Nagpur: Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. (MSEDCL) has launched Lucky Digital Customer Scheme to promote online payment of electricity bills among low-tension (LT) consumers. Customers who pay their bills online for three or more months between January 1 and May 31 will qualify for monthly lucky draws, offering prizes like smartphones and smart watches.
To participate in this lucky draw scheme, the minimum bill amount must be Rs100,and payments must be made every month consistently. Each customer will be eligible for only one prize while the scheme excludes consumers with arrears and does not apply to public water supply or streetlight bills.
Gold Rate
Friday 17 Jan. 2025
Lucky draws will be held in April, May, and June 2025 at each MSEDCL sub-division. Payments can be made via NetBanking, UPI, card, or other digital modes. Detailed terms and conditions are available on MSEDCL’s website, ‘www.mahadiscom.in’. This initiative aims at promoting digital payment adoption, offering customers a chance to save time, enjoy discounts, and win prizes.
This is for the first time that State-run MSEDCL has comeout with such a lucky draw scheme. The aim, it seems, is to ensure prompt payment of power bills at households and small business ventures as same will improve collection for the distribution company. Also, encouraging digital payment ensures cutting down the cost of bill collection, as the company has tied up with banks, and also tasked agencies with collection.
This is also part of overall efforts to curtail usage of cash or cheques as the exercise of the same is quite cumbersome. Moreover, in case of cheque payment, often in the past many consumers had defaulted that led to ballooning of arrears figures.
Abhay Yojana: Nagpur leads in clearing outstanding dues
Under MSEDCL’s Abhay Yojana, 8,186 electricity consumers in Nagpur district have cleared outstanding dues totalling Rs 13.89 crore, making it the highest contribution in Maharashtra. In Wardha district, 1,623 consumers have paid Rs 88.99 lakh under the scheme, which offers relief to those with permanently disconnected electricity due to unpaid bills.
So far, 26,768 consumers across Vidarbha have settled Rs 28.47 crore in arrears under the initiative. The scheme applies to residential, commercial, and industrial consumers with outstanding bills as of March 31. Agricultural consumers are not included. The scheme provides waivers on interest and penalties for overdue payments. Consumers can either pay the original arrears in full or in six quarterly installments.
Additional discounts of 10% for low-pressure and 5% for high-pressure consumers a r e available for lump-sum payments. With only five days remaining until the December 31, 2024 deadline, MSEDCL has urged eligible consumers to avail themselves of this opportunity to restore electricity connections.
