A Broader Market for Prepayment Metering: Moving Beyond Payment-Challenged Customers

This Energy Insights report summarizes key findings from the Energy Insights' 2008 National Residential Online Panel Prepayment Metering Survey. Although payment-challenged customers have been the primary market for prepayment metering, the survey findings, along with the results of utility pilots and programs, suggest that the program is appealing to a broader audience. In this report, we look at consumer interest in prepayment and provide insight into the program features consumers find most valuable. We also discuss the experiences of four utility companies with prepayment programs or pilots.

"Customers want more billing options, and prepayment is a program every utility should consider offering," says Barb Ryan, research manager, Energy Insights. "The program helps payment-challenged customers better manage their energy, but it is also appealing to customers who want more information and control over how their household uses energy. The challenge for utilities will be to make the payment options easy to access and readily available so customers will not be turned off by inconvenience."