Something that ought to be right up Jim’s alley: prepaying for electricity as a means of energy conservation:
A half-dozen utilities are trying prepaid programs now, but that could accelerate quickly if Texas utility regulators approve rules this summer allowing it. Experimentation with prepaid-service meters is part of a broader trend that is changing the electric meter from a dumb recorder of kilowatt hours consumed into a conservation tool capable of helping people monitor their use and which will allow utilities to talk directly to customers.
Billions of dollars are being spent by utilities to install advanced meters that track the amount of energy consumed at different times of the day, a capability that is expected to lead to rate plans that include higher prices when wholesale energy costs are higher and cheaper prices at times of slack demand.
But it’s also possible that utilities trying to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions from power plants in response to looming global warming legislation could use the meters to encourage conservation. If more people paid for electricity in advance, like they do for gasoline, they might want to make it stretch further.
Salt River Project, a Phoenix utility with the largest prepaid program in the U.S., said it has observed a conservation effect among its prepaid customers, with a 12% reduction in average bills. It’s not due to disconnections, says customer-service analyst Jennie King, “because most prepaid customers never suffer disconnections.”
In the next few years, some experts expect prepaid electric service to become a standard feature of U.S. utilities, as it already is in the U.K., China and South Africa.
Interesting. A major downside, as noted in the article, is that folks have to go to the utility’s local office to put more money in their accounts, as opposed to doing it online, or by other, remote, means. And there is the possibility that people can be cut off when they max-out their balances (but rude awakenings can sometimes impart valuable lessons).
Overall, though, if a system like this can encourage people to get a firmer handle on their electric bills and usage, then it’s probably worth exploring further.
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