THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: By the end of 2014, power consumers in major towns and cities in the state should have enjoyed the benefits of a modern customer care system like automatic rectification of power outages. However, thanks to poor monitoring by KSEB Limited, a state-of-the-art customer service mechanism continues to elude the state. Yet, the contracting company that had failed in its obligations was extended favours.
Under the ambitious Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (RAPDRP) to make the utility commercially viable, a Centralised Customer Care Service (CCC) was to be set up as part of Part A of RAPDRP to improve the customer service by procession and resolving customer requests, queries and complaints in minimum possible time.
All the 43 projects submitted by KSEBL under Part A for 43 towns in the state were sanctioned in November 2009. The deadline was further extended by five years to 2014. Even then, it was not completed. Korea Electric Power Data Network Company Limited (KDN), the contractor for the project, was to link all 228 electrical sections falling within the 43 towns with the CCC.
The CCC was inaugurated in Thiruvananthapuram in November, 2014. “But most of the sections could not be linked with the CCC as KDB failed to provide end-user training to officials of KSEBL,” the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General said. “Thus, the facility of complaint redressal system was denied to consumers,” it added.
It was also noticed that even in CCC-linked sections, integration of the system with billing module and consumer indexing was pending undermining the gains of the linkage. Under the contract, release of payments was performance-based, where payments would be made for measured deliverables and outputs. There is no provision for payment of advance on delivery of material. Nonetheless, the CAG report noted, KSEBL Board of Directors, in a blatant violation of norms, decided in August 2014 to pay interest-free advance of Rs 14.5 crore to KDN.
