An agency that represents small utility customers is asking the state to reject Westar Energy’s plan to allow some customers to prepay their bills.

The Citizen’s Utility Ratepayer Board filed a motion Monday asking the Kansas Corporation Commission to dismiss Westar’s application for the program.

Westar applied in October to allow about 1,000 customers to prepay their bills. The utility says it would allow customers to make smaller payments rather than pay a large bill at the end of the month. KCC deferred the application until May.

CURB argued that Westar hadn’t shown that the program would help the public, or why customers would be charged a $4 fee as part of the prepaid program.

The KCC didn’t discuss CURB’s motion at its Tuesday meeting.

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Associated Press information from: The Topeka Capital-Journal