The attention of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) has been focused on reducing the monthly expenditure of nearly Rs. 75 million for printing nearly three million bills which are issued to consumers.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, the Deputy General Manager (Commercial) of the NWSDB, Piyal Pathmanatha said: “The NWSDB has to spend a large sum of money for printing bills. At present, nearly three million bills are being issued to consumers island-wide, and it costs nearly Rs. 25 to print one bill. The total cost of printing bills is about Rs. 75 million. Considering this, we have planned to completely stop issuing printed bills in the near future, and to take several actions to reduce that expenditure until then.” In order to reduce the cost of printing bills, he said that the NWSDB has taken steps to issue only a chit and an electronic bill to consumers in several areas, and that the same would be expanded from 1 March. According to him, the initial stage of the said programme has been launched in districts such as Jaffna, Kilinochchi, and Anuradhapura, as an organisation based in such areas had donated the necessary device for implementing the project. 

“Although this programme was limited to a few areas throughout the past two years, we have planned to implement this in other districts from 1 March. We have purchased 100 devices. The income assistants (meter readers) would go to the consumers with this device, and the consumers can pay bills and new connection related charges using their credit or debit cards. When they make payments using their bank cards, only a chit would be issued instead of the normal bill. The consumers can also save on travel costs to pay the bills through this project,” added Pathmanatha. 

Speaking further, he said that any consumer can now register to receive electronic bills by calling 071 939 9999 and support the NWSDB in its attempts to reduce the cost of printing bills. He also said that the NWSDB has planned to completely stop the issuance of printed bills in the coming years, and that a programme would however be initiated for consumers who do not have sufficient means to use electronic bill facilities.

In the face of the current economic crisis in the country, the prices of the basic materials required for printing, such as paper, ink, and related machinery, have risen rapidly in the past few months. Compared to that, the charges for printing have also increased. Many public and private institutions in the country issue printed bills rather than electronic bills, and many consumers have also become accustomed to using printed bills. However, in the current situation, many public and private organisations are seen promoting the use of electronic bills instead of printed bills among their consumers.