The Common Problem of Pay-As-You-Go Solar Home System

Introduction

Globally, 1.2 billion people lack access to electricity, energy access is critical for inclusive economic growth and is supported by UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

The affordability is one of the biggest obstacles that stop the 1.2 billion people from using solar power, which is proved to be the fastest way to realize universal electrification, to solve the problem of affordability, Pay-As-You-Go as an innovative business model was introduced to the solar home system industry.

PAYGo business models allow users to pay for their products via technology-enabled, embedded consumer financing. A PAYGo company will typically offer a solar product (predominantly solar home systems and multi-light pico devices) for which a customer makes a down payment, followed by regular payments for a term ranging from six months to eight years. Payments are usually made via mobile money, though alternative methods include scratch cards, mobile airtime, and cash.

To run a PAYG company well, there are three essential part need to be considered, Capital, Quality and Service, the capital will decide how big your PAYG company can do, the quality and service will decide how far your PAYG company can go.

Challenges

For PAYGo operators, when more and more aftersales problems happened with the growing numbers of sales, it will create real trouble as most of the users are living in a remote village and not well-educated. The bad quality, un-user friendly, and easy to tamper Pay-As-You-Go Solar Home System becomes a problem that PAYGo operators can’t neglect. Some common product problem that leads to the high aftersales cost of a PAYGo business operation including:

Easy to tamper

No anti-tampering measures on the product, this result in some end-users can do the product reverse engineer easily or open the control box to use the battery directly, and don’t pay the product anymore.

No screen or unclear screen

No screen or unclear screen to show the device credit information and status, this result in the end-users forgot to pay on time. Product with no fault information can be shown, which creates an aftersales obstacle for the call center to detect the real problem that happened.

Using a separate/remote control keypad

A separate keypad or remote control keypad with the physical button is easy to break, color fading or lost in the service life, and the remote keypad also needs to replace the battery often, which is not user-friendly when there is no screen to show the token input.

Common accessories, no encryption

For accessories like solar panel, LED lamp, radio and torch, since there is no encryption, so the end-users can use the solar panel for other purposes or easily be stolen. LED lamp, radio and torch can be powered/charged and used by other power sources without paying.

Detachable battery

Radio and torch with detachable battery, which allows the end-users can replace the battery by themselves easily and make aftersales service more complicated. The end-users can use the BL-5C radio battery to power their feature phone and enjoy the assets of PAYG companies without paying.

No Battery Protection

The battery is the biggest value component of the product, the end-user can easily tamper the product and use the battery when there is no battery protection on both hardware and software, a big loss for the PAYG companies.

Case Study: Micenergy

Is there any way to solve the problem mentioned above and improve the Pay-As-You-Go Solar Home System with less trouble on aftersales? The answer is yes, Micergy design and manufacturing PAYG Solution at the highest level of quality, user-friendly and tamper-resistant level to help PAYG Operators decrease the default rate.

Welcome to visit Micergy website www.micergy.com or drop an email to info@micergy.com for more information.

About: Micergy is a next-generation technology company dedicated to designing and manufacturing of Pay-As-You-Go Solution and Off-Grid Solar Solution. We will update the latest product and insights of the off-grid solar sector, welcome to follow us and learn more about how to select your off-grid solar products.

Further Information

• Pay-as-you-go Approaches (PAYGO)
• Market Development of PAYGO
• PAYGO Approaches: Overhyped or Justified
• Advantages and Disadvantages of PAYGO Approaches
• Fee-For-Service or Pay-As-You-Go Concepts for Photovoltaic Systems
• Publication - Energy Access and Off-Grid Solar Use in Uganda: Examining Solar Adoption and the Role of Flexible Payment Mechanisms as a Driver for Energy Access
• SPIS Toolbox - Pay-Per-Use Business Model
• Role of Supporting Environment in Fostering Pay-as-you-go Approaches (PAYGO)
• Publication - The Fight for Light: Improving Energy Access through Digital Payments
• Publication - Mobile-enabled Energy for Humanitarian Contexts: The Case for Pay-as-you-go Solar Home Systems in Kakuma Refugee Camp