Will also roll out new app ‘Bill Sahuliyat Plus’
Irfan Tramboo
SRINAGAR, Oct 28: The Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (KPDCL) is set to transition its entire consumer base to cloud-based billing system to improve visibility of bills and smart meter data across Kashmir.
To facilitate this, KPDCL will implement the ‘Revenue Management System-Unified Billing System’ (RMS-UBS) on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), with a data center in Mumbai and a disaster recovery center in Hyderabad, consolidating all consumers onto a unified database and billing system.
“This project is funded under the centrally sponsored Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) and 80% of the work is completed,” sources told Excelsior, adding that they aim to migrate all consumers to the Oracle Utilities platform by the end of December this year.
To improve user experience, KPDCL will also launch a new mobile billing application, “Bill Sahuliyat Plus.”
This app will feature an upgraded user interface and provide real-time smart meter data, accessible to both Android and iOS users; previously, iOS users accessed smart meter accounts via a web link.
Sources reported that the app’s beta version is ready and undergoing testing. “Once testing is completed and the payment interface is integrated, it will be available for public use in a couple of months,” they added.
It is to be noted here that the Unified (Electricity) Billing System (UBS) offers specialized solutions for various energy and utility billing needs, including metered, net-metered, pre-paid, and dynamic tariff options.
It also includes property management features for cost allocation, fees, and taxes, along with APIs for integration with other systems. UBS integrates with advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and allows for customization with additional functionalities, sources said.
Other features include 24×7 support for setup and maintenance, consolidated billing and invoicing, multiple payment and collection options, and energy and utility consumption triggers based on customer events.
The Unified Billing System will also provide practical analytics for metering, billing, and collection, enhancing operational efficiency and streamlining data management.
The new system is expected to improve data accuracy and reliability through enhanced validation and synchronization protocols, which were previously lacking for rural consumers.
Notably, KPDCL serves around 12.10 lakh consumers across various categories through 67 billing centers across geographically defined circles, divisions, and subdivisions in the Kashmir region.
All consumers are registered in the computerized billing system; however, only 4.5 lakh are compliant with the services covered under 17 application modules of the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (RAPDRP) Part-A.
Officials noted that 1.28 lakh consumers currently use the pre-paid system, and an additional 7.6 lakh are proposed to be integrated with Data Center services through RMS-UBS under RDSS. In addition, energy auditing tools are being set up under RT-DAS and Smart Metering projects.
Despite IT interventions from completed projects like APDRP and RAPDRP, and upcoming projects such as IPDS IT Phase-II and RT-DAS, sources stated that only 35% of the consumer base has been migrated to the advanced Oracle Utilities platform.
To manage billing effectively, KPDCL currently operates two billing systems, which include Oracle Customer Care and Billing (CC&B) and ‘Power Care.’
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