Electricity Bill payment at Post Offices

Coming, power bill payment at Post Offices

CHENNAI: Electricity bills can soon be remitted in post offices in the State. In an effort to help consumers pay their power bills without any hassles, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) has taken a number of measures. This include payment through Any Time Payment (ATP) machines and online remittance besides allowing consumers to pay 20 days after the assessment of the reading, effective September 1 by scrapping the present system of fixed day remittances. In the series, now comes a commercial arrangement with the postal department. The electricity board is in the final stages of negotiating a deal with India Post that will open up post offices for making electricity bill payments. According to TNEB and India Post sources, the new plan is likely to come into force by October 1. “The postal department needs to make some changes in its software to facilitate this and we hope that things will be in place in a couple of weeks,” a senior official of the EB told Express. Postal authorities said besides technological issues, those related to commercial terms also needed to be worked out. “As regards location, we have offered to work for them throughout the State, but it is left to them to take a call.” Besides tying up with India Post, the TNEB would also increase the number of ATP machines in different parts of Chennai city. Four ATP kiosks are already functioning on Anna Salai, Wallajah Road and in Sowcarpet and T Nagar and 15-20 machines are likely to be installed in a couple of months, the sources added. Currently, about 22,000 consumers use the online payment facility and around 11,000 use ATPs in Chennai. The payment through post offices plan is likely to be introduced first in Chennai closely followed by all urban, semi-urban and rural regions in Tamil Nadu. Value addition: When the EB bill payment facility is launched, it shall be a significant value-addition in the services of the postal department. Modernisation of post offices under Project Arrow, sale of gold coins and foreign exchange, proof of address cards and pack post services, rural banking in tie-up with the State Bank of India and a host of other services brought a change in the perception about the postal department. With the new power bill payment services, India Post hopes to get one step closer to the consumers.

Source:Expressbuzz