Life in the city hinges upon water, electricity and gas. For foreign nationals, the process of utility payment is often hindered by language barriers, and the raft of payment methods adopted by service providers are also quite cumbersome. We will show everyone a time-saving and effort-efficient way to pay for utilities — via WeChat Pay.

 

 

1 Confirm service provider and account details

 

 

Electricity

 

 

State Grid is the provider of residential electricity in Chengdu. Of which, State Grid Tianfu New Area Power Supply Company serves Longquanyi District, Shuangliu District and Tianfu New Area, while the city's other districts are served by State Grid Chengdu Power Supply Company. Generally, your account number is shown on your electricity payment card or your power meter. 

 

 

Water

 

 

There are many water companies in Chengdu, and you could find out who your service provider is, as well as your account number, through methods such as your water payment notification or reminder, water payment card, water meter or consulting with your property management. 

 

 

Gas

 

 

Most new residential communities have gas pipes and gas meters installed, and your gas payment notification clearly indicates the gas service provider and the account number of your gas meter. Residents that use propane tanks do not need to pay gas service provider, just simply purchase propane tanks from merchants. 

 

Tips: State Grid has fully enabled online payment, and a portion of water and gas companies also support online payment, but for specific details please refer to pages on WeChat Pay. The names of service providers on relevant WeChat Pay pages are all shown in Chinese, so foreigners not so confident about their Chinese ought to double-check related info ahead of time.

 

 

2 Pay Online

 

 

Step 1: Click "Me" at the bottom right corner on your WeChat interface.

 

Step 2: Click "Pay" to enter the payment page.

 

 

Step 3: Tap "Utilities" and choose which one(s) to pay.

 

 

 

Step 4: Choose from the list of payees, such as "Sichuan Electric Power Company, State Grid". Fill in your account number, mobile phone number and verification code as required. 

 

 

 

Step 5: Fill in payment amount and use WeChat to complete payment.

 

 

 

After the payment, the payee like "Sichuan Electric Power Company, State Grid" will top-up your power and notify you via text message. You can also check whether your payment is successful or not via Service Messages on WeChat. 

 

 

 

3 What if payment failed

 

 

In the case of payment failure, WeChat will initiate a refund application within five working days. If you pay by a bank account, the refund will be reimbursed within one to three working days; if you pay by WeChat Wallet, the refund will be done immediately. If payment was successful but the money did not top up your account, then you will need to contact the service provider.

 

For electricity payment problems, please call State Grid's customer service at 95598; for water or gas payment problems, please call the customer hotlines of corresponding service providers or contact your property management for assistance. You may also proceed to the store of the corresponding service provider with your payment notification and payment card to resolve any issue.

 

Tips: Other than WeChat Pay, utility bills can also be settled via Alipay, which actually supports an even larger number of service providers, and users pretty much go through the same steps in the payment process. However, registration for Alipay is relatively more complex, so choose the payment channel that best suits your situation.

 

(Modifications have been made to the original text.)