TX: electricity provider First Choice Power selling pre-paid electricity to poor-credit customers

[phantom power]

Texas electricity provider First Choice Power in January launched a prepaid service called Control First. "In Texas, there are about a million households who have slim credit or no credit at all," says company president Brian Hayduk. Without requiring a deposit or credit, customers are permitted to prepurchase a set amount of electricity—say $100 per month. The company installs a smart meter that lets people know how much they've used—which spurs customers to manage their energy use more intelligently.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/235392

[hunter]

1. It's gonna be fun when every house has a "smart meter."

At least it'll be easier to blame those poor old folks who die of cold or heat.

Tsk, tsk, the poor old bastard should've bought a few more kilowatt-hours.

[joshcryer]

3. RW shill.

How dare you care about poor people. :sarcasm:

[joshcryer]

2. Wow.

No words.

[Dead_Parrot]

5. Err, why not? nt

[joshcryer]

7. Just more proof that poor people will have to "cut off the lights" just when they need it most.

More directly, they won't be able to run their air conditioners during the extraordinarily hot summer we will be experiencing, since it will occur during peak demand. It's either that, or sit in the dark.

[Dead_Parrot]

9. I don't think so

I depends on how it's implemented, but I don't see anything here that suggests they'll be cut off first, or that the rate will be varied: It just looks like a pre-pay meter. And if you're living close to the limit financially, these are a lot easier to budget with than a monthly or quarterly bill.

[kristopher]

4. Not having smart metering is like not knowing the price of gas when you pump it into your car.

[joshcryer]

6. Gas pumps are prepaid now-a-days, that's true.

I remember growing up, you didn't have to prepay at the pump, they took your word that you'd waltz right on in and pay.

And yes, pumps were connected to the cashieer, it wasn't a technology thing, they still had to "approve" you pumping your gas.

[phantom power]

8. I have a smart meter.

It's not so much the "smart meter" thing, it's much more the "people are so poor the utilities have to do pre-pay like a 3rd-world country" thing.

Smart meters also enable very useful things like off-peak pricing plans, which my family gets a lot of mileage out of.