TPNODL comes closer to its consumers with tie up of 4000+ Airtel Payments Bank outlets for payment of electricity bills

By Sudam Patra

Balasore, Aug 20: Tata Power Northern Odisha Distribution Limited (TPNODL), a joint venture between Tata Power and the Government of Odisha today announced its partnership with Bharti Airtel (Airtel), India’s premier communications solutions provider, to offerintegrated bill payment solutions to its registered customer base of over 20 lakhs in a vast distribution area covering 27920 sq. km. in Northern Odisha having a populace of approx. 97 lakhs.

On this occasion dignitaries present were Sri Bhaskar Sarkar, CEO, TPNODL, Sri Sunil Bhattar, Chief, Consumer Support Services, Sri Sriballav Singh, Chief HR & Admin, Sri Chittaranjan Pradhan, PRO, TPNODL, Mr Prasad Routray, Senior Vice President, Alliance, Airtel, Mr Biswajit Mohapatra, State Head, Airtel Payments Bank and Mr Prashant Mishra, Head, Alliance, Airtel-Odisha.

With this partnership, TPNODL’s customers can now pay their electricity bills at over 4000 banking points of Airtel Payments Banks, in North Odisha. The process is simple and all that a customer has to do is visit the store, provide his or her contact/ mobile number and consumer number at the banking point. The customer will then receive an OTP from TPNODL which he/ she has to share with the merchant along with the payment. The transaction will be confirmed immediately via a text message. TPNODL customers can also get a 5% discount if they pay their bill by the due date.

As India Inc is increasingly embracing digital ecosystems to empower customers, this partnership will not only play an active role in furthering digital payments for electricity services but also help create a robust digital ecosystem. TPNODL continues to build on its host of services to customers and the newly added payment avenue will further enhance customer experience.

While the front end solutions will be managed through Airtel Payments Bank, the back end connectivity will be powered by Airtel IQ, which is world’s first network integrated Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) ecosystem that allows enterprise to embed voice, messaging (Text and WhatsApp), video in mobile/ web application.

Speaking about the partnership, Mr Bhaskar Sarkar, Chief Executive Officer, TP Northern Odisha Distribution Limited said, “We are happy to collaborate with Airtel Payments Bank to provide our 20 lakh customers with a seamless digital payment option by using its extensive digital-led neighbourhood banking model. Through the partnership, we will be able to empower our customers with a real time and safe payment avenue, one which will be well past regular banking hours and also available seven days a week. It will digitise our cash collection process and streamline our cash management procedures. Additionally, the payment cycle is predicted to be shortened with this arrangement.”

Speaking about the partnership, Mr. Soumendra Sahu, Chief Operating Officer, Odisha, Bharti Airtel said, “India’s electricity sector is at the cusp of great change now that the Electricity Act Amendment Bill has been presented in the parliament. Airtel is delighted to partner with TPNODL which is one of the early movers in the space integrating both front end and back end with technology to minimise revenue leakage. We look forward to a long association and set an example for other utilities demonstrating how technology can enable profitable service delivery outcomes.” 

TPNODL has continuously worked to provide consumers with a multitude of payment options closer to their homes. Since its inception, TPNODL has enabled electricity bill payment through various physical avenues like Mo seba Kendra, CSC, along with digital payment options through BBPS, TPNODL Website, and My TATAPOWER App.