Lesco Customer Services Director Khalid Mahmood told newsmen here on Friday that customers could get details of electricity bills by sending 14 digits reference mentioned on every bill to Lesco through SMS on 5372.
"The details including meter readings and total amount payable within and after date will automatically be shown on the screen of the cell phone which can be paid in any of the online branch of commercial bank connected with Lesco network".
About the other salient features of this facility, he said that if any of the consumers would get himself registered free of cost with Lesco, "all relevant information" regarding billing, shutdown schedule, and other alerts would be provided on mobile, he explained.
Khalid Mahmood said that a house owner could also check through his mobile whether his tenant had paid the bill or not. Mobile customer services vans are also moving in various parts of the city to address customers seeking duplicate bills, extension in due date, correction of bill and instalments etc. For cent percent accurate reading, Lesco will initially install 20,000 high tech meters under Remote Meter Reading System (RMRS) in city.
The director said that Lesco, after one and half year successful trial experiment of remote meter reading system in city, had now decided to replace 20,000 single and three phase meters in one of the sub-division under pilot project.
He said that in this regard international tender had already been floated to invite local and foreign investors to facilitate Lesco for implementation of pilot project. With successful launching of this pilot project, the complaints of excessive, bogus and advance readings would come to zero, he hoped.
"RMRS will help plug total power pilferage as high tech system will promptly and automatically identify energy theft if any consumer tried to physically tamper the meter or tried to use direct supply, bypassing the meter or by any other method".
He said that under RMRS, consumers could see the status of power consumption on Lesco website by entering their account number. Khalid Mahmood said Lesco was committed to provide the best facilities to its 2.8 million consumers at their doorsteps. He said after completion of this pilot project, the network of RMRS would be extended to other sub-divisions under a phased programme.