Electric Co-op Today

One of the largest electric cooperatives in Georgia is now offering consumer-members the option of paying for their power in advance.

Adrianne Nesbitt, a Flint Energies member services representative, discusses the co-op’s prepaid service program with consumer-member Nancy Kimbrel. (Photo By: Flint Energies)

Officials at Flint Energies said recently that the co-op’s new “Pay Your Way” program could help some members manage energy more effectively by spreading the costs across their monthly budgets.

Flint Energies is among a growing number of electric cooperatives now offering a prepaid service option designed to provide consumer-members with greater flexibility in managing their accounts.

“What this program does is put choice and flexibility back into the hands of the member,” said Jimmy Autry, senior vice president of member and community relations for the Reynolds-based co-op. “Instead of them being faced with a monthly bill that has a due date that we choose, they can now decide what they use and when they want to pay it.”

According to Autry, the co-op decided to offer the prepaid option after considering the cash flow positions of its membership. While some consumer-members get paid twice a month, others are paid weekly or biweekly. Many of the retirees and pensioners among the co-op’s consumer-members receive the bulk of their compensation once a month.

Those who sign up for the co-op’s prepaid plan arrange for alerts to let them know when their available funds have reached a “low balance threshold.”

Denise Townsend, a Flint Energies member services supervisor, discusses the co-op’s prepaid service program during a phone call with a consumer-member. (Photo By: Flint Energies)

Other available messages include notifications of disconnections and reconnections, and payment confirmations. Under the “Pay Your Way” program, once a participating member restocks his account with funds, service is automatically restored.

“Alerts can be sent in any combination, using text messaging, and emails,” Autry said. “We signed up about 100 consumer-members for the program in December, and we’ve signed up at least another 200 since the first of the year.”

Besides helping members align their bill payment schedules with their paydays, co-op officials think the option may also be attractive for consumer-members seeking new service, Autry said.

“Since it is prepaid billing, there is no deposit. You can never get a late fee because you are never late, and there are no disconnection fees.”

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Tags: Business & Finance, Consumer Outreach, Consumer-Members, Efficiency and Conservation