Andhra Pradesh Central Power Distribution Company Ltd

Billing and Collection

J.L.B.Haripriya
APCPDCL, Hyderabad
AP Distribution Companies
 AP Central Power Distribution Company Limited
23.75 Million Population
As on March 2008 6.31 Million Consumers
HYDERABAD (Figures in Lakhs)
MEDAK
36.86 (Population)
26.62 (Population) 13.31 (services)
5.83 (Services) (Services)
RANGAREDDY
5.58 4.08 3.64
35.06 (Population) MEDAK (North) (South) (Central)
HYDERABAD
12.42 (Services)
RANGAREDDY
NALGONDA
MAP NALGONDA
MAHBOOBNAGAR MAHABOOB NAGAR

35.06 (Population)
32.38 (Population)
6.46 (Services) KURNOOL 8.60 (Services)

KURNOOL
ANANTAPUR
ANANTHAPUR

35.12 (Population)
36.39 (Population)
7.82 (Services)
8.72 (Services)
Billing of LT services
 Before introduction of Spot Billing

1. At Section offices noted down Meter reading of all the LT meters in Meter Reading
Books (MRB) and submitted to EROs to generate consumer wise bills.
2. Bills generated were passed on to the concerned section offices for issuing the same to
consumers.
3. This entire process used to take 4 to 5 weeks.
4. To verify the billing process of services review of MRBs is a lengthy and time
consuming process.
5. Review of Exceptional like Meter Struck up ,Meter Burnt, Reading Not
furnished,Meter sluggish,Nil consumption ete.. Is also a complicated process.

6. Billing complaints are more due to wrong and table readings.

 Spot Billing

Fast

Spot billing was introduced Versatile

Intelligent
first in Hyderabad, in
Affordable
November 2001, wherein the
Light weight
bills were issued on the spot
User Programmable
to the consumers with the
help of a hand held computer
Billing time reduced to 14 from 40 days
With the remarkable results noticed
(improvement in the billing demand and
customer satisfaction), spot billing has
been extended to all the districts of the
State from July 2002
Features of SBM (Hand Held Computer) introduced
in APCPDCL

Built-in 2 Impact Printer

Built-in GSM/GPRS Modem
Built-in CDMA/PSTN/GSM Modem
Built-in RFID (Contact-less)
Built-in Smart Card Reader
Built-in Infra Red
Light Weight & User Programmable
High Clarity 4 x 20 Character display
Standard 5 x 6 Elastomeric Keypad
Built-in 2.2 Ahr Lithium Ion Battery
115.2 kbps communication (RS232)
512K Program Flash Memory
4MB Data Memory
Processor :32 Bit.
 Upgradations of SBM Specifications in APCPDCL

Initial Specifications Processor: 4 Bit

Data Memory: 4 MB
Flash Memory: 256 K Flash Program Memory
Battery: 1800 mAHr Ni-Mh Battery

Intermediate Upgradation Processor: 16 Bit

Data Memory: 4 MB
Flash Memory: 256 K Flash Program Memory
Battery: 1800 mAHr Li-Ion Battery

Present Specifications Processor: 32 Bit

Data Memory: 4 MB
Flash Memory: 512 K Flash Program Memory
Battery: 2200 mAHr Li-Ion Battery
 PROCESS OF SPOT BILLING

1. The required billing data is generated from the Central Database server
located at Corporate Office and loaded into the SBMs at the concerned
Revenue Offices.

2. The SBM is taken to the consumer premises and the Meter Reader

enters the present meter reading in the SBM.

3. The SBM calculates and generates a printed bill for that consumer,

based on the stored billing program and tariff data.

4. The printed bill is issued to the consumer on the spot itself.

5. The billed data is uploaded back into the Central Database Server,

which reflects at all the Collection Centers.

 ADVANTAGES OF SPOT BILLING
1. All the meter reading data is brought into electronic form, updation of
billing information on to the servers without human interface.
2. Utility could shift to monthly spot billing from bi-monthly thus
improving its cash flow.
3. To compress the billing cycle time , bills are generated and issued to
the consumers with the help of spot billing hand held computers
4. Spot billing was introduced in order to reduce several functions in
metering, billing & collection
5. Bill is issued in the presence of consumers.
6. Revenue realization is advanced by 1 month
7. Possibility of Human Errors and Manipulations in the process of Bill
Calculation is eliminated.
 COMPARISON OF EARLIER BILLING SYSTEM WITH
THE SPOT BILLING SYSTEM
Earlier Billing System
1) Bill was issued 15 days after taking the meter
reading .
2) Meter Reader had to go to the consumer
premises twice for each bill; once for meter
reading and second time for issuing the Bill.
3) Revenue realization was delayed by nearly 1
month.
4) All the bills were issued with Bill Date as 1 st
and due date as 14th of the month. Thus there
was a crowding at the bill Collection Centers
on the due dates.
5) Any discrepancies in the meter reading or
consumer particulars can be checked only after
receiving the bill i.e after 15 days.
6) Meter Reader does not have any facility to
check for any billing mistakes.
7) There was a possibility of Data Entry errors.
Spot Billing System
1) Bill is issued on the spot. The Billing Cycle is
reduced by 1 month by the use of spot billing
machines.
2) Meter reader goes to the consumer only once
in a month.
3) Revenue realization is done within the same
month.
4) The spot bills are continuously issued over a
period of 15 days with different due dates. So,
payments at the collection centers are spread
over 15 days, thus avoiding crowding at those
centers.
5) Bill is issued in the presence of the consumer.
So, the consumer can verify the Bill
particulars at the spot itself.
6) The Meter Reader can check for any billing
mistakes at the spot itself before printing the
bill.
7) Possibility of Human Errors and Manipulations
in the process of Bill Calculation is eliminated.
Common Billing System A Typical Structure
With the implementation of
Common Billing System (CBS)
all the PAAs and EROs have
common software for seamless
migration of data between
different offices.
Covers wide business processes
from new customer account,
metering, billing, collection
details to customer account
termination
Helps in integration of all billing
and payment channels,
Information available for back
offices, customer call centers
and customer service centers
for redressal of customer
grievances
SMS alert facility for registered
consumers on bill amount &due
date and receipt of payments.
Online Billing enquiry
 Collection facilities

Payments through regular ERO Counters and cheque drop boxes

e-seva centers for bill payment (59 e-seva centers available in and
around Hyderabad city and 38 e-seva centers in other towns ).
APOnline Centres
Electronic Clearance Service with the help of certain agencies like bill
junction.com and bill desk
Payments over Internet from our web site www.apcentralpower.com,
and www.aponline.gov.in, www.eseva.gov.in
Collection through voluntary organizations such as Lions Club, Mahila
Mandalies etc.

Several other process improvement initiatives have been

undertaken to support the MBC activities
 Collection Activity in APCPDCL

APCPDCL has arranged for electricity bill collection by direct

debit to the customers bank accounts through electronic fund
transfer (ECS). This system will enable the customer to avoid
visits to the collection centers.

The remuneration being paid to the agencies (Bill

Junction, Bill Desk, etc.) for the services rendered is Rs.3/- per
transaction.
Besides the above, Special drive for collections are being
arranged departmentally during the last week of every month to
intensify the collection activity .
 Out sourcing of Collection Activity in APCPDCL

Collection activity is being organized through voluntary

organizations with non profit motive like Lions Club, Mahila
Dakshita Samithis, Mahila Mandalis, Chamber of Commerce, etc.
The rates payable to these organizations range from Re.1 to
Rs.2 per transaction depending on the area of operation
(Rural/Urban).
Online Collection Centers set up by e-Seva and ITC Department,
Government of Andhra Pradesh, presently stationed at Hyderabad,
Ranga Reddy Districts and all major towns and municipalities in
the jurisdiction of APCPDCL, are engaged in collection activity.
The remuneration being paid to these centers is Rs.2/- per
transaction.
 Out sourcing of Collection Activity in APCPDCL
RSDP Centers (Rajiv Internet Village) were set up by Rural e-Seva with
franchise with professional and voluntary organizations (NGOs) like AP
Online and Times Group as a part of out sourcing of collection activity..
The remuneration being paid to the above agencies is Rs.2/- per
transaction.
Government Portal M/s AP Online are collecting electricity bills in the
jurisdiction of Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts. This is also a web
enabled service.
The transaction charges being paid to AP Online SDPs is Rs.2/-
per transaction.
Billing of HT services
 HT Billing

All HT service meter readings are read through MRI dumps for billing
purpose and tamper analysis.

For 1MVA and above Contracted Maximum demand services DE/Opn and
for other 11KV services ADE/opn take the readings through MRI dumps and
upload the dumps at Base station.

Bills generated for all the HT services with the available software (Phoenix)
in the base station and with Tariff issued by APERC.

All the bills are passed to the consumers through respective circle offices.

All HT meter readings is being taken in between 20th to 23rd of every month.

All Bills are generated and issued to the consumers on 26 th of every month.

The due date for payment of the bill is 15 days from the date of issue of the
bill.
 HT collection

Payment accepted only through Cheque or DD at Circle office or

Corporate office Head quarters.
RTGS(Real time gross settlement) payment of CC charges
through Banks available to HT consumers.
CENTRAL POWER DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
OF ANDHRA PRADESH LIMITED

Thank You