Estonia makes e-billing switch

The wee nation of Estonia is set to switch to online bill processing at the state level to cut costs, according to TMCNet.

The switch will only apply to accounts payable by the state to begin with, but the government plans to run pilot projects on accounts receivable as well.

"The e-billing environment will make state accountancy more transparent and will also improve the work of state accountants, freeing them from the need to type all the data from bills into the system," says Jurgen Ligi, finance minister.

Last week CPS Energy sent out notices to 6 676 customers advising them of a billing issue that resulted in some customers receiving the wrong bill or no bill at all, reveals KSAT.

In a statement released to the media, CPS said they are sending letters to the affected customers, asking them to compare the names and addresses at the top and bottom of their billing statements to verify that their names and addresses are correct in both places.

If the names and/or service addresses do not match, the customers should dispose of the bills.

New bills have been issued to the affected customers, and letters are being mailed both to the 3 338 customers who received billing statements that were not theirs and to the 3 338 whose bills were mailed to the wrong addresses.

In response to requests from water utilities customers wanting to go green and not receive a monthly paper statement, the Tyler Water Utilities Department in Texas is offering e-billing as an option for their customers, reports the East Texas Review.

Staff will update customer accounts and after the next billing cycle they will receive an e-mail letting them know that their bill is ready to be paid.

“We are pleased to offer this new service to our customers,” says Joan Roberson, water business office manager. “Enhanced services like this are just one tactic that we are employing to provide our customers the best possible service.”