Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) has acknowledged that a significant number of smart prepaid meter consumers faced delays in restoration of electricity supply even after recharging their accounts, following notices issued by the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) over complaints of prolonged outages.In a written reply to UPERC dated April 17, Prashant Verma, director (commercial), 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 UPERC (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2019, which mandate restoration of supply within two hours of recharge of 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 balance in their accounts. However, 18.8 lakh prepaid consumers’ power supply was restored within 30 minutes of recharge, while for 22.21 lakh power was restored within two hours.During the same period, around 8% of cases saw delays beyond two hours, amounting to 1.93 lakh connections.UPPCL attributed the 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 such as communication and network constraints, synchronization delays between payment gateways and revenue management systems, peak-time system latency, and isolated meter-level technical problems contributed to the lag in reconnections,” read the UPPCL reply. from the utility to the regulatory body.The matter has also drawn attention at government level. On April 19, state energy minister AK Sharma after reviewing the situation in a meeting with power department officials, acknowledged that there were 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 the state, with more than 81 lakh consumers shifted to prepaid mode.It emphasized that 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.The utility also informed UPERC that measures have since been undertaken to improve system performance. including strengthening platform integration, setting up a centralized 24×7 monitoring mechanism, and enhancing coordination with payment gateways.According to UPPCL, reconnection compliance has now improved to over 95 per cent, in line with regulatory benchmarks.Avadhesh Kumar Verma, member of UPERC’s Supply Code Review Panel sub-committee and chairman of UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad, said, “Between March 13 to April 10, there were days when 18% to 23% of consumers did not get power supply restored upto six hours.”On Tuesday, UPRVUP filed petition in UPERC, seeking Rs 1 crore compensation to 1.93 lakh consumers by citing the Standard of Performance Regulations which 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.BOX‘Restore meters after balance turns positive’Additional chief secretary, energy, and UPPCL chairman Ashish Kumar Goel on Tuesday directed all discoms to restore power connection of prepaid smart meter consumers instantly once the account turns positive and ensure to resolve complaints related to smart meters on the same day. He said all connections automatically disconnected due to negative balance should be restored promptly once consumers recharge their accounts.“The reconnection process after recharge must be constantly monitored at the discom level,” he added.
