Nicosia water board will save 120 tons of paper and €240,000 a year by billing consumers digitally, it said on Monday.

The water board has been trying to eradicate paper bills sent by post, informing all consumers that they must arrange for the switchover. The deadline, originally set for autumn, has now been extended to the end of the year.

According to its calculations, and taking into consideration new consumers, the Nicosia water board projects savings of €2.4m over the next decade from the transition. This money will be invested in the network, it said.

The extension to the deadline aims to give consumers in Lakatamia and six communities in the outskirts of capital which recently joined the Nicosia system the time needed to implement procedures to digitalise their bills.

The water board officially launched their information campaign on the initiative last month.

Nicosia water board director Constantinos Parmakli said the digitialisation of water bills was an important step in the organisation’s transition to a new digital age and a green cyclical economy which are key to the long-term success of a modern public benefit organisation.

As from the new year, no bills will be sent by post. Instead, consumers will notified by email and text message.