This month I’d like to talk about one of our rate options. Trico’s Pay As You Go program is as simple as it sounds: Members pay for electricity before it is used, then use the electricity until the credit expires.

A terrific analogy for Pay As You Go is putting gas in your car. Say you only have $30 for the week to pay for gasoline. You drive down to the station, pump in $30 and drive off. As you drive during the week, what happens? You monitor the gauge and make sure each trip is necessary. If you drive too much, you burn up your $30 before the week is out. Literally. By checking the gauge throughout the week, you became more prudent with your gas use and made informed decisions on when and how much to use.

Now let’s transfer that analogy to your account with Trico. Normally, you would get a bill after you have used the electricity. Sometimes it comes as a shock. “How could I possibly have used so much electricity?” Pay As You Go is designed to ease – and hopefully eliminate – that shock. Let’s take a look at how it works.

Pay As You Go is a self-managed program. You purchase electricity before you use it. Payments can be made when you want – online, over the phone, on the SmartHub app or in person at Trico’s office. When your account runs low, you will get an alert by email, text or phone call.

With Pay As You Go, Members will be able to avoid deposits, due dates and reconnect fees.

Members are responsible for keeping up to date on their account and should ensure that it always has a credit balance. Members can access their prepay account balances and monitor their usage online at trico.smarthub.com.

Is Pay As You Go the right choice for you?

While Pay As You Go is a great program, it may not be suitable to all Members and is not available to non‑residential, time‑of-use, net metering, Distributed Generation (DG) Energy Export, or critical load (medical necessity) customers or for those participating in the Budget Billing program. Pay As You Go works best for Members who want to take control of their electric account and energy usage. By monitoring your consumption on a regular basis, you will notice patterns in your day-to-day usage and learn how to conserve energy. Monitoring and controlling daily usage can help keep those electric costs down.

Statistics indicate prepay electricity programs help lower electric consumption due to Member’s awareness of usage patterns.

Pay As You Go teaches the value of electricity, what uses kilowatts in your home, provides absolute control over how much you pay and helps you reduce your energy use. It is a tremendous way to power your life.

To join Pay As You Go, contact a Trico representative at 520-744-2944 or click here to sign up online.