[Froggy]

am I correct in this as I pay for my electric before I use it.

[meldrewreborn]

@Froggy

no there is no benefit. Exactly the same as people with credit on their accounts who are not on prepayment - essentially you are depositing money to set against future bills, not buying energy at todays prices.

[retrotecchie]

@Froggy

How much credit can I put on my top-up key and electricity prepayment meter (not smart)?

Your prepayment meter can hold up to £249 of credit. You can add anything from £1 up to £49 onto your key each time you go to the Payzone, PayPoint or Post Office outlet (whole pounds only).

So the maximum you can have on the meter is £249, and with a full key of £49, you can only squirrel away a maximum of £298.

You used to be able to hedge against price increases in this way, but the next time you top up after a price rise, the difference in tariffs is calculated, he meter data is updated and the credit on your meter is adjusted to compensate. Thus any potential benefit is removed. Martin Lewis used to advocate this but then updated his advice after realising the trick no longer works.

Better to tuck the money away in a savings account and earn some interest on it!