Patna, June 7: Patna Electric Supply Undertaking (Pesu) is likely to extend the service of providing electricity bills through hand-held billing machine to its Danapur division within a week.

With the introduction of the on-spot billing in the division, Pesu will now cover all its 10 divisions under the facility.

Under the system, a meter reader from the electricity department visits homes with a hand-held billing machine, jots down the meter reading, generates the bill instantly and delivers it to the consumer on the spot.

The introduction of the on-spot billing in the Danapur division would provide better service to around 60,000 consumers. Residents of Danapur, Digha, Khagaul, Phulwarisharif will be among the consumers benefited.

Pesu general manager-cum-chief engineer SKP Singh told The Telegraph: “On-the-spot bill delivery system has been a great success in all the divisions. It has helped increase revenue collection in all the divisions the service has been implemented. So we have decided to extend the service to Danapur.”

A senior officer of the Danapur division said the work of transferring the data on the new system is in the final stages. It is expected to be complete in a week after which the service would be introduced.

Pesu, which provides power to the state capital, had started the service from its smallest division — Gardanibagh — in December 2010. Last month, the facility was introduced in the Kankerbagh division.

Pesu caters to around 3.25 lakh consumers in its 10 divisions — Gardanibagh, Patliputra, Dakbungalow, Bankipore, Gulzarbagh, Rajendra Nagar, New Capital, Patna City, Kankerbagh and Danapur.

As the Pesu employees could not take the meter readings properly, generate and distribute the bills to the consumers, revenue collection was lower, said Singh. However, the service of providing the instant bills through hand-held billing machines has helped get rid of the teething problems, added Singh.

Ram Singh, a resident of Mithila Colony of Danapur, said: “We never know when the meter reader comes and goes. But after this service is implemented, we will get instant bills.”