Spot electricity billing and payment soon

BANGALORE: Do you have problems with your electricity bills, month after month? Hang on. The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) will soon introduce ``handheld meter readers'''', which will be brought to your house by the local electricity official and you will get an instant bill. Not just that, you can pay your bill instantly as well.
The newly formed Bescom is conducting field trials with the handheld meters in a couple of subdivisions in Bangalore, Bescom Managing Director P.B.Ramamurthy told The Times of India.
Each of the handheld meters will cost about Rs 25,000. Ramamurthy said the meters are being procured to address serious problems in billings. Several customers get faulty bills and Bescom is beset with complaints of wrong billings or claims of arrears.
Ramamurthy said Bescom has commenced a pilot project to monitor the computerised and manual billing process in Vijaynagar, Indira Nagar and Mahadevapura substations. A team of three senior officials have been deputed to continuously monitor the process so as to identify where the mistakes occur -- whether it is with data entry operators, software or hardware. ``We will get a report in the next five to six days,'''' Ramamurthy said.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which has provided the billing software, has been called for discussions to sort out problems, if any. ``Our aim is to give error-free billing.''''
Ramamurthy said by August, 20,000 meters in the city will be replaced by ``high-precision electrochemical meters'''', each of which costs about Rs 1,200.
Bescom has also embarked on developing ``power interruption profiling'''', which will identify areas with frequent power cuts. This exercise is being done to reduce power cuts in those areas and improve quality of power supply. Solutions to frequent power cuts would be found. ``We want to do a Mumbai, where there is no power cut.''''
During peak hours between 6.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m., an assistant executive engineer (AEE) and assistant engineer have been directed to be in the subdivisional offices to monitor breakdowns. Very shortly, all AEEs in the operations and maintenance division will be given mobile phones and their numbers will be published for the public to contact them round the clock, Ramamurthy said.
Bescom -- which covers Bangalore Urban and Rural, Kolar, Tumkur, Chitradurga and Davanagere which account for 45 lakh consumers -- has approached the telecom authorities for a three-digit easy telephone numbers along the lines of the emergency police and ambulance numbers, for consumers to complain if there is a power cut or any other problems.
Consumers can e-mail at mdbescom@rediffmail.com.