Prasenjit Deb
The sudden conversion of post paid meter to prepaid meter in the state which has many raised eyebrows here, as almost half of the citizens is not being aware about the reason for the conversion.
However, one must note that Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) has started the conversion of all the existing LT smart postpaid connections into smart prepaid connections with effect from January 1, 2023 in a phased manner with approval from the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC).
This means it is not a decision of the concerned authority in a week or a month.
To clear up the mess, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during a press conference earlier on Sunday said, “Once the prepaid meter comes into effect, the previous arrear amount or unpaid outstanding bill will get adjusted. Thus, for the first month, the bill seems to be higher. Once the second month starts, the bill will get regularized. In maximum cases as per a national survey, we have learnt that the prepaid users in Assam are mostly satisfied. These days there have been several complaints regarding this issue. All the complaints have come from new consumers or whose meters have been converted to prepaid from post-paid meters.”
If there is any fault from the side of APDCL, the government has assured changing of the meters, said the chief minister.
“This is a temporary phase, and it will get resolved soon. Moreover, I have also directed the APDCL to sort this issue with the consumers by visiting them personally,” added the CM Sarma.
The chief minister also stated that Assam is eyeing to reach at 100% smart meter in next five years.
Earlier, APDCL also clarified that smart prepaid meters do not lead to an increase in electricity charges. The APDCL authorities stated that smart meters provide details on daily electricity consumption to encourage consumers to use electricity judiciously as per needs resulting in savings of energy. The power distribution company also advised consumers to install check meters alongside the smart meter by contacting their concerned sub-division offices.
“Moreover, in order to give relief to the consumers, APDCL have facilitated payment of the last month’s postpaid bill on a daily installment basis once the connection is converted to prepaid.
However, if any consumer has any query or confusion regarding the postpaid to prepaid conversion process, they can call at our helpline number 1912 or raise their query through http://apdcl.org or myBijulee App or through our social media handle tagging @apdclsocial.
During this conversion process, following methodology is followed:
1. At the time of conversion from postpaid to prepaid, the system calculates the outstanding amount against the consumer based on last month’s consumption.
2. The Load Security/ Advance payment, if any, is adjusted with the outstanding amount to calculate the Final Outstanding Amount (FOA).
3. To give some relief to the consumers, a Daily Installment Amount (DIA) is calculated by dividing 25% of the average monthly bill based on last 3 months consumption by a factor of 30.
4. It is important to note that Smart prepaid consumers are billed on daily basis on the basis of their daily consumption to determine the prepaid balance amount. Moreover, the first prepaid bill is prepared from the 1st day of the conversion month till the date of conversion to prepaid.
5. If the FOA is positive, DIA is deducted from the prepaid balance on a daily basis.
6. If FOA is negative, DIA is added to the prepaid balance on a daily basis.
7. Consumer can also pay the FOA at one go through www.apdcl.org or at APDCL cash counters.
8. SMS intimations are sent to the consumers at their registered mobile numbers about outstanding amount, Daily Installment Amount(DIA), etc. at the time of conversion.
Benefits of Smart Prepaid Meters:
• Pay-as-you-use. You will only pay for the electricity used resulting in savings. Don’t have to wait for monthly bills.
• No additional charges. The existing tariff rates are applicable.
• Accurate and error-free billing through automatic meter reading without manual intervention.
• Facility for monitoring electricity consumption, power quality as well as prepaid balance with Mobile App.
• Unlike old prepaid meters, there is no need to punch in lengthy vend codes in the smart meters after recharging.
• You will receive notification of low prepaid balance in themyBijuleemobile app as well as through SMS.
1. You can also check your smart prepaid balance by sending SMS “BAL<space><Your_Consumer_Number>” to the number 84-2488-2488.
2. Recharge facility for smart prepaid meters is available in APDCL Cash Counters as well as in online mode through www.apdcl.org or ‘myBijulee’ mobile app.
3. You can update your registered mobile number at APDCL Cash Counters as well as in online mode through www.apdcl.org.
