While MyPower may be one of the lesser-known billing options that CREC offers its members, it can help you reduce your energy use by 10-12% and increase your savings.
But what is MyPower, and how does it work?
In the simplest terms, MyPower is a prepaid electricity plan. It allows you to purchase your electricity in advance and then pay for more as needed. This gives members more control and flexibility over their electric use.
As a MyPower member, you make payments to your account, and the electricity that you use is paid for with those funds. When your account balance runs low, you will need to add funds to your account. You can decide how much or how little you wish to add based on your budget as well as when and how often. As long as your account balance remains above $0.01, your power remains on.
CREC’s MyPower can help you manage your electricity costs. The electricity prepay program lets you:
• Monitor daily energy use and cost
• Set your payment schedule
• Set energy use and account balance alerts (by phone, email, or text)
• Forego paying a deposit if one is required
• Current members who have already paid a deposit on an existing account can apply this deposit towards their current balance, requiring little to no additional funds to get started
To use MyPower effectively, members monitor their daily electricity usage through CREC's online member portal or the MyCuivre app. Doing so, especially if you're trying to save, lets you see how daily activities impact your use and costs. Then you can make changes that will make a difference right away. And with the prepay rate, the cost of each kilowatt-hour (kwh) is the same, so managing your average daily cost becomes easier than ever.
As part of enrolling in MyPower, you'll set up notifications and alerts that will enable you to be proactive about your usage and your account. This helps prevent stressful and not-so-pleasant surprises with your bill. Going one step further, you can also opt in for automatic reloads to your account (AutoPay) for added peace of mind.
With a prepaid energy plan like MyPower, it's easy for members to monitor their balance and usage and make payments through their existing account. Nearly 900 CREC members are enrolled in MyPower. Check out the potential savings by using our MyPower calculator. To find out your MyPower options and get a start-up quote for your account, please call 1-800-392-3709.
Currently, nearly 1,000 members participate in MyPower.
Considering MyPower? Use the calculator below to see how much you can save!
MyPower Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re trying to use less energy and check your costs often, it’s much easier to see how daily activities and weather impact your use and costs. You can make changes that will make a difference right away.
With traditional billing and payment methods, you can be $20 or more behind without knowing what you did to use electricity. MyPower members are very conscious of controlling the thermostat and learning how much electricity they need on a normal day. If something changes, they can find out what happened the next day – not four weeks later when their bill arrives.
The key requirement to keep your service on is to have a credit on your account. This can be as small or as large as you feel comfortable with. If you need to make a payment of $5 each day to keep your power on, or you prefer to keep a credit balance of $200 for peace of mind, you can do what works for you – you are in control.
A brand new member pays $80 upfront; $50 is the minimum MyPower starting balance and all new accounts have a $30 set-up fee. No deposit is required.
Startup costs vary for current members since all accounts must be paid up to date to begin MyPower. The amount will depend on how much energy was used since the last payment. Current members who have already paid a deposit on an existing account can apply this deposit towards their current balance, requiring little to no additional funds to get started.
You can use our mobile app, MyCuivre, or access your account through our member web portal to help you monitor your account and settings, daily energy use, charges, and payments. This along with alerts enables members to be proactive about their account.
Our mobile app and member web portal allow us to help you set up your initial alerts using text messages, phone calls, and/or email. Alerts notify you about a daily balance, low balance, pending disconnect, disconnect, reconnect, and payment confirmation. You can change your settings as often as you like.
Alerts help you stay on top of your account balance.
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A low balance alert gives you advance notice before your account gets too low. For example, if you use about $5 a day and want a week’s warning, set your alert at $35.
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If your balance ever reaches $0, you’ll get a pending disconnect alert. To avoid disconnection, just add a small credit before the next business day.
With traditional billing, a disconnect notice could mean paying hundreds of dollars at once—including past energy use, late fees, and reconnect charges.
With prepay, every kilowatt-hour costs the same, so while your usage may vary, the price stays steady—making it easier to manage daily costs.
To review your MyPower options and get a start-up quote for your account, please call us, 1-800-392-3709.