Prepaid electricity provider Powertime has announced that Android users are now able to utilise its series of smart power management and instant prepaid electricity purchase apps.

 

Powertime’s new Android app can be downloaded from the Android Market by users of smartphones powered by Google’s mobile OS, but they can also search for the app for their respective OS version, within the relevant app stores. They can simply search for Powertime within Apple’s app store, BlackBerry App World, or the Android Market.

 

 

Powertime enables its clients to buy tokens that they use to recharge their pre-paid electricity meters via their credit card accounts. The setup is simple and quick  with no faxing of documents and ID copies required. It meets international best practices in security as well as data privacy and features tools to allow South Africans to manage their power usage better.

 

These tools include PowerStream, allowing users to view the amount that they have spent in the past weeks or months and assists them in identifying trends or irregularities. The Virtual Meter keeps track of electricity consumption over the past months and gives the user a warning if they are getting low on power.

 

Many of the large electricity utilities are already enabled, the likes of Eskom, City Power (Johannesburg), City of Cape Town, Tshwane (Pretoria), Ekurhuleni and George.

 

The company first launched its solutions two years ago, enabling users to securely purchase electricity online via the web or their mobile phone’s internet browser. During 2010 it also introduced an iPhone app and followed this up with a BlackBerry app later that year, enabling users of Research In Motion’s (RIM’s) smartphones to also obtain this functionality. A Nokia solution is apparently also in the works.

 

“Our smartphone apps have proved incredibly popular with users, who love not having to leave home late at inconvenient times when their pre-paid power is about to run out,” said Ereeza Ryland, chief marketing officer at Powertime.

 

“Our users are also concerned about costs and the environmental impact of power consumption as repeated price-hikes hit, which makes our PowerStream functions so important to them. We already have many thousands of delighted customers, and have big plans to increase the number of devices we serve, as well as support more types of payments, such as EFT and debit cards.”