Gulf Power ends customer payment at Milton office

Gulf Power customers can still pay their power bill at the drive-through window at 5120 Dogwood Drive in Milton. But that will change after Dec. 29. [AARON LITTLE | Press Gazette]

MILTON — The Gulf Power location at 5120 Dogwood Drive in Milton will not accept customer payments after Dec. 29.

The decision comes after the company learned customers prefer paying online, by mobile phone and at alternative payment locations. 

Question:

Bill from Milton asks, "What’s going on with Gulf Power payments? Gulf Power [has] shut down the payment station and taken everything offline. They will have you mail the payment in or pay online. A security lady told me the only option was drive-through and I had to have cash or check." 

Answer:

In October of 2016, Gulf Power announced a plan called Service to Fit Your Life, an effort to make paying the power bill easier.

"Gulf Power is always looking for ways to make things easier for customers, with surveys showing more customers are moving toward self-service and technology-based transactions," Gulf Power spokesperson Rick DelaHaya said in a press release at the time.

New services the company would roll out over time included payment kiosks as well as authorized payment locations like Western Union, MoneyGram and CheckFree Pay.

However, over the past year, Gulf Power noticed fewer customers using these kiosks.

"It did not make sense to continue to offer this service," Gulf Power Corporate Communication Specialist Kimberly Blair said. "A majority of our customers prefer the convenience of paying on our website, our mobile app, by phone and at the approved payment locations."

Customers who still wish to pay in cash can still do so through locations with a Western Union or CheckFree Pay, according to Blair. Those include Walmart, Walgreens, Publix, Winn-Dixie and banks like Region Bank and Coastal Bank & Trust.

The drive-through at the Milton Gulf Power office will also close, according to Blair.

"Dec. 29 will be the last day bill payments will be accepted in local offices," she said.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article erroneously stated that Dec. 2 would be the last day bill payments will be accepted at the Milton office.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Gulf Power ends customer payment at Milton office