Bescom consumers cheer as helpline starts ringing

It was a surprise call for Harish, a resident of JP Nagar 7th Phase on Wednesday when he received a call from energy minister Shobha Karandlaje herself who inaugurated a centralised help desk to cater to complaints from consumers from across the state.

Harish’s complaint was attended to within two hours.

“I was shocked for a second that it was the minister herself. They rectified the problem within two hours. It is an effective system,” Harish said.

The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) launched the 24x7 centralised help desk on Wednesday. Karandlaje said on the occasion: “Since the state is going through a severe drought, the helpline will cater to other issues like water supply.”

Consumers can call the toll-free line 1800-425-2627 to complain about power supply failure, transformer failure, wire snaps, electric poles that fall down, and all other electricity related complaints.

After inaugurating the centre, she said: “We have been receiving complaints regarding water supply, income tax, etc. We are receiving calls on those departments’ behalf for the time being. We will forward them to the department concerned and deputy commissioner to follow up.”

A list of these complaints will be sent twice daily at 10 am and 6 pm. “I will spend as much time I can and monitor the calls personally,” she said.

The helpline with 50 lines and a control centre has been made available by Infosys and a three-day orientation workshop has been arranged for Bescom employees. The centre will operate in three shifts with 30 employees per shift.

“Depending on the response to this centre, another 25 lines will be added,” Karandlaje added.