DVB billing goes online

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, MARCH 7. To make the new electricity billing system more transparent and corruption-free and ensure speedy redressal of complaints, Delhi Vidyut Board has launched the hi-tech concept of Consumer Care Centre at Darya Ganj. Computers have been installed at this centre to provide the consumers with facility of payment and correction of bills, online.

The new system will create online data base at each level which will be connected to all the DVB districts for online upgradation. At each district, a ``consumer care centre'' would be established which will provide on-the-spot service to consumers through terminals manned by concerned officials relating to the billing system. The system is being executed by CMC Limited which was given a turnkey project of Rs. 1.3 crores for software and Rs. 8 crores for procurement of suitable hardware.

The Darya Ganj centre was inaugurated by the Delhi Power Minister, Dr. Narendra Nath, here today. He disclosed that eight computerised counters had been established to look after problems and services of consumers related to the commercial section. The senior-level officer would sit on the counter to interact with the consumer. Each functionary has been assigned a specific time- frame to each stage of a particular work to avoid harassment to the consumers.

If there is any delay at a particular stage, the concerned officer would be held responsible. To facilitate easy accessibility, there would be a reception counter which would guide the consumers. It would also generate duplicate bills to consumers if they are misplaced or not received.

The Minister said the scheme would be first taken up in Darya Ganj and Chandni Chowk after which it would be extended to all the DVB districts. For smooth and efficient implementation of the new system, DVB has decided to re-organise its staff at district level by merging two districts and creation of separate wings of commercial activities and technical under different XENs. This would rationalise work and provide better tools for supervision and control.

The new system is expected to provide a number of benefits to the consumers. These include on the spot service through care centres. Availability of all information online, all queries answered in one visit, quick and efficient release of new connections and universal counters of payment at districts.

It is expected the upgradation would go along in providing relief to consumers and at the same time reduce the corruption in metre reading. The new system would provide one-year consumption data online in the initial stage which is expected to be increased subsequently to three to five years. It would also ensure electronic movement of files and online approvals, effective monitoring at all levels and quicker response time and cash collections.

It is understood that after the successful implementation of the scheme, it would be possible to extend services for credit card payment acceptance, telephone enabled call centres, Internet connected computer services for ready access to updated rules and access to obtain bill status. Going a step ahead, this would also enable the DVB to provide touch screen kiosk for consumer interaction at various levels. But this would all depend on the results that emanate from the experiment at Darya Ganj.

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