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Cowlitz County PUD Selects Exceleron for Prepay Program

Dallas, Texas – November 13, 2013 — Public Utility District No. 1 of Cowlitz County, Washington  has joined a growing number of utility service providers that have selected Exceleron Software’s MyUsage Prepay to offer prepay accounts to consumers.
 
Utilities across the country are switching to a prepay model in which consumers pay for electricity before they use it. The prepay model offers consumers a pay-as-you-go option without any need for traditional monthly bills. Consumers with a prepay account have access to detailed information about their energy consumption and can choose the amount and frequency of payments, obtaining greater control over their energy consumption and budgeting practices.
 
Based in Longview, Washington, Cowlitz PUD has partnered with Dallas, Texas-based Exceleron Software, the leading software developer of prepay solutions for the utility sector. Exceleron is completing integration with Cowlitz PUD’s other systems and a pilot program will begin by the end of 2013. Upon successful completion of the pilot program, prepay accounts will be made available to all Cowlitz PUD residential consumers beginning in 2014.
 
“Cowlitz PUD is seizing the opportunity to use our software to provide valuable benefits to consumers throughout the service area,” said Jeff Severs, COO of Exceleron Software. “I’m confident that once word of their success spreads, additional utilities in Washington and throughout the Pacific Northwest will follow suit, improving customer service and customer satisfaction while realizing significant cost savings and energy conservation”
 
As a web-based, hosted solution, MyUsage offers full functionality without any need for the utility to purchase additional hardware or in-home devices. This minimizes the risk and expense of launching a prepay program, allowing utility service providers to pass the savings on to consumers.
 
Once an individual opts into a prepay program, there are no paper bills, no large deposits, no late charges, and no disconnect or reconnect fees.  Consumers can access their account balance and usage history via the MyUsage.com web portal, telephone, email, and text messaging, and they can apply additional funds to their prepay account through a variety of convenient payment options.
 
For more information about Exceleron Software and MyUsage Prepay, visit www.exceleron.com.
 
About Cowlitz PUD
Public Utility District No. 1 of Cowlitz County, WA (better known as Cowlitz PUD) provides electric service to 48,200 residential, commercial, industrial and street lighting customers county wide. Cowlitz County contains the cities of Castle Rock, Kalama, Kelso, Longview, Ryderwood, Silver Lake, Toutle and Woodland. For more information about Cowlitz PUD, visit www.cowlitzpud.org.
 
About Exceleron Software
Exceleron Software is the preeminent provider of prepayment and financial technology solutions for North American utilities, having served more than 100 utility customers and 500,000 prepay consumers. Electric, water, and gas utilities are using Exceleron’s MyUsage solution to recover more than $20 million in bad debt and process more than $500 million in payments while helping consumers practice energy conservation and avoid nearly $1 billion in service connection and late fees. Consumers have more access to detailed consumption information and greater control over the amount, frequency, and method of payments. This increases customer choice, improves customer satisfaction, and significantly lowers financial risk for utilities. For more information about MyUsage, visit www.exceleron.com.
 
Exceleron Software
Bob Finley
Director of Sales
972-852-2711
[email protected]

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