BWB unveils on-site billing
Blantyre Water Board (BWB) has introduced on-site billing as one way of improving service delivery, with a pilot exercise in Limbe Zone.
BWB public affairs officer Priscilla Mateyu said in a statement the exercise—part of the board’s approved reforms under Public Service Reforms Programme—will enable customers to receive monthly bills immediately after the sales agent records the meter readings.
“On-site billing will increase customer satisfaction as customers can verify the bill with the meter reader right on the spot. It will reduce the period between meter reading and bill delivery,” she said.
Mateyu said other benefits are that customers will track their consumption and plan usage of water accordingly; reduce cost of bill delivery on BWB’s part and increased quality in readings due to immediate validation of meter readings.
“In this regard, the board wishes to request its customers to make sure that their premises are accessible to sales agents who will be using the on-site billing device.
“This is to enable the sales agents to get readings from the water meters and charge accordingly, to allow for the printing of the bill on the spot,” reads the statement.
The board also says those who will have queries about their bills produced on site should to go to Limbe Customer Service Centre in Lonhro House along Churchill Road for clarification.
On-site billing is one of BWB’s reforms which President Peter Mutharika approved in September last year.
Others include diversification of revenue through production of bottled water; fast tracking the implementation of prepaid water meters, reduction of non-revenue water, introduction of leak detection system, development of a management information system and development of a geographic information system (GIS) and hydraulic model.
The approved reforms were a result of BWB’s engagement with the Public Service Reforms Commission (PSRC) chaired by Vice-President Saulos Chilima in June 2015. n
