SPE - Frequently Asked Questions

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Monday, November 18, 2024

FAQs Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Enrollment Who qualifies for Smart Prepaid Electric service? What is required to enroll with Smart Prepaid Electric? How do I know if I have a Smart Meter? How quickly can Smart Prepaid Electric get service turned on? How much do I need to pay in order to start my service with Smart Prepaid Electric? What rate does Smart Prepaid charge? What other fees does Smart Prepaid Electric charge? Customer Service How can I keep track of my balance? How do I reload my account? What if my email address or SMS phone number changes? Can I set up direct pay? How long does it take for lights to be turned on after I make a reload payment due to service interruption? How often and how much should I reload? Does Smart Prepaid Electric mail out monthly statements? Why do you disconnect my electricity after falling below $10 and not when my balance reaches $0? Do you send any type of statement? I recently changed from my previous mobile phone service provider but my phone number remained the same. Do I still need to contact Customer Service to update my information? What if my email address or SMS phone number changes? I have moved in but still haven’t received SMS notifications. How do I get remaining balance back when I terminate the service? How long does it take for refund? Where do I find my account number? I just received a balance notification today, but it states I have the same balance as yesterday. Have I really used up 0 kWh in one entire day? I have been told that there is a Switch Hold on my meter, what do I do? I am moving and want to continue to use SPE at my new address, how do I transfer my service to my new address? How do I discontinue my service with SPE? Is your question not addressed here? Does Smart Prepaid Electric bill on a month-to-month basis? Enrollment Who qualifies for Smart Prepaid Electric service? Anyone with a provisioned Smart Meter qualifies for service with Smart Prepaid Electric service. A provisioned Smart Meter is a Smart Meter which has been installed, in use for more than 30 days and has passed all required assessments by the local distribution company which ensure that the meter is reading and transmitting usage data accurately. As this is a Pay As You Go service, no credit check or deposit is required. What is required to enroll with Smart Prepaid Electric? We make our service easy to use, so you don’t need much to become a customer. Apart from a smart meter, all you will have to provide us is a name and service address. To send account balances and important account information, you will need to provide a telephone number that receives text messages and/or an email address. How do I know if I have a Smart Meter? Most homes now have a Smart Meter but if you are unsure as to whether or not your home may have one, you can input your address the respective fields on our website’s “Sign Up” page and it will notify you if your home does NOT have a Smart Meter. How quickly can Smart Prepaid Electric get service turned on? Today! One of the benefits of a Smart Meter is faster electricity connections. Enrollments completed and verified by 12 p.m. on a non-holiday weekday can be activated on the same day. Some issues out of our control may affect same day activation. These issues are for example, switch holds, permit requirements, meter malfunction, etc. How much do I need to pay in order to start my service with Smart Prepaid Electric? Since activating service does incur some start up costs that are deducted from your initial payment, we ask that you initiate service with at least $50. Ask our customer service representative to see if there are any sign up bonuses available to reduce further your start-up costs, or maximize your initial payment. What rate does Smart Prepaid charge? Rates change but the goal is to be competitive. Go to www.getSPE.com/historicalrates to see current rates. Once electricity is purchased, the rate will remain the same while that electricity is unused. Reloads may be at a different rate depending on current market conditions. What other fees does Smart Prepaid Electric charge? Smart Prepaid Electric charges a payment processing fee of $2.95 for all payments. We encourage customers to avoid making continuous small payments—bigger payments will minimize the amount of reloads. You can avoid payment processing fees by signing up for Auto Top-Up. For more details on Auto Top-Up, call customer service or once enrolled, log into your account in the MyAccount menu above. Customer Service How can I keep track of my balance? You will receive notifications on your SMS capable cellphone or by email every other day. If you are within an estimated 7 days of falling below the $10 minimum, you will receive a message daily. It is important that you keep your contact information current. You can check your balance online by logging in to your account at www.paySPE.com. You can also text the word “BALANCE” to 713-489-6087 or call our 24 hour automated line at 877-773-3133. How do I reload my account? You can reload your account online with a debit or credit card by logging on to your account at www.payspe.com. If you have a credit card but no web access, you can pay with a credit card by phone calling our automatic payment line, SPEaks, 877-773-3133. You can also pay in person at any Ace Cash Express, Money Gram, or Barri payment location by providing them with your account number. Finally, you can just call us during business hours. What if my email address or SMS phone number changes? You can update your account information by logging into your account at www.paySPE.com. You don’t need anything more than your SPE account number which is given to the customer upon enrollment and the service area zip code to access your account. You can also call Customer Service at 877-773-8099. Can I set up direct pay? SPE offers Auto Top-Up, a service that allows you to save payment processing fees and reloads your balance when it hits a minimum balance. You can set up a credit card or debit card to reload as little as $25 anytime your balance falls below a recommended $20 balance. You can enroll online through your MySPE portal or call customer service. Auto Top-Up is not required for initial activation. How long will my funds last? Usage varies from household to household. One customer may use $5 a day in summer, while another may only use $2. Overall, from portfolio wide experience usage is between $1 to $2 a day in non-summer months and $3 to $5 summer month. A single customer however will have their own usage patterns. It’s important to monitor balance alerts and reload BEFORE your service falls below $10. Your balance alerts will provide an estimate of when your balance will fall below the $10 threshold. We suggest reloading well before it gets close to $10. We recommend reloading when your balance falls below $20. How long does it take for lights to be turned on after I make a reload payment due to service interruption? Once your payment has been successfully received your service can be restored in as little as 2 to 6 hours. Typically, payments made before noon will be reconnected more quickly than payments made after noon. Payments made after 7pm may not be reconnected until next business day. How often and how much should I reload? Since usage patterns and budgeting concerns vary from household to household and from month to month it’s difficult to recommend one way that would fit every customer’s needs. Instead we suggest you monitor your balance alerts and set aside some money either weekly or every two weeks to keep your balance above the $10 minimum. If you use $2 a day you may want to pay $30-$35 every two weeks. If you use $5 a day, you may need to pay $30-$35 each week. An easy guide is calculate how much you used in one day and multiply by 10. If you used $3 a day, pay $30. Regardless, it’s important that you monitor your daily usage alerts to make sure you don’t fall below $10. Does Smart Prepaid Electric mail out monthly statements? No. Smart Prepaid Electric only mails out consumption statements upon request. These statements itemize monthly usage, payments received and fees incurred. You can select 3 months or up to 12 months. If you have been on the service for less than the length of the report, the report will summarize all available activity. Statements are free if sent via email. To receive a statement through the mail, a $2.95 fee is assessed. You may request your Statement of Usage and Payments (SUP) online at www.payspe.com, or by calling Customer Service. Why do you disconnect my electricity after falling below $10 and not when my balance reaches $0? Smart Meter usage is received two days after consumed. The $10 threshold is to insure you don’t incur a negative balance during that 2 day lag time. Do you send any type of statements? Smart Prepaid Electric does not send monthly bills but does offer options to allow you to track your usage and how much you have paid us. You must request the following statements to be sent to you as Smart Prepaid Electric does not automatically send these statements out to you. 1. Statement of Usage and Payments (SUP) This statement itemizes monthly usage, payments received and feeds incurred. you can select 3 months or up to 12 months. If you have been on the service for less than the length of the report, the report will summarize all available activity. Statements are free if sent via email. To receive a statement through the mail, a $2.95 fee is charged. You may request your Statement of Usage and Payments (SUP) online at www.payspe.com, or by calling Customer Service. 2. Bi-Weekly Statement You can sign up for our Bi-Weekly statement that is sent twice a month via email. You can request this statement anytime online on www.payspe.com. The statement summarizes the last two weeks of usage and estimates how much you’ll need for two or four weeks. You can sign up for our Bi-Weekly statement that is sent twice a month via email or you can request this statement anytime online on www.payspe.com. I recently changed from my previous mobile phone service provider but my phone number remained the same. Do I still need to contact Customer Service to update my information? Yes. Mobile service provider is necessary to receive your balance alerts. If you change provider, please let us know. You can update the provider online at www.paySPE.com, or call customer service. What if my email address or SMS phone number changes? You can update your account information by logging into your account at www.payspe.com. You don’t need anything more than your SPE account number which is given to the customer upon enrollment and the service area zip code to access your account. You can also call Customer Service at 877-773-8099. I have moved in but still haven’t received SMS notifications. Usage reminders will begin as soon as we start receiving usage readings from your transmission provider. We receive usage two days after it is consumed and your first usage may take a day or two more to be sent. Be on the lookout 3 to 5 days after your service started to receive your first usage. Keep in mind, this first usage may have 2 or 3 days included in it and may not be representative of your daily usage. How do I get remaining balance back when I terminate the service? How long does it take for refund? Refunds of unused balance are returned typically within 10 business days of service finishing. We can send a check or also load back onto the credit card that was used most recently on the account. If you are moving out, please specify a forwarding address to receive any unused funds. Where do I find my account number? Once you have been successfully enrolled with SPE, you will receive a Welcome Packet in the mail which will contain your account number as well as other important account information. The balance notifications you receive through SMS will also contain your account number. There is also a link on our website’s “My Account” page where you can retrieve your account number. I just received a balance notification today, but it states I have the same balance as yesterday. Have I really used up 0 kWh in one entire day? There are some instances in which usage is delayed. In these instances we have no new usage the following day resulting in customers receiving consecutive balance alerts reflecting the same balance amount. Consequently, this usually indicates that we will receive more than one day of usage all at once when the usage readings finally arrive. Keep in mind that once we receive usage readings, it will be for more than one day of usage so you will see a larger decrease in your balance amount than what you are accustomed to seeing. I have been told that there is a Switch Hold on my meter, what do I do? Switch Holds are placed on the meters by your local energy distribution company or by the energy company that was previously serving your address to help ensure payments of owed amounts. Switch Holds are usually placed either because the previous occupant tampered with the meter or made a payment arrangement with their service provider which enabled the service provider to have a switch hold placed on the meter to prevent the previous occupant from switching to a new provider. If you are a new tenant just fill out the New Occupant Statement Form and send a fully executed copy of the New Occupant Statement Form along with a copy of your entire lease to us either through email or fax. I am moving and want to continue to use SPE at my new address, how do I transfer my service to my new address? Simply call Customer Service at 877-773-8099 between normal business hours so that we can assist you in transferring your service to your new address. How do I discontinue my service with SPE? You can request that your services be disconnected by simply visiting www.getspe.com and logging in to the "Manage Your Account" portal. Once inside the portal, click on the "Customer Service" link which will redirect you to the "Customer Service" page. In the "Contact Us" form simply provide us with the date you would like for your service to end, and a forwarding address should there be any remaining funds once your service has been discontinued. Is your question not addressed here? Call 877-773-8099 or email info@getspe.com for additional information. Does Smart Prepaid Electric bill on a month-to-month basis? No. Smart Prepaid Electric is Pay As You Go. You use the electricity that you have already purchased. There are no bills for Pay As You Go, merely balance alerts to let you know how much balance you have remaining.

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