Getting smart and staying in control with Pay as You Go metering
Private landlords, residents and local authorities are all continuing to realise the benefits SMART Pay as You Go metering delivers in controlling energy costs and safeguarding payments. Andy Wilkinson, CEO of Wilson Energy, explains how the leading provider of fully integrated heating, metering, pre-payment and billing and bureau services has been helping customers to reap the rewards of making the switch.
With interest rates rocketing and energy costs spiralling, private landlords and housing associations have had to navigate the complex challenges of reducing infrastructure costs while mitigating risks of defaults on electricity payments by tenants. Add poor energy tariffs from utility suppliers and customer complaints into the mix and it’s easy to understand why many customers are switching to end-to-end solutions to combat these problems.
Spotlight on sub metering
As one of the UK’s leading suppliers of SMART metering systems WilSon Energy specialises in secondary, sub-metering installations for all types of applications, supporting landlords across the property sector. Our customers range from holiday park operators, HMO landlords, buy to let and student accommodation landlords to private owners and social housing facilities, but all of them benefit from the same service; Pay as You Go metering that is revolutionising the sector by providing security, peace of mind and convenience of upfront payments.
Sub metering works where a customer wants to share an existing (metered) main electricity or water supply with others. Inexpensive to install, they can be set up using much of the existing infrastructure and without running new supply cables, cutting down costs of up to 50 per cent in a well-wired property. Landlords and business owners can also pass on these costs as a ‘service charge’ through the SMART meter’s built-in Fixed Weekly Charge facility to ensure they are not losing money.
A flexible solution for landlord and tenant
Versatility is a key benefit of Pay as You Go private electricity network services. Suitable for new build developments from the start, it can also be retrofitted into private network properties where the existing metering supply is on a post-pay basis and implemented into an HMO house conversion or into three or four separate flats. Apart from a few initial set-up costs, the service is cost neutral, saving customers time and money.
By providing an end-to-end solution and managing the full metering and billing process, property managers are provided with a fully automated system and accurate energy consumption data and billing. However, landlords aren’t the only people to benefit; tenants can set a budget and also take advantage of tariffs that are better than they would get from traditional pre-pay meters, as the energy price is generally lower. Top ups are quick and easy. Smart meters can be topped up in shops, online or from a smartphone using a dedicated App for added efficiency that keeps tenants in control of their utilities.
Committed to customer service excellence
WilSon Energy’s dedicated UK pay-as-you-go team manages customers, facilitates payments and handles all technical and payment queries, but we also have a weather eye on the future. Our energy procurement team can offer a service to identify that a main supply is being billed correctly and claim back any incorrect charges as well as finding the the best deal when a contract is up for renewal.
By managing the whole process, including meter supply, installation and commissioning by our trained engineers, data collection, pay-as-you-go management service and transfer of funds, we can do the heavy lifting so our customers can focus on the day job.
For more information about WilSon Energy’s end-to-end utility metering services, visit: https://wilsonenergy.co.uk/.
