Prepaid electricity is a modern alternative to the traditional run-of-the-mill electric plans that have always been available. Due to prepaid services in other industries are often associated with consumers with poor credit, many electricity consumers have parlayed that same thinking and associated prepaid electricity with high rates targeting consumers with bad credit. This is not the case!
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In this article, we seek to unpack some of this misunderstanding and show how a prepaid electricity plan can actually save you a lot of money and energy (literally and metaphorically), regardless of your credit history, and be more conducive towards to your lifestyle, household and budget.
Prepaid electricity works just like it sounds – you pay for electricity before you use it. It’s kinda like a deposit system. You deposit some money into your account, and as you turn on your lights and use electricity at home, the cost of that electricity gets deducted from your account. Once your account gets low, you will receive alerts and notifications to add more money so you can use more electricity to power your lifestyle.
With traditional postpaid electricity, the electricity company is buying electricity and paying for it upfront and charging for it later. Whereas with prepaid electricity, much of that financial risk to the electric provider is alleviated because customers pay for electricity before it is used.
To give some perspective and behind-the-scenes appreciation for what happens in a postpaid scenario, the electric company is providing electricity for an entire meter reading cycle (roughly between 27 – 35 days) before they can bill you for it. Once they issue you a bill, they give you 16 days (in Texas) to pay before it’s considered late (and charge up to a 5% late fee). And then, they have about another 10 days before they can disconnect your service for non-payment.
As you can see, it quickly adds up. In a worst case scenario, the electric provider has been providing electricity upwards of two months before they ever collect a penny.
The main downside with prepaid electricity is that electricity prices, on a per kilowatt basis, tend to be slightly higher because there is no certainty how long a customer will remain. There is no contract, and so the benefit of making a bulk purchase for a specified period of time is lost. However, if you were to compare overall monthly costs, one study showed that customers who switched from postpaid to prepaid electricity metering saved between 12 to 15 percent.
With prepaid electricity, you can better manage your lifestyle and ultimately your finances by avoiding getting that dreaded (or surprise) light bill at the end of the month. You receive a daily text message or email (or both, if you like) letting you know exactly how much electricity you used yesterday and how much money you have left in your account. This way you can make quick adjustments to your lifestyle today and stay on budget tomorrow.
Let’s just say if you ever want to throw a party or leave town on vacation, you’ll know exactly how much electricity you spent on the party or whether or not you need to call a family member to turn off the lights or increase the thermostat because you accidentally left the AC on (assuming you don’t have a smart thermostat yet). You’ll be able to easily check your text messages (or email) and see if your prior day’s electricity usage exceeded your normal daily average usage and adjust accordingly.
Whereas in a traditional postpaid world, it’s very difficult to gauge how much electricity was used, how much money was spent, and whether we’re on target to meet our budget goals or not. Not to say it can’t be done, but you really have to mind your p’s and q’s to figure that out or tap it into some higher-order systems to make happen.
There are many advantages of signing for a prepaid electricity service as have already been mentioned above. These advantages include:
No Contract: if you’re someone who needs flexibility and does not like the idea of being locked into a contract, then prepaid electricity is a great option for you.
No Early Termination Fee: should your life’s circumstances change and you need to move, or want to switch to a different electric provider or rate plan, then you don’t need to worry about having to pay an onerous fee to break your contract. With prepaid electricity, you get maximum flexibility to power your life on your terms!
No Credit Check: with prepaid electricity, it doesn’t matter if you have good credit, poor credit or no credit at all. Everyone is accepted. So long as you have a means to pay for electricity, then you’re good to go.
No Deposit: Most every traditional electricity plan requires a credit check to determine your creditworthiness. This is done to see if a deposit is required. And these deposits aren’t chump change, they’re usually several hundred dollars. In most cases, consumers are quite frustrated and annoyed by having to pay a deposit so they can get their lights turned on. Imagine having that burden lifted! Even though prepaid electricity requires a small upfront fee to get started, that amount is typically very small and 100% of that actually goes towards paying for electricity that you use. It doesn’t just sit in the energy company’s bank account letting them earn interest on your money.
No ID / SSN Required: what’s better than not having your credit checked or paying a deposit is not having an ID or SSN. Since there is no credit check, there’s no ID or SSN required. It’s a win-win for everyone. As a consumer, you get the electricity on your terms, and the electric provider doesn’t have to worry about their money because it’s sitting in their account to begin with.
Same Day Connection: signing up and getting service turned on with a prepaid electricity plan usually happens a lot faster than with a traditional postpaid plan. In some cases, there is a ‘power-within-the-hour’ guarantee of getting your power turned on.
Account Management: everything can be managed directly from your smart phone or laptop, ranging from topping up your account with more money, checking your account balance, and seeing how much electricity you’ve been using.
Because you get a few additional tools at your fingertips – like daily account balance text messages or emails – your electricity consumption and spend is more likely top of mind than in a traditional sense where you get a bill at the end of the month.
But it really depends. If you’re looking to lock in a low rate for the full length or your lease (let’s say 12 months), then perhaps a traditional postpaid electricity plan is right for you. But if you don’t have good credit, or don’t want to or cannot afford to pay the upfront security deposit, and like the idea of flexibility by not being on a contract, then prepaid electricity could be the answer for you.
Nope. Since you’re paying upfront for your electricity, and you know how much you’re depositing in your account, there’s no reason to mail out a statement each month. You’re in full control with prepaid electricity.
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It’s pretty hard to let your account run out. You receive daily text messages and/or email notifications (or both, if you like) letting you know exactly how much money you have left in your account. So long as you have $0.01 in your account, you won’t be disconnected.
You receive your daily message at 7am CST and have until 1pm CST to make a payment to avoid disconnection. Unless you don’t like to check your text messages or emails, then it may be possible to be disconnected. Otherwise, you will have a good idea where your account balance stands each and every day.
Nope. For the most part, all meters have been replaced with smart meters in the state of Texas. Smart meters allow for more advanced tools so that products (like prepaid electricity) can exist through electronic meter reading and quicker reconnections, to name a few.
Something interesting I bet you didn’t know, with smart meters you can see how much electricity you consumed in 15-minute intervals. If you want to know how you can get access to your electricity usage data, simply click here and you’ll be directed to Smart Meter Texas – this is a data repository jointly operated by each of the local utilities in Texas with oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. You will need to have your ESIID and Meter Number handy in order to create an account. And if you’re not sure where to find that information, reference your most recent electric bill.
The requirements to get started with prepaid electricity is fairly simple and straightforward. Here is all that you need:
Signing up for prepaid electricity is pretty easy. Everyone is approved. There is no credit check. It’s okay if you don’t have a social security number, and it doesn’t matter if you have excellent or poor credit, or no credit at all – you’re automatically approved! We don’t use credit scores, credit history or utility payment data to determine your rate. Best part, there are no contracts, so you can feel free to cancel at any time. Simply call 844-729-2064 and mention ‘Honest Gorilla’ for promotional pricing and details.
May 10, 2021
Prepaid electricity allows customers instant management and control of their electricity consumption and spending. The real life data allows customers to see exactly how much electricity their using and what it really cost.
Read our guide to discover if a prepaid meter is right for you.
Switching from your current electricity provider is simple and not as complicated as you may think. We ensure it hassle free by handling all aspects of the switch-over on our end. We contact your existing supplier about the change.
There is no cost involved in setting up the prepaid meter. The installation of the meter is free and on average takes an hour to install in your home. Our free friendly credit hours ensure you never be cut off in the evenings or weekends. We pride ourselves in ensuring our clients have electricity in their home during the peak times. Simply top up at your early convenience and the electricity used during these times will be deducted from your next top up.
There is a variety of ways to top up your electricity. Credit can be purchased online, on our website, via our app, the phone or at any payzone. To avail of topping up at the shop, you will need to bring your customer card with you.
Our new Smart Pay app is available on Android or iPhone and allows customers the option to keep track of their electricity on their phone or tablet. The app was designed to benefit our customers who are busy by keeping up to date at all times. The app comes with an ‘Auto Top-Up’ option. You simply choose a minimum balance, and once your meter reaches that amount you will be automatically topped up.
You have complete control over your electricity usage and energy costs. As well as information on energy consumption being displayed in real time, you can view how much energy you’ve used and which appliances are using the most electricity. This information is completely transparent meaning you can alter your electricity usage based on the numbers you see before you.
Prepaid electricity allows you to see in real time exactly how much energy you’ve consumed. The information is up-to-date and allows you to see when the cheapest times of the day are to use electricity and which appliance is costing you the most.
Having access to this information may make you think twice about running the washing machine during the most expensive time of the day or boiling the kettle every half hour, all helping you to save money on your electricity.
The data provided by our meters will allow your household to become energy efficient and also the environment by reducing your carbon footprint.
Your PrepayPower keypad is super smart and gives you complete transparency on your energy costs, meaning you’re in total control.
If you are a current PrepayPower customer and wish to get more clarity into how you can monitor your usage, take a look at these buttons on your keypad:
If you’re interested in switching to PrepayPower today, why not give our sales team a call on 1800 989 517. Check also 10 most frequent questions from our customers.
For more prepaid energy meterinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.