As part of its efforts to popularise online payment of electricity bills, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) has started sending circulars to various banks with data on increase in the number of transactions through online mode.
It has instructed its field officers to increase awareness among electricity users about the alternative mode of payment. According to the data, which compares the numbers of transactions and amount collected between January and May, customers paying electricity bills through net banking was the most popular method in the State.
About Rs. 332.98 crore was collected through online payments in May against Rs. 148.74 crore in January 2015 across Tamil Nadu. While the transactions through online payments had increased, the number of offline transactions through post offices had decreased by 11,824 and Any Time Payment (ATP) machines by 1,049. The total transactions though post offices in January was 1,65,854 and it came down to 1,54,030 in May.
T. Sadagopan, a consumer activist from Pattabiram, attributed lack of dedicated counters at post offices to accept payments in addition to collecting a service charge for each bill as reasons for the decrease in the number of transactions. Though the data of TANGEDCO shows a decline in bill payment through post offices, postal department officials say there had been an increase in payment through their offices in the past one year, at least in Chennai city region.
At present, the postal department collects a service charge of Rs. 5 for a bill of up to Rs. 1,000; Rs.10 for bill between Rs. 1,001 and Rs. 2,500. The charge for bills between Rs.2,501 and Rs.5,000 is Rs.15 and bills above Rs.5,000 attract charge of Rs.20.
