Registration is real simple and easy. The Smart Choice Portal is a new, versatile tool that provides up-to-date information on utility customers’ electric and water usage. Both residential customers and businesses alike will benefit so they can really view their usage, track their data, and make better choices about their utility consumption. For residents with a Smart Choice meter, the portal gives access to their previous day's hourly usage for water and electricity, allowing customers better insight into their consumption habits. It would help them better see where and what is using their utilities. Maybe it's a long shower, or maybe you left a closet light on.
Little things like that can really impact how much you use by the day. The site is user-friendly and works on both a computer or mobile device. The portal is packed with helpful features for better customer service and transparency. Smart Choice offers online payment choices that customers are normally accustomed to, like autopay and average monthly billing. It also provides a new convenient option: Text-to-Pay. You go and you set it up. You actually get reminders of when your bill is due and how much is due. And it's simple, as by responding with a text message on to pay your bill. From the Smart Choice portal, users have access to features related to all City utilities, including electric, water, solid waste collection, and drainage.
Customers can report water leaks, schedule a bulk item collection, or even sign up for Edmond Electric's wind energy program, Pure and Simple. The portal is designed to be user-friendly and accessible for all Edmond residents. This portal actually has a tool at the bottom that allows them to switch the language. The button layout is still the same, but they can change it to their native language and better understand what they're looking at and what they're seeing. The implementation of Edmond's Smart Choice program occurred in 2019, when Council approved the initial contracts. Despite COVID and supply chain issues, new electronic smart meters have replaced most of the older analog water and electric meters throughout the city. What our goal is, is to be able to provide much more detailed usage information not only to our customers, but also to the utilities as well.
It helps us with everything from issues on our system to voltage problems. So we'll be able to respond to issues with our customer before they know it. It'll also help us increase the efficiency of our distribution systems, our water and electric systems. One significant advantage to Smart Choice meters is its ability to alert Edmond Electric when there is a problem with the system. With the Smart Choice network, we will actually be notified when that meter loses power so we can respond a lot quicker to outages and get our customers back in power sooner.
Customers will receive an email with a prompt to re-register and set up their Smart Choice Portal account. Upon landing on the homepage, you will see on the right-hand side where it says ‘Sign Up Now.’ Registration will take less than a minute. When residents sign up, they need to have their customer account number ready to enter. The process only takes a few moments. Upon registration, you will receive an email. You'll click on that email and then you'll log in. And immediately you'll be able to see your Smart Choice information. The City of Edmond is also considering other possible tools to offer in the future.
We're currently looking at everything from time-of-use rates for our customers, more detailed time-of-use rates. We're looking at the use of EVs on our system and how we can utilize this system to optimize the EV charging. We're looking at different options with water so we can optimize not only our customers experience, but our use of our distribution systems. If you are a City of Edmond utility customer and would like to register for the Smart Choice portal, please visit SmartChoice.EdmondOK.gov. You can also learn more about the Smart Choice program by visiting EdmondOK.gov/SmartChoice..