The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) will roll out a software on November 1 to enable consumers in COVID-19 containment zones to take meter readings and upload the details on the Board website to facilitate online billing.
The pilot run has been successful and the software would be available from November for consumers in COVID-19 containment zones, Board sources said on Monday. They said if the run was successful, the facility could be extended to consumers across the State.
There were complaints that Board’s meter readers were unable to complete their round of readings due to continuing COVID-19 restrictions. There were an average of four meter-readers per electricity section and they would take the readings in a cycle of 60 days. Delay in taking the readings resulted in consumer complaints in the past, Board sources said.
Using the software, KSEB would inform the consumer if the meter reading was due the following day. The SMS would provide a link using which the consumer can upload the reading. The link would provide the basic minimum details like consumer number and the previous reading. A consumer would also be able to take picture of the metre and upload it using the link. The details would then be forwarded to the electricity section concerned from where an online bill would be generated for the consumers.
The process should be easy for most of the consumers to use the software, KSEB sources said pointing that the Board had the mobile phone numbers of about a crore of its 1.25 crore customers.
Even those customers, who were billed on the basis of time of day metering would be able to use the software. In the meanwhile, KSEB was offering technology-based facilities to help consumers avoid visits to section offices. The facilities being made available include ‘e-Samayam’, whereby a customer would be able to make booking and receive a token and specific time slot to visit the section office and meet officials concerned.
Using other facilities being rolled out on November 1, consumers would be able to apply for category change, ownership change, phase conversion, change in connected load etc. using the online facilities.
The board also streamlined the documents that were needed for these services in such a way that the documents need not be submitted in the original.
