Pay Point India Network, an online payment solutions provider, has tied up with the Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company (CSPDCL) for a unique method of collecting customer dues which can serve as a model for other electricity utilities in the country. The company is now planning to roll out this model to the rest of India and is in talks with several state power utilities across the country.
Pay Point, which has applied for Payments Banking License, prepays the dues of customers to CSPDCL and then collects the same through a network of its customer service points (its authorised dealers). This is done through its technology infrastructure that enables customers to pay their utility bills even at the last minute.
This model assumes significance as the state power utilities are often unable to secure their payments from errant customers. Even if money is paid, it takes 3-5 days to reach the utility provider’s bank account causing cash flow problems and raising the cost of funds as the interest cost on the borrowings of these utilities is very high. It is this kind of outstanding by customers that has led to an ailing power sector. The government has then had to bail out through subsidies.
One such zone where Pay Point opened its franchisees / dealers to service consumers was Dhamatari & Bematra in Chhattisgarh, a rural / naxal area. This place was previously inaccessible to utility officials.  Pay Point has facilitated transaction worth ` 77.41 lakh by servicing 2.66 lakh consumers in the above mentioned rural / naxal areas from January 2014 till date. The company has so far collected ` 1058 lakh in the entire state till date from about 16.77 lakh customers.

 Pay Point India Network, an online payment solutions provider, has tied up with the Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company (CSPDCL) for a unique method of collecting customer dues which can serve as a model for other electricity utilities in the country. The company is now planning to roll out this model to the rest of India and is in talks with several state power utilities across the country.
Pay Point, which has applied for Payments Banking License, prepays the dues of customers to CSPDCL and then collects the same through a network of its customer service points (its authorised dealers). This is done through its technology infrastructure that enables customers to pay their utility bills even at the last minute.
This model assumes significance as the state power utilities are often unable to secure their payments from errant customers. Even if money is paid, it takes 3-5 days to reach the utility provider’s bank account causing cash flow problems and raising the cost of funds as the interest cost on the borrowings of these utilities is very high. It is this kind of outstanding by customers that has led to an ailing power sector. The government has then had to bail out through subsidies.
One such zone where Pay Point opened its franchisees / dealers to service consumers was Dhamatari & Bematra in Chhattisgarh, a rural / naxal area. This place was previously inaccessible to utility officials.  Pay Point has facilitated transaction worth ` 77.41 lakh by servicing 2.66 lakh consumers in the above mentioned rural / naxal areas from January 2014 till date. The company has so far collected ` 1058 lakh in the entire state till date from about 16.77 lakh customers.