Pay as you go electricity plans allow consumers to pay for their electricity in advance. The plan, which uses prepayment meters, helps consumers to monitor and control the way they use electricity. This saves on energy costs.

Keypad based prepaid meters: This meter has a keypad to input the electricity token number. Consumers purchase the credit using a variety of methods. These include visiting the agent, paying through banks or mobile payments in some countries.

Key meter: Consumer uses an electronic key loaded with the tariff information and credit.

One way card system: Uses a disposable card. The user purchases power with a reloadable debit card. The loaded card is then passed near the meter, which has an in-built card reader.

Two-way card systems: Uses a smart card and the meters have a real-time, two-way communication capability. It is one of the most secure, but more complex and expensive methods to implement.

These allow consumers to interact with their meters and query balances using their mobile phones by sending an SMS to a monitoring system. In addition, the user is able to track electricity use by the hour, day, month or annually using the phone or online access.

These smart prepaid meters offer easier top up options. They include online payments or by text, as well as scheduled and auto top-ups.

When using a prepaid meter, the customer must keep track of the remaining credits and replenish to avoid disconnection.

Ensure there is enough credit when going away for long periods. The meter will continue collecting the standing charges even when on no load. Consumers should ensure they have enough credit to last until they return.

Some crooks will take advantage of the consumer’s lack of knowledge and offer them cheaper credits than those bought directly from the utility company. For example, they will sell their credits at half price. This is more common with Key Prepaid Meters and the crooks will usually have master Keys, which they use to top off the consumer’s meter.

If the energy company finds out, the consumer ends up paying twice for their electricity; first to the crook, and then to the energy company.

To avoid falling victim:

We Respect Your Time – Custom Electrical Services knows that we live in a extremely busy world with hectic schedules. When you call one of our Ames electricians we will have courteous and helpful team members take your call and work with you to schedule your appointment.  Our uniformed Ames electrician will arrive in a warehouse on wheels.  They will have the part needed for your repair and if for some reason they do not there is no additional charge to you.  Our electricians have 24 hour access to leading Ames supply houses as well as access to all Des Moines metro area suppliers. This not only saves you time but money as well.

 We Respect Your Schedule – Our electrician in Ames understand that you are making time in your busy schedule to have your electrical problems fixed. Our friendly electricians are prompt and professional and even give you a narrow time window so you don’t have to wait around on them all day. We Respect Your Business – Custom Electrical Services knows that you have choices; we respect your business and will always do the job right the first time. Our Ames electricians never take shortcuts and always use the highest grade materials available.  We understand how important your business is to you as ours is to us.  We want to build long term lasting relationships with our customers so they know they can always count on one of our electricians in Ames to for all there electrical needs.

 We Respect Your Safety – Custom Electrical Services doesn’t just send anybody to your Ames home or business, we send one of our trusted professionals.  Your safety is our number one concern.  That is why we make sure all our service professionals undergo stick 3rd party certifications.  Our electricians are Drug Tested, Background Checked, and Professionally Trained.

Electrician in Ames 24/ 7 Service Area Map

Our on call Ames electricians have a large service area.  We cover not only the Ames area but also the entire Des Moines, Iowa metro area.  Even if you live outside of Ames please do not hesitate to give us a call 24 hours per day.  We can cover areas outside of Ames.  Our on call Ames electrician get your home or business up and running in no time.  Service calls and repairs are not the only thing our electrician can do for you.  At Custom Electrical Services we wire over 300+ new construction homes each and every year.  Are you the general contractor on your home or working with a professional general contractor?  Make sure you have Custom Electrical Services bid your next project.  Our design team and put lighting layouts on your plan and make sure you have the latest and greatest options for your homes electrical.

It seams that as the year progresses each season comes with its own positives and negatives. We have been fortunate to have a very beautiful spring so far, and looks like we will be in for a very hot summer. This means that we should all be getting out our sunscreen and turning up our air conditioning units. But if you want to save money on your energy bill this spring and summer, check out some of these tips that can help you cool down on a budget. 

When it is hot outdoors and the warm air is trying to come in, you don’t want to start creating your own warm air inside. Turning on the oven or stove in your kitchen will start to give off additional heat that you then attempt to reduce through the thermostat control. You can avoid this battle of temperatures through proper meal planning and using the BBQ. This will help you to keep the thermostat where it is without using additional electricity to fight energy use!

At night it tends to cool down, but a hot bedroom can lead to a restless sleep. These dark hours are an opportunity for you to save money by eliminating those additional cooling devices. To keep yourself as cool as possible at night without out electrical devices, use cotton sheets. Cotton provides breathability and allows the heat to escape. Seasonal bedding like this is an energy smart decision. Use flannel/fleece for winter, and cotton for summer.

Instead of powering up your AC unit to cool your entire home, try using small, oscillating fans in strategic places to keep you cool. If you are sitting on your couch in the living room then this is the only room that needs to be cooled. Turn a fan toward you and enjoy. It is much cheaper to power one or two small fans than an entire AC unit.

This is a simple fix that can certainly help those with large windows in your home. While your summer view may be beautiful, the sunrays will beam in an heat up your living space. Close your blinds to keep it out and you will notice a significant decrease in temperature. At night when the sunsets you can open them back up and even open the windows to let the cooler breeze through. This way you can still enjoy a nice evening and take advantage of your views.

While we love electricity as it has allowed us to live comfortable lives, we should use it wisely as it can increase our monthly bills. If you are interested in installing energy efficient light bulbs, AC units, or improving your home electrical bills, contact Expert Electric at 604-681-8338. Our licenced electricians can identify where you can save your money the most.