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In the process, it is also cashing in on the new look by dedicating space for advertisements in the bill. To begin with, PSEB has signed a three-month contract beginning January with telecom firm Airtel for the space meant for the advertisement. The new bills being issued to consumers now carry Airtel promos. However, the bill also comes with the disclaimer “PSEB does not own responsibility for the contents of the advertisement carried on the bill and does not endorse the product contained therein”.
PSEB Director (Billing) Suresh Arora said the Board is getting 11 paise per bill from Airtel for carrying its advertisement. There are about 51 lakh domestic consumers of the PSEB, which also include shopkeepers. PSEB issues the bill on a bi-monthly basis, alternately by dividing consumers in two groups.
Arora claimed that PSEB got Rs 2.75 lakh last month for carrying the advertisement. Impressed, PSEB recently floated a tender for “giving advertisement on energy bills of PSEB”, the bids for which would open on February 25. “The reserve price for the space has been kept at 12 paise,” Arora said, adding that PSEB would be issuing bills with similar format to its one lakh industry consumers. Bills to industry consumers are issued every month. Arora said the advertisement initiative had been taken in the wake of rising bill printing cost. “The earlier format was printed at about 12 paise per bill. Now it takes about 25 paise per bill. The ad space is aimed at bridging that printing cost gap, while giving additional information to the consumers,” he said. The columns have been highlighted in different colours.
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