As part of its ongoing effort to improve payment options for customers, reduce costs and keep the price of electricity as low as possible, Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. has announced that it no longer will accept in-person payments at company offices after Dec. 6.

"Our customers tell us that keeping down the price they pay for electric service is important to them," said Thomas C. Stathos, PP&L's manager of Customer Programs and Support. "We can help by eliminating costly and least-used methods of collecting payments."

PP&L will close company-operated bill payment centers at its Allentown, Harrisburg, Lancaster and Montoursville offices. In addition, PP&L will remove all payment drop boxes and will stop accepting walk-in payments at other company offices.

PP&L has done a thorough study of how customers pay their bill, why they choose particular options and what it costs to process payments, Stathos said. Only about 2 percent of PP&L's 1.2 million customers pay at a company cashier or drop box. Those in-person payments are as much as 10 times more costly to process than mail payments or electronic fund transfers.

"Our research shows that most customers who pay in person do so to avoid stamp or check costs, not out of necessity," he said.

"We offer more convenient payment methods, which can save those customers time, money and worry, while reducing PP&L's costs. We will be making customers aware of those more convenient options. In addition, we are exploring new payment methods that will give customers even more options in the future," he added.

Through the fall, PP&L will be promoting its Automatic Bill Payment program, which automatically transfers the bill amount from the customer's checking or savings account on the bill's due date.

Electronic transfers are the most convenient method of payment for customers, and the least costly way for PP&L to process bill payments. About 9 percent of PP&L's customers already use Automatic Bill Payment. PP&L receives another 67,000 payments per year from customers who use pay-by-phone services, personal computers or other electronic transfers.

For customers who need to pay in cash, PP&L will continue to provide a network of payment agents in communities across the company's service area. Stathos said PP&L is working to improve that network.

"We want to manage third-party payments more effectively," he said. "We want to make sure third-party payment agents are located close to customers who need them, and that they offer extended hours for customers' convenience."

Improvements in the way bill payments are managed will save PP&L about $1 million a year in payment collection costs without reducing service to customers.