The problem is particularly acute in the Bengaluru Metropolitan Area Zone
Officials estimate that around 20% of consumers yet to be covered fall into categories such as door-locked households, apartment communities, and consumers away from home. Because meter readers had to juggle the exercise with their regular responsibility of generating monthly electricity bills, a senior energy official said the verification process slowed in Aug. Bescom has introduced a mechanism to deal with locked households.
Further, the non-availability of working professionals during verification time also posed a challenge,” the official said. Officials said several gated communities remain out of reach, making it difficult for verification teams to reach individual households. Managing director N Shiva Shankara said, “Our mobile app allows staff to mark a household as ‘door-locked’ after three unsuccessful visits.
“During July, it was easier as meter readers had to do only verification and did not have to worry about monthly bills, as average bills were generated. But in Aug, they had to do both. Door-locked homes and consumers working in other cities or abroad have also contributed to the backlog. An SMS is then sent to the consumer asking them to contact divisional engineers or other officials. With mutual coordination and pre-decided timings, our staffers go to their households and complete the process. ”