State-owned power company Electric Power Corporation (E.P.C.) will be closing its midnight cashier service at Vaitele from 12 midnight to 9.00am.

The new change will be effective as of Friday 18 December 2020 and was announced in a signed public statement issued by the E.P.C. General Manager, Faumui Tauiliili Iese Toimoana.

The General Manager said that in the last two years the E.P.C. has been working hard to make the purchase of prepaid electricity accessible for all customers and the general public.

As a result, over 100 outlets now provide this service with 92 in Upolu and 37 in Savaii.

Furthermore, the corporation has also entered into partnership with local telecommunication companies for the use of their platforms to enable customers to access access the service from the comfort of their homes.

The public notice also advised that this service is also available at selected local stores in an effort to further make the operation of the corporation more cost effective.

“We will be closing our midnight cashier service at Vaitele from 12 midnight to 9.00am effective from Friday 18^th December 2020,” read the public statement.

It also added that their cashier services will only be opened at Vaitele from 9.00am to 12.30am.

E.P.C. customers have also been asked to use any of its private merchants as well as M-Tala and Money Wallet for the purchase of prepaid electricity if required outside of the operating hours.

The corporation further urged members of the public to refer to their website: www.epc.ws for details of the merchants for the purchase of prepaid electricity outside of our operating hours or contact our office on 65527, 65555 or 65543.

Prepaid Power was introduced to E.P.C. customers in 2004 to improve the corporation's debt collection and assist customers in the control of their electricity usage. 

In 2008, as part of the Samoa Power Sector Expansion Project, the single and three-phase prepayment metering project commenced, which aimed to convert at least 75 per cent of consumers using readable meters to using prepayment meters, by the end of 2013.