Jaideep Shenoy / The Hindu

• MESCOM is thinking of bringing more areas under the scheme
• It is more beneficial to consumers in rural areas
• Payment at section offices will not be discontinued

Mangalore, Oct 3: Buoyed by the increasing number of consumers from Mangalore division who started paying their electricity bills through post offices, Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (MESCOM) is thinking of extending the facility to more areas.

Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited is planning to extend the facility to Chikmagalur and Shimoga districts in the near future. Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited signed a memorandum of understanding with India Post on August 28 enabling the consumers to pay their bills in select post offices, the ones that were computerized.

A Devaprasad, financial adviser, MESCOM, told The Hindu on Tuesday October 2, that 6,987 consumers had paid their bills in 53 post offices in the city, Puttur, and Udupi divisions since launching the scheme. “The number of people who prefer to pay in post offices is increasing by the day. This is an encouraging trend,” he said.

Asked if this trend meant that people were unhappy with payment through section offices of MESCOM, Devaprasad replied in the negative. “Consumers can still pay their bills at the section offices and computerised post offices.

It is only to save them from travelling all the way to the section office. It has proved to be a boon to the rural consumers,” he said. Consumers in Udupi and Puttur are paying their electricity bills in 17 and 14 post offices, respectively.

BESCOM example

Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited has introduced electronic clearing system besides the KIOSK facility while continuing the system of payment at their section offices, he said.
Taking a cue from their methods, MESCOM has added a channel of bill payment through the postal office in its effort to be customer friendly. It has collected Rs. 26.80 lac till October 1 through post offices, Devaprasad said.

Cost involved

Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited pays Rs. 5 to India Post on every bill collected by it. The rate would be brought down if the number of consumers using the facility increased, he said.