Pay power bill at Best Buy kiosks

By David Markiewicz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia Power customers who still like to pay their electric bill the old, old-fashioned way -- by going down to a local Georgia Power office with cash in hand -- now have a slightly higher-tech way to do the same thing.

As part of a pilot program, the utility is offering its 2.3 million customers the option of paying in person at self-service, automated kiosks inside seven Best Buy stores in metro Atlanta.

For a $2 charge, customers can get immediate posting of their payment, perfect for the last-minute sort. The kiosks feature a touch screen interface, Spanish as well as English instructions, but no change. If a customer pays more than the total of the bill, the overage will be applied to the next bill.

The service is provided through TIO Networks Corp., a Canadian company which bills itself as North America's "leading multi-channel expedited bill payment processor."

Georgia Power joins other businesses offering the kiosk payment service, including cell phone, cable and direct TV and natural gas companies.

Georgia Power spokeswoman Lynn Wallace said if the project is successful,the kiosks will be promoted more heavily starting in January.

Currently, the Best Buy locations with the kiosks are in Lithonia, Smyrna, Duluth, Morrow, Tucker, Atlanta and Gainesville.

Wallace said the cost of the program to Georgia Power is "minimal," with TIO bearing most of the expense.