Gas Meter Stopped Working After a Power Cut — What to Do

If your gas meter display looks wrong after a power cut, you’re not alone. It’s a common smart meter issue — but the cause is often not the meter itself. Here’s what’s actually happening and how to fix it.

Why does a power cut affect my smart meter setup?

Your gas meter itself runs on an internal battery — it doesn’t use mains electricity. So a power cut won’t directly affect the meter or your gas supply.

What a power cut does affect is:

Your In-Home Display (IHD) — this runs on mains power and will go blank during a power cut
Your communications hub — the device that links your meters to your supplier, also mains powered

When power is restored, the IHD and hub need time to reboot and reconnect. Until they do, your setup can look broken even though your gas meter is fine.

Step by step — what to do after a power cut

Step 1 — Wait and observe

When power is restored, give your IHD and communications hub 30 to 60 minutes to reboot and reconnect to the network automatically. Most setups recover without any intervention.

Step 2 — Check your In-Home Display

Your IHD may take longer to reconnect than the meter itself. A blank screen or connection error on the IHD doesn’t mean your gas meter is faulty — it usually means the hub is still reconnecting.

Step 3 — Check the gas meter display directly

Go to the meter itself and press the display button. If it shows a reading, the meter is working normally — it never lost power. If it shows an error code, note it down.

→ Gas meter error codes — what they mean

Step 4 — Check your fuse box

Make sure your mains electricity has fully restored. A partially restored supply can prevent your IHD and communications hub from rebooting correctly. Check for any tripped switches.

Step 5 — Contact your supplier

If after two hours your IHD is still blank or your meter appears to have lost its network connection, contact your supplier. Tell them your setup stopped communicating after a power cut and give them your meter serial number — printed on the front of the meter.

What if the meter is working but not sending readings?

A power cut can knock the communications hub off the network even after everything looks normal again. Your gas meter may be reading correctly but your supplier isn’t receiving the data.

Signs this has happened:

Your IHD shows dashes or no data
Your online account stops updating with new readings
Your supplier starts estimating your bills again

→ Smart gas meter not sending readings — what’s happening

What if the gas meter display itself looks blank?

If the meter display is blank even when you press the button, this is unusual — the meter battery should be unaffected by a power cut. It may indicate a separate fault that predates the power cut, or a battery issue.

→ Why your gas meter shows dashes or a blank display

Is my gas supply affected?

No — your gas supply runs completely independently of the electronic systems. The power cut will not have affected your gas flow.

If you smell gas at any point — before, during or after a power cut — leave the property immediately and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. Free, 24 hours a day.

Supplier not helping?

If your communications hub has been faulty since a power cut and your supplier isn’t taking action, you have the right to raise a formal complaint.

How to dispute a gas bill →

Generate a formal complaint letter →

Not sure what’s wrong?

Run a free Health Check and we’ll help you identify the problem and point you in the right direction.

Start your free Health Check →

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All advice on SmartMeterHelp is independent. We’re not affiliated with any energy supplier.