In addition, utilities using VeriFlex receive payment before delivery of service, improving cash flow by 45 to 60 days. The meter measures total power consumption and generates notices indicating when remaining value is low. PATMs equipped with a modem support two-way communication between the utility and the home. In the event that prepaid meter value is running low and that revalue would be difficult, such as 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning, the utility company may choose to offer a customer a code to advance emergency credit, deducting the advanced power value at the next recharge. To prepay for utility service, consumers take their utility-issued smart card to any participating utility office or merchant location.
Customers prepay any amount, which is loaded onto their smart card.
During the revalue process, information about the customer's power usage and meter outages is sent to the utility. The PATM communicates through Metering Technology Corporation's power line carrier interface to the meter. The meter automatically decrements value as service is used. The entire solution operates from a central server at the utility headquarters, which runs VeriSmart II, the revaluing engine for the VeriFlex Utility Solution. VeriSmart II enables the utility's existing customer information systems to share data with the revalue application used at participating payment locations.