In a unique initiative, the Lucknow Electricity Supply Authority will now be sending out emotional SMSs to consumers to make them understand the need for making timely payment of power bills.
In a unique initiative, the Lucknow Electricity Supply Authority will now be sending out emotional SMSs to consumers to make them understand the need for making timely payment of power bills.
The LESA officials have collaborated with an agency that will send out these SMSs to consumers whose mobile numbers are registered with the LESA.
Mr S.K. Verma, chief engineer, LESA, said that the messages will be forwarded to WhatsApp groups of trade unions, government employees, associations, corporators, media and others consumers.
“The idea is to reach out to the maximum number of people and keep reminding them about the need for prompt payment of bills. We are also requesting all consumers to register their mobile numbers with us so that we can send them reminders for bill payment,” he said.
The SMSs that will be sent out will emotionally tap the consumers.“Daddy there is no electricity. How will I prepare for my exams now My future is at stake,” says one such SMS while another says, “There is no electricity because you did not pay the bills and father’s condition is worsening without a room warmer”.
The latest audios, videos and messages are situational, developed around day-to-day incidents of people getting affected when electricity supply is disconnected due to non-payment of bill.
“We have paid private radio channels to popularise our one-time-settlement scheme this year and now, we are creating audios to be aired on private channels to remind people to pay bills,” the chief engineer said.
The LESA has been making concerted efforts since the past four months to make the defaulters’ pay their bills but the percentage of consumers paying their bills in Lucknow is merely 60 per cent.
Even in posh government colonies, only 64 per cent consumers have been paying their power bills. The LESA had also painted names of defaulters on walls of its offices in different divisions, in October, to shame them. The strategy worked and many defaulters turned up to pay their dues.
