Inventing The
AT&T
Prepay Energy
Increasing Customer Flexibility and Control over Electricity Use
The Prepay Energy program is an integrated payment suite that allows consumers to track their energy usage in real time to obtain greater control over their utility expenditures. By combining smart grid technology with state-of-the-art communication networks, Prepay Energy allows utility customers to accurately monitor their energy usage, track their costs and manage their consumption.
The Technology
In recent years, utilities have made significant investments in “modernizing” the electricity grid by adding two-way digital communication technology devices such as smart meters. Such modernization is increasingly well received by customers, who continue to adopt and adapt to smart grid technologies where they see benefits. In fact, studies conducted in 2013 indicated that 41 percent of Americans were interested in a voluntary prepaid energy option, up nearly 10 percent from 2012.
Specifically, Prepay Energy programs leverage smart grid advancements by providing unique, network-driven software that delivers real-time customer account balance information. Prepay Energy also allows consumers to pay for energy in advance and to monitor their usage and account balance through daily communication with their supplier. The integrated payment suite offers a variety of options, including the ability to prepay in increments that correspond with individual budget cycles, choose a postpay option and pay from a mobile device, and it is offered as a cloud-based service that includes customer access and care portals and consumer messaging tools. In addition, the Prepay Energy model has been shown to improve customer satisfaction while reducing bad debt write-offs for utilities.
The Benefits
- Reduced energy consumption: Participation in prepaid energy services has been found to reduce energy consumption by roughly 11 percent, which translates to nearly $200 on average on customers’ energy bills. With the popularity of prepaid services growing rapidly, U.S. utilities expect to make Prepay Energy available to 9 million customers by 2015, which will drive further resource efficiency, environmental benefits and consumer satisfaction.
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