Online electricity payment system leaves customers in lurch

Panaji:Despite the electricity department informing consumers in Tiswadi, Ponda and Verna that online payment and bill viewing facilities have been activated for them under the department’s new restructured accelerated power department reform programme (RAPDRP), people have not succeeded in working the system yet.
Consumers are not able to view recent bills once they key in their contract account number on the department’s website.In fact, consumers can’t use the online payment facility, even if it may be functioning, simply because they haven’t received their recent bills. In Miramar, residents received their last electricity bill only in March, while in Old Goa, electricity consumers paid their last bill in February.
The department had temporarily stalled online payment facilities for Panaji, Taleigao, Corlim and Bambolim for the past two months during the upgradation of all its utility services. During the process of transition to the new system, consumers were informed that they had to approach the nearest payment collection centre or the department’s counters to make their payments. But recently, the department announced that online payment and bill viewing facilities were activated for Tiswadi, Ponda and Verna. Consumers are still waiting for their bills to click on the ‘pay online’ option.
When consumers log on to the department’s website https://goaelectricity.gov.in/ they can choose to click on the ‘pay online’ option (Tiswadi, Ponda and Verna). They then enter their contract account number and proceed to pay their bill by entering their credit /debit card details. Consumers then receive an email confirming the payment. But until electricity bills are generated, fed into the system and sent to consumers, the online payment facility is of no use.
Sources at the department are asking consumers to bear with them as things fall into place under the RAPDRP being undertaken by the Rural Electrification Corporation Power Distribution Company Ltd together with its technology partner Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd. The new programme will revive the cashier system allowing consumers to pay their bills at their respective sub-division offices as well as online.