It’s a terrible feeling, to realize you forgot to mail a bill — especially when it’s due the next day and the company’s offices are across town! We’re all human, and these things happen. But now, El Paso Electric is making it easier than ever to pay your electric bill. The company recently launched a new website and bill payment app.

Not only do these new features take the stress out of remembering to pay your bill, but they also make it simple to learn how to save money on your energy bills and to access your account.

“There are so many enhancements for customers,” said Tessie Alvarado, El Paso Electric Analyst-Customer Information Systems. “It’s easier to pay your bill, to view different options for paying your bill, to start and stop your service and to view information on your account.”

Alvarado, who has worked for El Paso Electric for 39 years, said that, before starting these two projects, the company did extensive research to ensure they were meeting customers’ needs.

In addition to feedback from her department and others that directly work with customers, El Paso Electric asked a group of employees to share what they heard customers wanted — not only while on the job but also while out in the community and with friends and family members. The company also conducts annual customer surveys to continuously work on ways to improve services.

“There are so many things that our customers want nowadays — they don’t want to have to go into an office anymore to pay a bill unless they absolutely need to,” she said. “They usually prefer to do it over the phone or internet. We’re trying to give the customers as many options as we can.”

Here’s a look at some of the highlights of the new site and app:

Bill Management Center: 

El Paso Electric’s Bill Management Center provides everything you need to manage all aspects of your electric bill. Learn how to read your bill, dispute a cost or find a payment option that fits your needs.

You can learn about:

• Scheduling payments automatically with e-Bill
• Paying your bill in person, at EPE Offices and Authorized Payment Centers — these offices now accept credit cards.
• Setting up Budget Billing, which allows you to pay your electric bill with a prearranged amount each month. Your payment amount is calculated by taking your estimated yearly consumption and dividing it by 12.

Bill2Pay app: 

This new system lets EPE customers pay their electric bill with any Apple or Android mobile device or from a computer.

The Bill2Pay app can be downloaded for free from the Apple or Google Play store. Once installed, search for “El Paso Electric” from the list of utilities and begin your payment process by following the prompts. Or, you can pay your EPE online from the El Paso Electric website. Payments post within minutes.

• Payments (a maximum of $600) can be made 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (including holidays).
• A service fee of $1.95 applies to all forms of payment. (El Paso Electric does not receive any portion of the Bill2Pay service fee.) The payments are processed by Bill2Pay. The Bill2Pay fee for this service will appear on your credit card bill or bank statement.
• Accepted forms of payment are: Visa, MasterCard and Discover; ATM/debit cards with a Pulse, Star, NYCE or ACCEL logo; electronic checks.
• If you have received a shut-off notice or are paying in order to have service restored, you will then need to call El Paso Electric Customer Service in your state with your confirmation number to let them know you made a payment and/or to schedule reconnection.

EPE Move Center: 

New and existing customers can manage their El Paso Electric account quickly and conveniently with the EPE Move Center. With just a few clicks, you can set up, stop or change service — even if you need electricity for new construction. You can also select a day that works for you, so that your power is set up exactly when you need it to be.

So far, the feedback from the El Paso Electric community is positive, said Alvarado.

“Customers are commenting that they like it,” she said. “It’s nice to see many of the things that customers have asked for — they’re here now."