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Council hears AcceleronPointPay prepaid-utility pitch; staff asked to return with details
Summary
Representatives for Acceleron described a prepaid utility program called PointPay to allow customers to prepay electricity and recover overdue balances. Councilmembers raised questions about costs, deposits and integration; the presentation was referred to the Aug. 11 work session for follow-up.
Representatives for Acceleron presented a prepaid-utility option called PointPay to the East Point City Council on Aug. 4, saying the program would let customers preload accounts, receive real-time usage alerts and automatically restore service after payment.
"This initiative is designed to offer a more flexible customer-focused utility payment option for the residents of East Point," said Alicia Parsons, identified in the meeting as the project manager for East Point Power and Acceleron. Parsons said Acceleron runs prepaid programs for more than 2 million customers in the U.S. and that PointPay can roll existing overdue balances into a customer's payment plan so past-due amounts can be repaid incrementally while restoring service.
The presentation outlined operational features: customers keep a prepaid balance that declines with usage; low-balance alerts trigger auto-recharge if configured; and payment through a mobile app, web portal or in cash at retail stores can trigger remote reconnection through the city's AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) system. Acceleron told council staff the initial integration and licensing cost for a pilot would be about $15,000, and estimated a per-customer monthly service cost that the vendor suggested could be passed to participating customers.
Council members pressed for specifics. Council member Ziegler asked whether PointPay would return or apply existing security deposits; Acceleron representatives said deposits already held by the utility would be applied to a customer's prepaid starting balance. Council member Atkins asked how the program would integrate with the city's portal and whether reconnection fees would be charged; Acceleron said there would be no reconnection fee for customers on the prepaid plan and that reconnections occur automatically when payment posts.
Parsons and Acceleron payment specialist Derek (Darren) Rayburn said the vendor recommends a phased pilot targeting customers with high arrears, landlords and properties with frequent tenant turnover. They said the product has worked in other utilities to recover a large share of overdue balances within the first two years of deployment.
Council members and staff asked for a list of comparable utilities using the product, a clearer estimate of ongoing costs to the city and to customers, and written details on integration with the city's billing and AMI systems. The council voted to place the item on the Aug. 11 work session agenda for deeper review and staff Q&A.
The council did not take an approval vote on PointPay at the meeting; Parsons said Acceleron would return with answers to technical and pricing questions before any contract or pilot request was brought forward for approval.
Why it matters: City staff said East Point has more than $280,000 in utility accounts over 90 days past due; the council will weigh whether a prepaid option could help recover arrears and reduce after-hours reconnections while balancing costs to customers.
