UPPCL Confirms Power Restoration Delays for Smart Prepaid Meter Consumers in Uttar Pradesh
The Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) has formally acknowledged that a significant number of smart prepaid meter consumers experienced delays in the restoration of electricity supply even after recharging their accounts. This admission came in response to notices issued by the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) following numerous complaints about prolonged outages.
Regulatory Compliance and Data Disclosure
In a written reply dated April 17, Prashant Verma, director (commercial) at UPPCL, accepted that more than 1.93 lakh households remained without power for over two hours despite their prepaid accounts showing a positive balance. The response was submitted in compliance with the UPERC (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2019, which mandate that electricity supply must be restored within two hours of recharge for prepaid meters.
The data provided by UPPCL revealed that between March 13 and April 10, electricity supply to over 40 lakh prepaid consumer households was disrupted due to negative balances in their accounts. During this period, 18.8 lakh prepaid consumers had their power supply restored within 30 minutes of recharge, while for 22.21 lakh consumers, restoration occurred within two hours.
Root Causes of Delays
However, approximately 8% of cases, amounting to 1.93 lakh connections, saw delays beyond the two-hour regulatory limit. UPPCL attributed these delays to issues arising during the initial stabilization phase of the large-scale rollout of prepaid smart meters under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme.
Factors contributing to the lag in reconnections included:
- Communication and network constraints
- Synchronization delays between payment gateways and revenue management systems
- Peak-time system latency
- Isolated meter-level technical problems
Government and Regulatory Scrutiny
The matter has drawn significant attention at the government level. On April 19, state energy minister AK Sharma, after reviewing the situation in a meeting with power department officials, acknowledged instances where electricity supply was not restored even up to six hours after consumers had recharged and their accounts had turned positive.
UPPCL, in its submission, stated that over 86 lakh smart meters have been installed across Uttar Pradesh, with more than 81 lakh consumers shifted to prepaid mode. The utility emphasized that the prepaid metering system is designed to be fully automated, ensuring near real-time disconnection and reconnection based on balance status, but acknowledged that integration challenges can affect performance in isolated cases.
Compensation Demands and Improvement Measures
Avadhesh Kumar Verma, member of UPERC’s Supply Code Review Panel sub-committee and chairman of UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad, highlighted that between March 13 and April 10, there were days when 18% to 23% of consumers did not get power supply restored for up to six hours. On Tuesday, UPRVUP filed a petition in UPERC, seeking Rs 1 crore compensation for the 1.93 lakh affected consumers, citing the Standard of Performance Regulations. These regulations mandate that if electricity supply is not restored within two hours of recharge under the smart prepaid system, consumers are entitled to compensation of Rs 50 per day.
In response, UPPCL informed UPERC that measures have been undertaken to improve system performance, including:
- Strengthening platform integration
- Setting up a centralized 24x7 monitoring mechanism
- Enhancing coordination with payment gateways
According to UPPCL, reconnection compliance has now improved to over 95%, aligning with regulatory benchmarks.
Directives for Immediate Action
Additional chief secretary, energy, and UPPCL chairman Ashish Kumar Goel directed all distribution companies (discoms) to restore power connections of prepaid smart meter consumers instantly once the account turns positive and to resolve complaints related to smart meters on the same day. He emphasized that all connections automatically disconnected due to negative balance should be restored promptly after recharge, with constant monitoring at the discom level to ensure compliance.
This situation underscores the challenges in implementing large-scale technological upgrades in the power sector, while highlighting the regulatory and consumer rights frameworks in place to address such issues.
