Self-service petrol pumps to come up soon in Andhra Pradesh

HPCL to set up two units in Vizag to begin with

December 25, 2019 08:23 am | Updated 12:21 pm IST - VISAKHAPATNAM

Motorists, especially the tech-savvy ones, will find it convenient to fill fuel on their own.

Motorists, especially the tech-savvy ones, will find it convenient to fill fuel on their own.

Motorists going to the Millennium Petrol Pump of the HPCL at Siripuram for petrol and diesel may soon be in for a pleasant surprise. For the first time in Andhra Pradesh, the HPCL is in the process of installing two self-dispensing units, which will minimise the need for human interface in the filling of fuel.

Motorists, especially the tech-savvy ones, will find it convenient to fill fuel on their own.

They need not wait for the staff to set the reading, lift the nozzle, fill the petrol and collect the bill amount. The HPCL officials have already conducted trials successfully.

Such self-dispensing units are said to be very popular in cold countries of the West, where it is extremely difficult for pump attendants to come out into the open to provide service to motor vehicle users.

Card transactions

HPCL customers can use their credit/debit card to transact through the Integrated Payment Solution (camera enabled Point of Sale). In future, the HPCL fuel recharge app may also be enabled for use as a prepaid card for transacting at the self-service dispensing units. The Electronic Data Capture (EDC) machine will load the software for these customers to make use of the ‘self-service’ option.

The customers can go to the self-dispensing units and enter the amount of fuel they would like to fill in their tank. A transaction code will be generated and sent to their mobile phone and it will be valid for 30 minutes. The customer has to type the code and it will authorise the dispensing unit. Once the customer lifts the nozzle and puts it into the tank, the pre-determined quantity of fuel comes out and then it stops automatically.

Saves time

“We have tested the new system at two of the 24 dispensing units at the Millennium Pump and they are functioning perfectly. It will result in saving of time and is a novelty for the new generation youth. HPCL already has similar systems in Mumbai but there are attendants to fill the fuel,” Chief Regional Manager P. Ravi Shankar told The Hindu .

“The motor vehicles registered under the new system in Mumbai are auto-authorised. In other words, the vehicle details are captured by the system through RFID even as the vehicle approaches the pump, eliminating the need for generation of code every time,” the CRM said.

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