As Tangedco has dispensed with the need for manual reading of meters in T. Nagar with the installation of smart meters, a section of electricity consumers have complained about not receiving any alerts about the payment of electricity bills.
The residents, particularly senior citizens, who have not registered their mobile numbers linking them to electricity meters do not get payment alerts. The problem becomes serious with the consumers facing imminent prospect of disconnection due to non-payment of power bills.
V. Jayaraman, an office-bearer of the T. Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association, said ever since the smart meters were installed in the locality, the recording of the electricity consumption through the assessors has been dispensed with. While most consumers who have registered their mobile numbers have been getting payment alerts through short message service (SMS) and also email, those who have not linked their mobile numbers are in the dark about the due payment of electricity bills and in danger of their power connections being cut off, he added.
The residents point out that Tangedco could have taken steps to update the consumer details through the assessors before discontinuing the old system.
A senior official of Tangedco said all the consumers in T. Nagar, who have got smart meters, have been duly mapped with mobile numbers provided and those who have not registered their mobile numbers can register using any of their last paid receipts (any one receipt of last three payment cycles).
Tangedco had installed smart meters for 1.25 lakh power connections under the Smart City Mission project covering the entire T. Nagar area and parts of Kodambakkam in Rangarajapuram. The State power utility plans to replace digital meters with smart meters in a phased manner for nearly five lakh connections.
