Prepaid Metering is a new way to pay for your electricity. Prepaid Metering is a pay-as-you-go electric service. You pay in advance for the electricity you will be using – no late fees or security deposit required.
Prepaid Benefits Include:
- No deposit required
- No late fees
- No collection or reconnect fees
- Easier budgeting
- Timely information about electric usage
FAQ’s
Prepaid Metering is a pay-as-you-go electric service. With this billing option, you pay in advance for the electricity you will be using and your prepaid account balance decreases as electric service is delivered.
A minimum $100 payment will be required to create a prepaid balance on the account.
No. To start a Prepaid Metering account, a $100 payment is required; payments can then be made in $5 or more increments.
Only Residential accounts with an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meter qualify for participation in the Prepaid Metering rate. Members on budget billing, net metering rate, or renewable resource rate are not eligible.
Members with Prepaid Metering may monitor account balance information via SmartHub, email notifications, text notifications, or by calling MVEA’s automated payment system.
Participants can make payments toward their Prepaid Metering balance at any time to ensure their account maintains a credit balance. The minimum amount that can be applied is $5.
If your payment is returned by the bank for insufficient funds or a stop payment, and the payment reversal reduces your electric account balance to zero or below, your service will be disconnected.
No. Members who are on Prepaid Metering service will not receive late fees.
You are responsible for setting up your notifications using SmartHub either online or by using the app.
Power will be disconnected once your account no longer has a credit. Disconnects will be immediate and without further notification including weekends, holidays, or during severe weather conditions.
Power will be reconnected once a $10 minimum credit is applied to the account’s prepaid balance. There are no fees associated with a disconnect on a Prepaid Metering account.
If a Prepaid Metering account is disconnected and no payments are made within 10 days, your account will be considered inactive, and a final bill will be mailed to your last known address.
No, the billing rate is the same as our standard residential rate. The monthly grid access is the same as well, just pro-rated daily.
Your prepaid bill is updated daily at 12 p.m.; you will not receive a monthly billing statement.
Payments will be applied to your account once received by MVEA.
Yes. MVEA will require full payment, and may require a deposit, as a condition of service.
Registering for account management through SmartHub takes less than 3 minutes! Check out these helpful step-by-step guides to registering your account today!
- Register your SmartHub account online (PDF)
- Download and register your SmartHub account using the mobile app (PDF)
Additional Resources
- MVEA Rates web page: Includes the official Prepaid Metering rate sheet.
- MVEA Payment Options web page: Includes information about additional payment options and account management tools.