
If you’re paying back a debt through your meter, a Debt Recovery Rate (DRR) will have been set on your meter. To find out how to check your debt settings, please view our helpful guide to your Pay As You Go smart meter.
Your meter will take 1/7th of the weekly DRR each day.
Last updated: 26 June 2025