PDAs electrify

29 December 2002

Hyderabad: Electricity meters, which have been around for decades, somehow don't jell with today's slick personal digital assistants (PDAs). But a novel concept from the Central Power Distribution Company Ltd (CPDCL) of Andhra Pradesh brings them both together in a new spot-billing system (SBS).

SBS, which commenced as a pilot project on 1 July 2001, is aimed at helping the company's inspectors read electricity meters and issue bills instantly using PDAs.

The new system is instant - the traditional procedure involved five steps and took four to seven days. The company will also soon learn whether this method will improve productivity and reduce loss of revenue.

The company is eyeing other benefits, too, according to CPDCL director (commercial) S Surya Prakasa Rao. One is reducing the credit period for customers from three months to two.

The existing system of meter reading and billing is beset with problems. These not only result in a loss of revenue to the company, customers are also hassled by wrong meter readings, wrong billing and non-receipt of bills. The power distributor hopes to cut these anomalies out with its new billing system.