A Kansas utility is starting a pilot project that will let customers who have advanced digital meters pay for their electricity in advance.

Westar Energy is awaiting permission later this month from the Kansas Corporation Commission to offer as many as 1,000 customers prepaid service. Approval is highly likely because all of the parties that would be involved have agreed to do it.

The new meters allow the state’s largest electric utility to turn customers’ power on and off from a central location without sending out a crew.

The company says the prepaid option would allow customers to get service without paying a deposit, and could prove useful to college students who often need service for only a limited time.

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Information from: The Wichita Eagle