Big victory for the people of UP! Yogi government put brakes on installation of smart prepaid meters, now only old meters will provide relief

A very relieving news has emerged for the electricity consumers of Uttar Pradesh. The controversy that has been going on for a long time regarding smart prepaid meters is about to come to an end. Taking seriously the complaints like sudden increase in electricity bills, poor quality of meters and changing meters without information, the Yogi Adityanath government has stopped this entire process with immediate effect. This means that until the investigation report of the technical committee comes, the old meters will not be removed in the state and billing will continue on their basis.

Why did the government take this tough decision?

This big decision has been taken on the instructions of Dr. Ashish Goyal, Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL). In fact, on April 18, the Chief Minister had called a high-level meeting of the Energy Department, in which the issue of public complaints dominated. Earlier on April 12, a technical committee was formed, which is now investigating the accuracy of the meters and software glitches. There is a clear order of the government that now the old meter of any consumer will not be changed either forcibly or voluntarily. However, for those who take a new connection, it will still be mandatory to install a smart prepaid meter.

Why was there opposition to smart meters?

Under the ‘Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme’ (RDSS) of the Central Government, 3.5 crore old meters were to be replaced by spending about Rs 27 thousand crores. The aim of the government was to stop electricity theft and make billing transparent, but the reality turned out to be different. Complaints started coming from big cities like Noida, Lucknow, Meerut and Prayagraj that the bills increased two to three times as soon as smart meters were installed. Not only this, at many places electricity was cut off without consumption by showing ‘zero balance’. A case in Uttarakhand became a topic of discussion where a wrong bill of Rs 46 lakh was given, which later had to be corrected to only Rs 330.

Pressure from the general public and the opposition worked

Consumer organizations and the opposition had cornered the government on this issue. People in rural areas were unable to understand the prepaid system and on top of that, technical glitches further increased their problems. At many places, meters started deteriorating quickly due to poor quality. Seeing all these protests and public anger, the government had to bow down. Energy Minister AK Sharma has made it clear that consumer interest is paramount and the next step will be taken only after the investigation is completed. At present, this decision is no less than a big victory for crores of families of UP.