Just like putting gas in your car – with Pay As You Go, you pay for your electricity first and then use it. Customers create an initial credit on their account of at least $25.00 including unbilled charges at the time of setup. Lakeland Electric will provide electricity and other utilities as long as there is a credit balance on the account. Customers can add funds to their account whenever they choose and for whatever amount they wish. Customers can also set up an automatic bank draft for their account that will periodically add funds based on their settings.
The program is available to all residential customers on the standard price plan, except for medically essential accounts. By participating, customers become more aware of their electricity usage and could end up saving money. However, it requires the customers to pay attention to their account. Just like a car that can run out of gas, your electricity account can run out of electricity. Customers who frequently rely on payment extensions or Delay Days may not want to participate in this program.
If you are interested in this program, please call our Customer Service Representatives at 863-834-9535 and ask them to provide you with a suggested minimum payment to get your account started. They will factor in how much you have spent on a monthly basis in the past, how often you receive your pay check, the daily, prorated charge for other utilities (garbage, water, etc.), as well as unbilled charges or service fees.
There are no deposits or late fees for this program. If you run out of money on your account and your electric service is turned off, the outstanding balance, a service fee, and a minimum credit of $25.00 are required on the account for reconnection. To manage your account, just click “Manage My Account” and log in.
Just contact us at 863-834-9535, no application is required to open or transfer an account. For existing customers with deposits on their account, the deposit funds will be applied to their account balance. Any remaining deposit funds in excess of the balance due will be credited to the customer’s account during the Pay As You Go setup process.
As a Pay As You Go customer, you will not be issued a monthly statement. There is a monthly “true up process” that will increase or decrease the Pay As You Go credit for those customers who have other utility services that will be prorated during the month. Customers are encouraged to login to Lakeland Electric’s “Manage My Account” online to view how much money they have left on their account. Customers will also be able to view their monthly and daily electricity consumption data, payment and low balance notification history, Pay As You Go balance remaining, and the number of days of credit remaining based on your average daily cost.
There is no deposit required when you open a new Pay As You Go account. If you are an existing customer and have a deposit on your account, your deposit funds are applied to your account balance. Any remaining deposit funds in excess of the balance due, will be credited to your new Pay As You Go account. No new deposit is required when you transfer to a Pay As You Go account once you resolve your outstanding balance.
Once the account reaches a balance due of $1.00 or more (the customer owes Lakeland Electric $1.00 or more), a disconnect order will be generated. If your service is disconnected, you will have to pay the outstanding balance and a service fee and have a minimum credit of $25.00 on the account. Once you have a minimum credit of $25.00, the reconnect order will be issued.
Your home must have a smart meter, you must have internet access so that you can view your account via “Manage My Account”, and you must provide at least two of the following methods of communication so Lakeland Electric can keep you advised of your account balance: i. Mobile phone number for SMS text or voice messages ii. Email address iii. Land line phone number with voicemail capability
Each Pay As You Go customer is required to indicate a low balance on their Pay As You Go account, noted in the previous question above. Lakeland Electric uses the number of days remaining to determine if the Pay As You Go account should be notified. When the days of credit remaining reaches the individuals threshold set on the account, a notification will be sent that morning and every day following until payment is made that puts the credit above the threshold amount. Lakeland Electric will notify you if your balance is getting low using the methods of communication (email, voicemail, text messages) you have provided us (see the previous question.)
Yes, each customer can set up their number of days remaining thresholds, as long as they do not fall below the minimum days as defined by Lakeland Electric (i.e. text – 2 days, interactive voice mail – 4 days, email – 7 days)
Your account will be charged daily for the amount of electricity you have consumed based on the reading provided by your Smart Meter. It should be noted that Pay As You Go accounts do not update during the weekends. Once the account is set up and the money is loaded into the account, it starts being used immediately, just like the gas in a car. So we strongly encourage customers to monitor their account on the Lakeland Electric website (www.lakelandelectric.com and click on “Manage My Account”) EVERY SINGLE DAY. By doing this, you will see when and how you are spending your utility dollars and change your habits to save money on your bill.
The other utility charges billed on the Pay As You Go account will have a prorated amount taken out daily. The Monthly true-up process will adjust the Pay As You Go credit up or down based on actual usage of other consumption-based charges (water and wastewater)
