Kerala - Kollam   

ORUMA: the result of KSEB’s concerted efforts

KOLLAM: Open Resourced Utility Management Application (ORUMA), the internally-developed billing software of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) will be formally launched by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan in the presence of Electricity Minister A.K. Balan at a function to be held in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.

KSEB sources connected with the development of the software told The Hindu that ORUMA was successfully tested at twelve KSEB section offices. After its formal launch, ORUMA will be extended to all the 629 KSEB section offices in the State. It is primarily for the benefit of the low tension consumers.

ORUMA is a software which enables consumer friendly electricity billing and accounting, and which can later be extended to web-based applications. By switching over to this free software platform, it is estimated that the KSEB will save Rs.9.50 crore by way of licence and upgrading fees.

The sources said that this was the first instance of a State government department switching over to a free software platform and that too on such a big scale. The software can be used on any operating system, such as Linux or Windows.

The KSEB has been using the Windows-based software ‘Jyothi’ from 2003. In 2006, it was extended to 177 section offices. It cost the KSEB Rs.88,770 as license fee for use in each section office. But the software was not user friendly. There were plenty of complaints on errors in bills, listing consumers who had paid their bills in the defaulters list, and wrong report generation.

The KSEB’s efforts to develop a free software using in-house resources started in January 2007. The initial exercise included discussions with consumers to identify their problems.

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