Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday launched the Service@Doorsteps scheme of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) which assures consumers ‘home delivery’ by calling the toll-free number 1912.
The new service will help put an end to complaints pertaining to service delivery by the KSEB, the Chief Minister said. Being an institution that was closely linked to the lives of the people, the KSEB should be guided by a consumer-friendly approach. Service@Doorsteps would be an important step in this direction, he said.
While the new initiative was indeed a welcome step, the KSEB should also take care to ensure that it did not unduly burden the power utility, the Chief Minister noted. In the first phase, the Service@Doorsteps scheme will be rolled out in 362 of the 775 electrical section offices in the State. In due course, it would be extended to all sections, KSEB chairman and managing director N.S. Pillai said.
In a nutshell, the Service@Doorsteps scheme allows to avail KSEB services without visiting the KSEB offices. After a consumer dials 1912 and registers his/her name, KSEB officials will visit consumers/applicants at their homes and attend to their requirements. Services under the new facility include new connections, transfer of ownership of connections, tariff conversion, effecting changes in connected load/contract load/phases and relocation of service line and meters.
The KSEB had piloted the scheme in the Palakkad electrical circle as a consumer-friendly initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Electricity Minister M.M. Mani presided. He described the Service@Doorsteps scheme as the latest of the consumer-friendly measures initiated by the KSEB. Power Secretary Saurabh Jain and other senior Power Department officials were present.
