All those electricity department consumers have reasons to smile as the State power department has made elaborate arrangements for updating the consumers about electricity bill through mobile phones.
The consumers have been also urged to write down their mobile numbers on the counter foil of their electricity bills so that they would be updated about the electricity bills and the date of their electricity bills.
Sources told that more than 16,95,511 are the registered electricity consumers of the State power department having load of 4,384 megawatt in Garhwal and Kumaon division of Uttarakhand.
Earlier, to make electricity bill payment consumer friendly, Uttarakhand Power Corporation limited (UPCl) has introduced an online system for the payment of bills. With the start of online billing system consumers would be able to pay electricity bills both through credit and debit cards.
The system designed will be seamless, easy to use and completely secure. Additionally, the department has already launched website in which the consumers can manage their own registration, passwords, alerts, notifications and more. The consumers have also liberty to see electricity bills, complaint registration, service request registration, an other details.
After receiving tremendous response from these services, the department has decided to update them through messaging. Officials have urged the consumers to write down their mobile numbers on the counter foil of their electricity bills at during the spot billings and would be updated in the near future highlighting about the status of their electricity bills.
Sources said that this facility would be introduced in the major cities of the Garhwal and Kumaon divisions of the State. Sources confirmed that electricity consumers abstain from paying their electricity bills after they receive after the due date.
Considering the plight of the consumers, the department has strengthened the procedure for the timely distribution of the electricity bills. After conforming that messages would be sent regarding electricity bills to the consumers, department sources who wished anonymity told The Pioneer that several plans are in the pipelines for enhancing the facilities at billing collection centres for providing the best facilities to the consumers.
He further told that it would also help the department for curtailing the outstanding electricity bill amount and will also create awareness among the masses about the benefits of timely payments of the electricity bills. He told that the department has already launched toll-free number 1800-419-0405 for the consumers and they can register complains regarding anomalies in electricity bills, power outage etc.