In a digital leap, PSPCL collects 75% revenue online

Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, April 12

Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has created a history of sorts while also making it to the toppers list for digital collection of Rs19,630 crore (75 per cent of its total revenue) during the 2020-21 fiscal.

In a virtual interaction, the PSPCL chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) A Venu Prasad said as many as 143 lakh digital transactions were made during this period.

He attributed this spurt in digital collection to number of easy-to-use platforms offered by the power utility, including simple digital touch points.

Giving details, the CMD added that the digital payment facility for electricity bills started in Punjab in 2008.The facilities of electricity bill payments through enhanced, innovative and people-friendly digital modes started in Punjab in 2017, the CMD said.

“We initiated cost-effective, convenient to use and smooth digital bill payment platforms through Bharat Bill Pay (BBPS) like BHIM, SBI Pay, PNB, HDFC Payzapp, Paytm, PhonePe, Just Dial, Google Pay, Amazon and Umang. PSPCL also offered digital modes like net banking, credit cards, debit cards, rupay card, UPI, mobile wallets, RTGS/NEFT and POS machines for the facilitation of power consumers,” the CMD added.

To encourage more and more consumers to move to digital mode happily with least financial costs, the PSPCL had undertaken awareness campaigns, the CMD said.

Every citizen had shown enthusiasm and consumers were now free from long queues at cash counters, the CMD added. The consumers were also saving direct and indirect costs, which they incurred in offline modes, the CMD said.

“The consumers’ confidence in digital payments has evolved in such a way that from just Rs2000 crore through 43 lakh digital transactions during 2016-17, the PSPCL has now achieved nearly 10 times hike in digital collection. There is 350 per cent increase in digital transactions during last fiscal,” the CMD added.