MSEDCL Appeals For Online Payments As 6,500 Cheques Bounce In Pune Circle For Electricity Bills
Sumit Singh
Pune, 11th July 2023: MSEDCL, the electricity distribution company in the Pune circle, is facing issues with bounced cheques from its low-pressure category customers. Approximately 6,500 consumers have had their checks dishonored, resulting in bank administration charges of around 48 lakh 75 thousand per month, along with a late fee of 1.25 percent. In light of this, MSEDCL is urging customers to opt for online payment or the Electronic Clearance System (ECS) instead of using cheques.
Out of the 98,500 to 99,000 electricity consumers in the Pune circle, around 6,000 to 6,500 customers have had cheques worth approximately Rs 4 crore 65 lakh dishonored due to various reasons. Specifically, 4,450 cheques from Pune city, 1,050 from Pimpri Chinchwad, and around one thousand cheques from Mulshi, Velhe, Haveli, Ambegaon, Junnar, Khed, and Maval talukas are being dishonored on a monthly basis.
The reasons for dishonored cheques include incorrect dates, forgery, wrong signatures, incorrect names, and insufficient funds in the respective accounts. If multiple electricity bills are paid with bounced cheques, penalty amounts and late fees are imposed for each bill. As a result, bank administration charges of Rs 750/- for each bill and a 1.25 percent late fee are included as additional charges in the following month’s electricity bill.
In contrast, the Pune circle has observed that around Rs 600 crores worth of electricity bills are being conveniently and securely paid online by the majority of the 20 lakh low-pressure consumers in the state. Additionally, the facility of ECS is available for direct bank payment of electricity bills every month. Rajendra Pawar, the Chief Engineer of Pune Circle, mentioned that the limit for electricity bill payment through RTGS or NEFT has been reduced to a minimum of Rs 5,000. Accordingly, bank account details of MSEDCL are provided on electricity bills exceeding Rs 5,000 for these customers.
To encourage online payment, electricity consumers receive a total discount of 1.25 percent. This includes 0.25 percent of each month’s electricity bill, up to a limit of Rs 500, and an additional 1 percent for prompt payment. The online payment method for electricity bills is free, except when using a credit card. MSEDCL follows the provisions of the RBI Bank’s Payment and Settlement Act-2007 for its online bill payment system. Therefore, MSEDCL urges customers to make online payments instead of using cheques for their electricity bills.
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