Pre-paid cards to power your homes

Mumbai: After pre-paid cell phone cards, it is now the turn of power sector to introduce pre-paid cards. In an ambitious plan, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd (MSEDCL) has decided to provide pre-paid power cards to its 1.27-crore odd consumers.

"We have submitted a proposal to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) for approval," a senior MSEDCL official told TOI. "Once the MERC gives us the go-ahead, the project will be implemented across the state in a phased manner," the official said. "The project will start on a pilot basis for employees residing in MSEB colonies in Navi Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Aurangabad," said the official.

Pointing out that the pre-paid power card scheme has met with success in certain parts of West Bengal, the official said, "Before submitting the proposal, we carefully studied the West Bengal model."

Asked about the tariff structure for the pre-paid scheme, the official said that the MERC will take a call on the issue.

The scheme, said the official, will help the MSEDCL to mobilise resources for implementing pending power projects. "We expect most consumers to use the pre-paid power cards. This would ensure that the corporation receives bulk of the revenue in advance,'' he said.

Pre-paid cards said the official, would help consumers avoid disconnection due to non-payment of bill on due date. "In most cases, the consumer is not a repeat offender. It has been found that many fail to pay up on time as they were either out of station or the connection was for their second home, which they rarely visit." Power cards will allow the consumer to know his bill amount before the due date.

On the financial situation, the official said, as on November 30, 2009, the outstanding arrears stood at Rs 11,000 crore. "We have taken several measures to recover the arrears, but to no avail. At times, we have to abandon stringent action against erring firms owing to political pressure,'' he said.

Reacting cautiously to the MSEDCL proposal, private power companies said that they will gauge the performance of the pre-paid scheme. If it's successful, we will follow suit, they said.