SCE Upgrades Customer Billing System

Please note: SCE’s customer information and billing system upgrade is complete. SCE.com has now been restored.

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As Southern California Edison switches over to a new billing and customer information system in April, customers may notice a few changes.

“The most apparent improvements will be that all customers will receive a new account number, their payments will post in real time on SCE.com and they will have access to real-time account information online and when they interact with SCE’s call center,” said Jill Anderson, SCE senior vice president of Customer Service.

Customers who use their bank’s online bill payment feature to pay their electric bill should update their SCE account number on their banking website, Anderson said. “Don’t worry,” she added. “If you forget, we’ll still be able to process your payment with the old account number.”

Customers who use SCE’s autopay feature, pay their bill on SCE.com or pay by mail will not have to update their accounts because of these changes.

Some SCE customer services will be temporarily unavailable

On March 30, as the company begins the transition to the new system, some online, automated phone and customer call center services will be temporarily unavailable. For example, during this time, customers won’t be able to pay their bills or access their account information over the phone or online.

All services are expected to be restored on April 6.

“While the system is being updated, customers will not be required to make a payment and no late payment fees will be applied,” said Marc Ulrich, SCE vice president of Customer Service Operations.

“We’ve adjusted customers’ billing cycles so that no bills come due during this time.”

While these slight billing cycle adjustments could temporarily affect the amount a customer is billed, the rate they pay for electricity will not change because of the system update. Customers who still wish to make a payment during this time may do so by U.S. mail.

During the changeover, customers will still be able to call customer support at 1-800-655-4555 to start or stop electric service or cancel their direct pay option, and customer service agents will be available to help Medical Baseline customers and customers with Summer Discount Plan emergencies. Customers will also be able to call 1-800-611-1911 to report an outage or get information about a current outage.

When the transition is complete and all services are restored, those who call customer service may experience longer than usual call wait times at first as agents become familiar with the new system.

“While we realize this transition will be a temporary inconvenience to our customers, the result will be customer service agents who are equipped with the latest technology to help them handle their needs more efficiently,” Ulrich said.

The new system will be more reliable, improve efficiency, increase security and lower maintenance costs. All services are expected to return on April 6, but customers are encouraged to wait to call and speak to an agent until the following week to avoid long call wait times.

For more information and updates on progress of the upgrade, customers may visit sce.com/helpcenter.