The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) said more of its customers will be better able to manage their electricity usage and avoid disconnection, as the company expands its Pay as You Go (PAYG) prepaid service across the island.

This new service from JPS allows customers to top up with electricity, much like they would add credit on their mobile phones. It was introduced as a pilot in Kingston, St Andrew and St Catherine in 2015, and, JPS said since then it has received good reviews from customers. In July 2016, JPS started expanding PAYG to all parishes.

“It is for the customer who wants the power to manage their bills and track the amount of electricity they use each day of the month. We started with the pilot in three parishes and were able to test the technology and customer behaviour, and feedback has been very good. So now we are rolling out across all parishes,” explained Keith Garvey, vice president of customer service at JPS.

The prepaid meter fits into customers’ existing meter socket, and provides them with a digital readout of their electricity consumption right there in the comfort of their homes.

Customers, he said, can sign up for the service at JPS locations across Jamaica.

“JPS has partnered with TEPINS to make topping up even more convenient, so anywhere you buy credit for your phone on a ‘GO’ machine island-wide, you can also buy credit for your JPS metre,” he said, explaining that customers can also top up at any Bill Express location, or online at myjpsco.com.

“You simply tell the vendor the amount you want, they generate a voucher and you enter that voucher number into your meter. You get credit instantly at your meter!” he said. “The digital metre shows your balance and it beeps when you are near empty so that you are alerted that you need to top up.”

“Any prepaid customer can go online, once they have a credit card, and top up. If somebody overseas wants to send you credit that person can now send it to your JPS meter using online top-up on the JPS website. And, if you should run out of credit in the middle of the night, you can get an emergency top-up by calling JPS’ Customer Care Centre,” he continued.