Now, Power Bills with a photo of reading on meter                             

DHAVAL KULKARNI Mumbai , OCTOBER 16

IN a first in the country, Maha Vitaran, Maharash­tra's power distribution utility, has started a photo meter billing system aimed at bringing more efficiency to the power billing mech­anism besides cutting the utility's losses.

Under the new system - MahaVitaran wants to patent it -, the bills of the 1.40 crore consumers in the state will carry photographs of the read­ing on the electricity meter. To be replicated statewide, it has currently taken off in the Ganeshkhind and Rasta Peth circles of Pune and the Vashi circle in Navi Mumbai.

Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Managing Director, Ma­ha Vitaran, said the move had been prompted by complaints that the utility's employees or personnel from the outside agency to which the meter reading work

Power bills with reading on meter

had been outsourced, were billing the consumers without actually checking the meters. The staff tended to draw up lesser consumption figures so that fewer complaints would be received from the con­sumers end.

However, he said, some con­sumers also got bills later with high consumption figures. In some cases, the consumers were also found to be hand in glove with the unscrupulous personnel.

The new system will do away with these lacunae as the Ma­haVitaran personnel or agency staff entrusted with the work will have to take a photograph of the consumers' meter, which would be printed on the bill. The photograph will show the units consumed and the rele­vant details like the meter

number, along with the date and time. This will enable the utility to get an accurate figure of the electricity consumption of the consumer and enable billing according to this actual consumption.

"This on the spot checking and photography will ensure that the employees check the meter readings and reduce

incidents of meters being by­passed and tampered to show less consumption and billing. This will reduce losses and leakage and have a positive im­pact on the revenues of the MahaVitaran," he added.

Senior MahaVitaran offi­cials noted how billing com­plaints ranked second after the complaints about load shed­ding in the state.

"In areas where the photo meter billing system has been

initiated, billing complaints have reduced substantially. Apart from reducing losses and theft, the honest con­sumers will benefit as the im­provement in the MahaVi­taran's financial health will be reflected in the tariffs," the offi­cial added.

In a user-friendly gesture, the last one year's record of electricity consumption will also be mentioned in the bill and the photograph will also carry the date and time.

However, the move has its sceptics. Said Pratap Hogade of the Maharashtra Rajya Veej Grahak Sanghatana: "Such measures are for peo­ple who pay bills honestly, but what about those unscrupu­lous consumers whose power use is not charged according to the meter?"

Publication : IE; Section : Front; Pg : 1; Date: 17/10/07