Power consumers can now lodge their complaints from the comfort of their homes instead of queuing up for hours.

Distribution companies — North Bihar Power Distribution Company and South Bihar Power Distribution Company — started the service around last week for the convenience of its about 40 lakh consumers. Residents across the state can lodge their complaints on www.nbpdcl.in and www.sbpdcl.in. Till now they had to make rounds of offices of the power companies for the same.

“We have launched the online service to accept consumers’ complaints. It would help them to lodge their complaints from home,” said Sanjay Kumar Agrawal, the managing director of the power distribution companies.

To register a complaint, a resident has to visit the site concerned and click on the “online complaint registration” tab. Once he/she lodges the complaint and a mobile phone number, the consumer would get a text message alert, along with a 11-digit token number and the nature of the complaint furnished.

Consumers can check updates on the complaints by submitting the token number on the site concerned.

Kankerbagh resident Sanjeev Kumar said: “It is a good step as it would save us precious time. But the million-dollar question is, will it work? We will lodge online complaints but what if it remains a post box and no one is ready to take care of our grievances.”

Complaints can be lodged on a volley of issues, including corrections in bill, wrong meter reading, disconnection of line, replacement of faulty meters and theft of electricity and other electrical equipment.