3 weeks ago
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“The Uttar Pradesh authorities has decided to discontinue the astute prepaid energy metre strategy crossed the State and person the already-installed devices to postpaid with contiguous effect,” Energy Minister A.K. Sharma said connected Friday (May 8, 2026).
The determination comes amid increasing protests successful respective districts implicit alleged excess billing and irregularities linked to astute prepaid meters installed nether the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).
According to an authoritative statement, the determination was taken pursuing directions from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath successful presumption of user convenience and grievances.
Under the caller arrangement, consumers volition person energy bills aft consumption, with bills for energy utilized successful May 2026 to beryllium issued successful June nether the postpaid system.
Mr. Sharma said ceremonial orders had been issued for implementation of the caller strategy crossed Purvanchal, Madhyanchal, Dakshinanchal and Pashchimanchal powerfulness organisation corporations arsenic good arsenic KESCO successful Kanpur.
"Prioritising the convenience of energy consumers, the Uttar Pradesh authorities has decided to discontinue the astute prepaid metre strategy operating successful the State and displacement each astute meters to postpaid mode," the Minister said.
He said postpaid bills would beryllium issued by the 10th of each period and consumers would person billing accusation done SMS and WhatsApp.
The Minister said successful areas wherever automatic readings cannot beryllium obtained due to the fact that of connection oregon web problems, manual readings would beryllium taken done Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Provider (AMISP) agencies to guarantee timely billing.
The authorities besides announced that each caller energy connections successful the State would present beryllium issued lone successful astute postpaid mode.
According to the statement, the information deposit magnitude that had earlier been adjusted nether the prepaid strategy would present beryllium recovered successful 4 adjacent monthly instalments successful accordance with provisions of the Electricity Supply Code-2005 and Cost Data Book-2026.
Domestic consumers with pending energy dues till April 30, 2026, volition beryllium allowed to wide them successful 10 instalments, portion consumers of different categories volition beryllium capable to wage successful 3 instalments of 40%, 30% and 30%, respectively.
The Minister said postpaid consumers would proceed to get a 15-day outgo play from the day of measure issuance, followed by a seven-day disconnection announcement period, arsenic per earlier arrangements.
“To code user complaints, peculiar grievance redressal camps and assistance centres volition beryllium acceptable up astatine offices of enforcement engineers and sub-divisional officers betwixt May 15 and June 30, portion further arrangements are besides being made done the 1912 helpline,” the connection said.
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission Advisory Committee subordinate and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad main Avadhesh Kumar Verma welcomed the determination but said it should person been taken overmuch earlier.
Mr. Verma told PTI that the Centre had already issued rules and made an announcement regarding the contented connected April 1, 2026, yet prepaid astute meters continued to beryllium installed successful Uttar Pradesh contempt repeated objections from user groups.
He alleged that the State authorities took the determination lone aft being questioned by the cardinal regulatory assemblage implicit wherefore penalties should not beryllium imposed for continuing with the prepaid system.
"About 83 lakh families successful the State had astute prepaid meters installed successful their homes and they faced difficulties for a agelong clip portion radical similar america kept warring ineligible battles implicit the issue," Mr. Verma said.
Citing Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited figures, helium claimed that astir 85 lakh astute meters had been installed successful the State, of which astir 83 lakh were prepaid.
He besides said consumers person the ineligible enactment to take whether to person prepaid oregon postpaid meters installed connected their premises and cited provisions nether State and Central energy laws to enactment his claim.
Over the past respective months, protests against astute prepaid meters had been reported from aggregate districts of Uttar Pradesh, with consumers successful immoderate places allegedly removing the meters from their homes and dumping them extracurricular collectorates, connected roads and astatine nationalist intersections to explicit choler implicit alleged inflated billing and irregularities successful outgo systems.
The State authorities had earlier assured consumers that due enactment would beryllium taken aft taking cognisance of the complaints.
