The payment of electricity bills online has seen a spurt ever since Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Company (CESC) began accepting payments made through digital wallets.
Though a large number of consumers still pay their monthly bills by standing in the queues outside counters and Any Time Payment (ATP) kiosks in designated CESC offices, many had begun making payments online on www.cescmysore.org
In the last three months, ever since the power utility began accepting payments made through digital wallets like Paytm, there was a perceptible spike in online bill payments, CESC officials said.
The number of electricity consumers of CESC, who were paying their bills online was around 18,000 three months ago. “But, when we began accepting payments through digital wallets like Paytm and PhonePe, the number increased to more than 22,500 for May 2018,” an official, in-charge of integration of Information Technology (IT) in the accounting department of CESC, said.
“Paytm has successfully integrated with the NCPI (National Payments Corporation of India) portal under BBPS (Bharat Bill Payments System) platform. Now, CESC consumers can pay the monthly electricity bill via Paytm app or Paytm website,” says a scroll on the CESC website.
Sharp rise
Even before the introduction of bill paying option through digital wallets, the number of consumers opting for online payments was increasing. “The number of consumers paying their electricity bills online through either the CESC website or Karnataka Mobile One app was about 13,300 in May 2017. But, for May 2018, their number crossed 22,500,” the CESC official added.
Most of the 28 lakh electricity consumers of CESC, who paid their bills online, were from Mysuru city, the officials added. Electricity consumers in other parts of CESC were yet to catch up with their more online-savvy counterparts.
Transaction charges
The sharp increase in the number of online electricity bill payments after the power utility began accepting digital wallet payments was attributed by the CESC official to the absence of the 1.75% transaction charges levied on the payments. The charges are levied when the consumer makes the payment through netbanking, credit or debit cards.
The official said the corporation has no role in the transaction charges levied on consumers making their bill payments through the CESC website or the Karnataka Mobile One app as the amount goes to the Reserve Bank of India.
A consumer making the payment through the digital wallets does not have to pay the transaction fee, the official added.
