Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Electricity Board Limited (KSEBL) is soon going fully digital. As the first phase of digitalising all transactions, the state power utility will stop issuing printed bills to its consumers. Instead, after checking the meter reading, the bill would be sent to the consumer’s mobile number as a text message.

This is the first phase of the Board’s project to go fully digital for all payments. All consumers, except for those with farm connections, and those with subsidized BPL (Below Poverty Line) connections, are to pay their bills through the mobile application or using the online platform.

Pay more for cash payments

The Board is also considering a recommendation to levy an additional 1% cash-handling charges for all transactions through the cash counters after 100 days.

Also, consumers submitting online applications for their power-related demands would be eligible for a discount on their application fees. An additional 10% fee would be collected from those submitting their applications on the forms on paper. This does not apply to the BPL consumers and farm consumers.

An arrangement to consider the KSEB consumer number as a virtual account number and to facilitate bill payment at banks would be readied within a month. The aim is to implement a complete e-payment facility by the end of this financial year. The consumers who are eligible for power subsidies will not be affected by the digital payment initiative.

Next month’s bill to reflect new tariff  

The revised electricity charges will be included in the KSEBL bills from next month. The revised rates have come into effect from Sunday, June 26. The new power charges would be valid until March 31, 2023.