How we're responding to Covid-19

No, there’s no reason to worry about your supply. We’re taking lots of steps to make sure it’s protected.

So we can help those who need us the most, we’re now only taking emergency calls. We hope you understand. Because of this, we’re asking everyone to use their online account or app wherever they can. You can use these to manage your payments and submit readings.

If you have an emergency, have lost your energy supply or you can’t pay your bill, you can call us on 0345 034 7474 (Monday to Friday 9am-5pm). There will be longer waiting times than normal, but we want you to know that we’ll do everything we can to help.

If it’s an emergency or you might lose power, please ring our team on 0345 034 7474. We’ve set up a dedicated team in our call centre to help those who are struggling. We are doing everything we can to ensure no one is left without power.

There might be longer waiting times than normal, but we want you to know that we’ll do everything we can to help.

We’re seeing a higher volume of calls than normal, so we’re now only able to take emergency calls. Our waiting times are also longer than usual – please bear with us, we’re doing everything we can to help. We’ve also stopped all non-emergency home visits and postponed all smart meter appointments until at least May 1st.

To help us, we’re asking that you don’t call unless you have an emergency. Please submit readings and manage payments in your online account or through our app.

Your safety is incredibly important to us, so we’re taking a number of precautions. Until further notice, we won’t be carrying out any non-essential work in the homes of:

• Anyone over 70.
• Anyone who we know is in a high risk group.

Where possible we’re encouraging everyone to submit meter readings online, by text or through our app.

If an engineer needs to come to your home, we’ll call before they arrive to check you and your family are not self-isolating. When in your home, engineers will keep a safe distance from you. They’ll also wash their hands before and after the visit and – of course – they won’t shake your hands. We’ll ask you to do the same thing.

Keeping our engineers safe is a top priority. That’s why we’re making sure they’ve all been given the latest safety advice. They’ll also be carrying hand sanitisers with them – and they won’t do any non-essential work in homes where people have symptoms or are self-isolating.

Occasionally, our engineers need to enter homes in an emergency. If this happens, and your household is unwell, they’ll be following extra safety advice. Our team will explain this when they speak to you.

Yes, you’re still able to switch energy providers in the normal way. You can do this easily online.

Topping up your smart meter

An easy way to top up your smart meter is by using our Swift app - it’s free to download and you can add credit to your meter anytime, anywhere. You can also top up online using Smart Pay.

With both of these options, you can view and manage all of your transactions in one place or make one-off payments to tide you over until your next trip to the shops – it’s up to you.

If you already use the Swift app or Smart Pay - great, you can keep doing this as usual.

Normally top up at the shops?

If you’re unable to download our Swift app or go online and you normally top up at the shops, we suggest that you have at least 2 weeks of credit on your balance at all times. This means that if you and your family need to self-isolate you’ll be prepared.

If you can’t go out, it’s important to reach out to your support network of neighbours, friends, and family. But without physically contacting them – and putting them at risk. They’ll be able to top up at the shops for you if you’re stuck indoors. Just remember to wash your hands before and after seeing people and it’s important to disinfect your top-up card before handing it over.

If you don’t have anyone who can help you top up, please just give us a call.

Topping up your traditional meter

We suggest that you have at least 2 weeks of credit on your balance at all times, in case you can’t go to the shops to top up. This means that if you and your family need to self-isolate you’ll be prepared.

If you can’t go out, it’s important to reach out to your support network of neighbours, friends, and family. But without physically contacting them – and putting them at risk. They’ll be able to top up at the shops for you if you’re stuck indoors. Please remember to wash your hands before and after you handle the card, and disinfect your card before it’s given to anyone and when it’s returned to you. Also try to avoid direct contact with anyone while they pick it up or drop it off.

If you don’t have anyone who can help you top up, please just give us a call.

If it’s an emergency or you might lose power, please ring our team. We’ve set up a dedicated team in our call centre to help those who are struggling as best we can. There will be longer waiting times than normal, but we’re doing everything we can to ensure no one will lose power. Please bear with us.

We know that lots of people are concerned about losing income because of the disruption, and staying at home may mean you’re using more energy than usual. If you’re worried about using more energy, you can find some top tips on how to be energy efficient on our energy saving advice page.

We understand that lots of people are worried about losing income because of the disruption. Our priority is to protect our most vulnerable customers and we’ve set up a dedicated team in our call centre to support.

If you can’t repay your debt, it’s important that you let us know so that we can work out a manageable plan for you. We’ll review your individual situation and talk you through the options. Our call centre might be busier than usual, but bear with us.

We are considering every case on an individual basis to make sure we’re providing the best support for each situation. If you can’t afford your current payments right now, we’ll work with you to reduce your payments to a level that you can afford.

If you’re struggling to pay for your energy, please call us and we’ll work through the options with you. Our number is 0345 034 7474 and our opening times are Monday to Friday 9am-5pm.

We are considering every case on an individual basis to make sure we’re providing the best support for each of our customers. If you can’t afford your payments right now, we’ll work with you to find a solution. One solution may be a credit extension - this is emergency credit to see you through these difficult times.

If you are not able to pay for your energy, please call us and we’ll work through the options with you. Our number is 0345 034 7474 (Monday to Friday 9am-5pm). If you do get a credit extension, this money will need to be repaid at a future date. But, together, we’ll find a manageable plan that’s best for you, when you call us.

We understand that this is a really difficult time and lots of people are finding themselves unable to pay their bills or manage their Direct Debits. If you can’t pay for your energy, please contact us and we will do everything we can to work out a manageable plan for you. You can contact us on 0345 034 7474 (Monday to Friday 9am-5pm).

These organisations all offer brilliant help and advice for anyone struggling to manage – or pay for – their energy.

• Citizens Advice offers free and impartial advice.
• Energy Trust has lots of free practical help with cutting your energy use, and bills.
• Step Change is a debt advice charity that can give you free help and advice.
• Centre for Sustainable Energy can give you free tailored advice on saving energy.

If you have a smart meter your readings will update automatically, so there’s nothing to worry about.

If you don’t have a smart meter, the best thing to do is submit your readings online.

From 23rd March until at least 1st May 2020, we’re suspending all at-home meter readings – to protect both our customers and our teams. For people who aren’t able to update their meter reads themselves online, we’ll be calling customers and asking you to help us by reading your own meter over the phone, wherever possible.

No, unfortunately not. From 23rd March until at least 1st May 2020, we’re suspending all at-home meter readings – to protect both our customers and our teams. For people who aren’t able to update their meter reads themselves online, we’ll be calling customers and asking you to help us by reading your own meter over the phone, wherever possible.

If you have a smart meter your readings will update automatically, so there’s nothing to worry about.

To help those who need us most, we’re now only able to take emergency calls. So we’re asking everyone to submit their readings through their online account or in the app. It’s really easy to do – thank you for your support.

No, unfortunately not for the time being. As of 23rd March, we’ve stopped taking any new, non-essential smart meter appointments for OVO Energy, until at least 1st May 2020. We will update you here, as soon as the situation changes. 

No, unfortunately not. We’re postponing all non-essential smart meter appointments until at least 1st May. If you have an appointment, you’ll receive an email confirmation of this cancellation. In the meantime, please assume your smart meter engineer will not be coming to complete your installation (if it is going ahead, we will call you to let you know). This is effective from 23rd March until at least 1st May 2020, to keep both our members and our engineers safe. We hope you understand, and we’ll be back in contact to arrange a new appointment as soon as it’s possible to do so. 

For pay monthly customers, we’ll still carry out appointments where meters are faulty and the customer may be at risk of losing their energy supply because of this. If you already have an emergency appointment booked, then this will go ahead.

If you have an emergency and your meter is broken, please call us and we’ll do all that we can to support you.

We will update you here, as the situation changes.

We understand your concerns about this. Our teams have been trained on how to keep everyone safe while they’re in your home:

• All engineers will wash their hands before they enter your home and they’ll be wearing safety equipment.
• They’ll keep a safe distance of 2m from anyone else in the house at all times, and they’ll ask you to do the same. This includes any pets you have. If possible, the best thing to do is to stay out of the room, while the engineer is working.
• The engineer will also ask you to open windows and doors close to the meter, for the duration of their visit.

To minimise the time our engineers spend in the property for your safety, they may work in a slightly different way to usual. This may include installing non-smart meters if needed, or not turning on the smart capabilities of a meter. Don’t worry, you’ll still be left with a working meter. And, if this is the case, we will return as soon as possible to fully finish the job.

Important: if you or anyone in your household becomes unwell before your appointment, unfortunately we will need to reschedule it. Please give us a call and we’ll be able to help with this.

All our team members will stop working immediately if they (or their household) shows any signs of symptoms.

If your emergency means you’re going to lose power or you’ve already lost it, we can still help you – even if you or someone in your household is sick. We know this is a worrying time and we’re working very hard to try ensure none of our customers are without power.

Please give us a call and we’ll work through the options. Our phone lines may be busy right now, however we’re prioritising those with emergencies like yours. Bear with us and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible.