Pay-As-You-Go Electricity and Smart Metering
Pay-as-you-go electricity plan allows consumers to pay for their energy in advance. One of the major benefits of the plan is the ability to monitor and control the energy use. The plan functions just like the prepaid mobile phone tariffs, and once you run out of electricity credits, your supply goes off until you top it up again.
However, the consumers must install pay-as-you-go electricity meters, also known as prepayment meters. After which, they will no longer receive energy bills from the power distribution company. Instead, they have to buy and top up the meters with electricity units. Don’t forget to check the usage and the remaining credit so as to know when to replenish.

Who uses pay-as-you-go electricity?
The benefits of the pay-as-you-go electricity plan vary according to the type of consumer, tariff rates, season and utility company. For this reason, there are some types of consumers who are more suited for the pay as you go plans. These include those who want to monitor and control the amount of energy they use, those who are struggling to pay their electricity bills, as well as consumers without bank accounts.
In addition, the landlords may find it convenient to install the pay-as-you-go meters to avoid having to pay energy bills that tenants leave without clearing. It avoids having to change the account holder every time a different tenant moves in.
Pay-as-you-go electricity metering
A prepaid electric meter system usually has a display/top-up unit installed in an accessible location within the customer’s building. This unit is then linked to the power control unit on the power lines, usually between the utility power lines and the customer’s panel.
The control unit has a breaker with the ability and capacity to turn on and off the power to the building. However, the consumer does not have access to this unit. Its state depends on the credit in the meter; a zero unit will automatically turn off power and vice versa.
There are different types of pay as you go electricity meters and the choice depends on the utility company, the customer preference, and other factors. These have different capabilities, mode of top-up, and convenience.
One of the main differences between the devices is the top-up method. Some, such as the smart card meters and key meters requires a physical card or key respectively. Other meters use a keypad to enter a token or top-up code while the smart PAYG meters allow consumers to top up or monitor usage using a desktop or mobile phones over the internet.
The traditional or standard pay-as-you-go electricity meters requires topping up with a physical key or card, keying the top-up code or token number on the meter’s keypad. For these prepaid ‘dumb’ meters, you have to physically check the meter reading to see your remaining balance, and once you purchase the units, you have to go back to the meter and top it up.
It is for this reason that many companies and consumers are replacing them with smart pay-as-you-go electricity meters (Smart PAYG). With the smart features, a consumer can use SMS, smartphone app or online access to interact with the meter, monitor usage and remaining credit as well as top up from anywhere without necessarily being near the meter physically.
Topping up smart pay-as-you-go-electricity meter
The smart feature transfers the credit automatically to the meter once a payment is made through the phone or online system. However, it also has an offline top up option where the consumer can pay for the electricity using the smart pay as you go card or number at any of the authorized pay points.
Even after purchasing the units physically from a pay point, the credit is transferred automatically to the meter and the consumer does not have to go and key it in manually. However, the company issues a receipt with the top-up code so that the consumer can input it manually when they want to use the electricity immediately.
This may become necessary when there are delays since the automatic transfer may take about 30 minutes or more before it appears and becomes available for use.
Benefits of smart prepayment meters
A smart pay-as-you-go electricity meter allows the customer or users to query or top up their balances using mobile phones SMS systems or smartphone apps. Other capabilities include tracking how they use their electricity by month, day, or an hour using their phones or desktop computers over the internet.
Compared to the other pay as you go electricity meters, the smart device provides the easiest means of topping up either through the SMS or online systems. The customer does not have to go to the meter to read the display or input the top-up code. In addition, it provides the user with the option of scheduling for automatic top-ups.
Conclusion
The pay-as-you-go electricity plans enables consumers to only use the energy they can afford. They have to purchase this in advance, that is before using it and this can help them control and minimize the energy use. The plans require special prepayment meters, which vary from token and smart card meters to physical key and smart PAYG meters.
The smart pay-as-you-go electricity meters allow the consumers to monitor their energy consumption in real-time or top-up over the internet regardless of their location.