Duane Hicks
Fort Frances Power Corp. customers now have the option to get their hydro bills via e-mail.
The FFPC launched its new electronic billing system today, and people can choose whether to get their bills sent to them in the mail or electronically.
Historically, customers have received a paper bill in the mail. But now they have a choice to go “paperless” and receive their monthly bill electronically, said FFPC CEO and president Joerg Ruppenstein.
He noted the new method of billing “enables some new functionality which we’ve never had before, so they can look at their bill, look at their billing information, consumption history.”
“It gives them a lot more information on what their bill is made up of.
“With a paper bill, you don’t really see the granular, consumption data in behind your bill,” Ruppenstein added.
“It’s based on totals—total consumption and what time of use ‘bucket’ that electricity was consumed in,” he explained.
“Going forward, the customer will actually be able to drill down to look at their electricity usage profile and have access to their metering information, billing information, billing history, and just a very modern tool to help customers monitor and understand their electricity usage.”
Not getting a paper bill also means less paper waste, which some customers want, noted Ruppenstein.
In fact, the FFPC invited local resident Carole Wilde—who recently wrote a letter to council asking that the town investigate offering paperless billing—to be the first person to register for their e-billing.
She visited the FFPC office here yesterday, where Ruppenstein guided her through the sign-up process.
“I’m very happy to see it happen,” said Wilde, adding she has been “bugging” the FFPC for about four years to switch to e-billing.
She and her husband, Randy, live at Bear’s Pass but purchased a house in Fort Frances, which they rent out and pay utilities for.
“When I go away for my winter vacation, I come home to a stack of bills like this,” noted Wilde.
“Mind you, they come off my account, but I have no idea whether they jibe with what the paper copy is,” she remarked.
“So I come in here every time we come back from Texas and bug them.”
Reasoning that she can get her gas, phone, and most other bills electronically, Wilde wrote a letter to council to see if it would consider offering e-billing to local residents.
Coun. Paul Ryan submitted the letter to council on Wilde’s behalf last Monday.
“I thought maybe I should put a bug in somebody’s ear and we should get moving on this,” she noted, adding she very surprised when the FFPC contacted her less than a week later.
“I didn’t think it would go this far,” laughed Wilde, referring to being personally invited to the e-billing launch.
Customers can sign up for e-billing by going on the FFPC’s website at ffpc.fort-frances.com
Ruppenstein said it should take less than two minutes to register.
All the person needs is their customer account number and meter number—both of which are found on an old copy of their FFPC bill.
“That registration process will automatically flip a customer from receiving a paper bill to receiving an e-bill, as well as grant them access to a new online portal that they can log in and view their bill with,” said Ruppenstein.
He added e-billing provides a slight savings to the FFPC in postage, although there has been an expense to administering this new tool.
“Really, the advantage is that the customers now have a choice of going paperless,” he remarked.
“We understand that we have an elderly population in our community so we will be preserving our paper billing,” Ruppenstein stressed.
“We’re pretty adamant about offering a choice and not forcing people to go with e-billing.
“It’s about what choice better suits a customer’s lifestyle,” he reasoned. “If you like to have that paper bill in your hand, then we will continue to offer that.
“On the flip side, if you want to pull it up on your iPad or your iPhone, we will be offering that service, as well.”
Ruppenstein said the launch of the e-billing service, which has been in the works since 2012, is in partnership with utilities in Atikokan, Kenora, Sioux Lookout, and Thunder Bay.
This cost-effective way of doing things ensures customers in all of those communities will be able to opt for e-billing.
