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Desco to expand prepaid meter system to new areas

Refayet Ullah Mirdha
Induced by huge response from customers, the Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited (Desco) will bring more areas under its pre-paid meter system to relieve them of bill payment hassles through banks and prevent misuse of electricity.
In August 2005, this government-owned electricity distributing company, which was established inl994, installed the pre-paid meter system at Uttara in Dhaka to ensure better customer services.
Presently, Desco is working in sectors 5,13 and 14 of Uttara to bring the customers of those areas under such meter system, said the company's Managing Director Saleh Ahmed, adding that sectors 1, 4, 6, 7, and 8 of Uttara are now under this system.
It has planned further expansion of the service to 9,10 and 11 sectors of the area.
"We will install pre-paid metre at the state- owned enterprises very soon to prevent the misuse of electricity and ensure proper recovery of bills," Ahmed said.
"Moreover, the company will install pre-paid meters in Mirpur, Tongi and Gulshan, three major areas under the coverage of Desco, within the next six months," he said.
So far, Desco brought 7500 customers under the pre-paid metre system in Uttara. The company earned Tk 13 crore from the sale of electricity in the area in the last three years under this system.
The system has provided customers with opportunities to receive hassle-free services and be aware about misuses of
power, as they are buying electricity before usage under the system, the Desco chief said.
Saleh Ahmed said a group of students of Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology (Buet) designed the pre-paid meter system.
Elaborating the reasons for choosing Uttara as the starting point, he said Uttara, being a model town, is a structured area compared with other areas.
Desco also considered the residents of the area as perfect consumers for single-phase pre paid meters, he added.
Now, the Buet has upgraded the capacity of single-phase meters to three-phase that can be used for industrial purposes as well as bulk household consumption of electricity, he said.
The Desco chief said prepaid meters have not been installed in Gulshan, which is even more structured than Uttara, due to bulk household consumption of power in Gulshan and Baridhara area.
"But, the three-phase type of pre-paid meters can be used for any purpose and anywhere," he said.
Abdus Samad, a resident of Uttara, said introduction of pre-paid meter has reduced almost all hassles in payment of electricity bill.
"But, the bill, even with 2 percent rebate by Desco, seems larger under the new payment system as we are paying before consumption," he said.
ASM Seraj Uddullah, general manager (Technical) of the newly created Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) that took over the charge of the former DESA's area of operation in Dhaka and its adjacent localities, said DPDC also has plans to introduce pre-paid mete system.
The DPDC needs government's approval in this connection, he said.
reefat@thedailystar.net