Prepaid power meters yet to catch up; online payment a hit

Its idea of prepaid electricity meters may not have elicited the desired response,but the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited move of allowing people to pay bills online has become a hit,with 1.57 lakh consumers paying their bills within a months span.

Its idea of prepaid electricity meters may not have elicited the desired response,but the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) move of allowing people to pay bills online has become a hit,with 1.57 lakh consumers paying their bills within a months span.

In another tech-savvy initiative,the power utility is encouraging consumers to pay bills using mobile phones. S P Nagtilak,Chief Engineer,Pune division of MSEDCL admitted that only 2,000 consumers had registered for installation of prepaid meters. The scheme is a unique initiative to allow consumers to buy certain units of power by making advance payment. Consumers who opt for pre-paid meters will be given five per cent concession in their power bills. The meters will be provided with special accessories,the MSEDCL stated.

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has issued permission to the MSEDCL to install 25,000 pre-paid meters in the state on an experimental basis.

So far,in Pune,only 2,000 pre-paid meters have been installed.The Pune zone of the MSEDCL had started installation of pre-paid meters in April with 30 meters at commercial establishments in Lonavla. Officials now plan an awareness campaign to encourage apartments owners to install these meters.

The online payment of bills,however,has caught up fast. According to Nagtilak,within the past month,nearly 1.57 lakh people paid bills online and Rs 15 crore was collected as revenue. We have had a few billing complaints and have launched a scheme to encourage payment of bills using the mobile phone. The online facility also helps provide detailed information about the previous bills. It is like a consumers personal ledger and all he/she has to do is log on to view the earlier bills, Nagtilak said.

The MSEDCL has also Facebook for better contact with consumers. The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited,the Pune traffic police and Pune Rural police also are on Facebook and have been getting feedback from citizens. One can contact the power utility on the Mahavitaran profile. Consumers are also invited to send suggestions and complaints related to power supply in their areas.

The MSEDCL has also allocated Rs 2,000 crore Infra 2 for development of infrastructure.

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MERC
MSEDCL

Prepaid power meters yet to catch up; online payment a hit

Its idea of prepaid electricity meters may not have elicited the desired response,but the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited move of allowing people to pay bills online has become a hit,with 1.57 lakh consumers paying their bills within a months span.

Its idea of prepaid electricity meters may not have elicited the desired response,but the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited move of allowing people to pay bills online has become a hit,with 1.57 lakh consumers paying their bills within a months span.