Attorneys: Prepay ready for prime-time if regulators will wise up

Smart Grid News writer Jesse Berst discusses DEFG’s two new position papers from the Prepay Energy Working Group. He says, “It’s hard to go a week without a cry for U.S. electric power regulators to upgrade their policies and procedures to better address this century’s conditions. The latest example challenges regulators to rethink their traditional bias against prepay.” He notes that the authors are advocating prepay as a legitimate part of a utility’s programs with appropriate consumer protections. “One paper explains challenges and best practices for marrying prepay with low-income assistance programs. The other proposes policy changes to properly accommodate prepay, remote disconnect and other new capabilities made possible by the smart grid,” he says.