Up until recently, the idea of a prepaid electricity service has been a novelty held by a small number of utilities in the United States. Lately however, this prepaid concept has begun to pick up momentum as large cellular companies try to hop onto the rapidly growing market.

AT&T’s lead project manager states that the nearly one third of consumers on a prepay mobile plan cannot be ignored, which contrasts with the smaller than 1% total of electricity consumers that are using a prepaid plan. A study done by AT&T shows that a significant one third of utilities that were surveyed would be highly likely to implement a prepaid system if the transition was possible with little to no cost.  The rapid adoption of smart meters in places like Texas will provide the necessary infrastructure for the growth of prepaid plans.