CHENNAI: Electricity consumers in Coimbatore will be able to pay their power bills through debit or credit cards at the Tangedco collection counters soon.

According to a Tangedco circular, Coimbatore North, Coimbatore South, Coimbatore Metro, Tirupur, Palladam and Nilgiris Energy Distribution Circles in the Coimbatore Distribution Region will be provided with point-of-sale (PoS) machines in a phased manner and will be extended to other districts progressively.

So far, the handheld point-of-sale machines are available only in the utility counters located in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu and Tiruvallur districts.

The consumers can pay their current consumption charges, new service connection charges, estimated cost, damaged pole etc at their respective section office counters. The consumer can pay for one or more service connections in a single payment.

While the banks concerned will manage the maintenance of the PoS machines, the section offices cannot exchange the PoS machines in case of any fault, as it would lead to reconciliation issues in the back end.

The circular said that if a consumer wants to make a payment through a card, the consumer may approach the nearby section where the PoS machine is in working condition. It instructed the Superintending Engineer of the Coimbatore Region Energy Distribution Circles to arrange to create awareness among the consumers about the payment through PoS machines as it will help to digitalise the collection to the extent.