“The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to discontinue the smart prepaid electricity meter system across the State and convert the already-installed devices to postpaid with immediate effect,” Energy Minister A.K. Sharma said on Friday (May 8, 2026).
The move comes amid growing protests in several districts over alleged excess billing and irregularities linked to smart prepaid meters installed under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).
According to an official statement, the decision was taken following directions from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in view of consumer convenience and grievances.
Under the new arrangement, consumers will receive electricity bills after consumption, with bills for electricity used in May 2026 to be issued in June under the postpaid system.
Mr. Sharma said formal orders had been issued for implementation of the new system across Purvanchal, Madhyanchal, Dakshinanchal and Pashchimanchal power distribution corporations as well as KESCO in Kanpur.
“Prioritising the convenience of electricity consumers, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to discontinue the smart prepaid meter system operating in the State and shift all smart meters to postpaid mode,” the Minister said.
He said postpaid bills would be issued by the 10th of every month and consumers would receive billing information through SMS and WhatsApp.
The Minister said in areas where automatic readings cannot be obtained because of communication or network problems, manual readings would be taken through Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Provider (AMISP) agencies to ensure timely billing.
The government also announced that all new electricity connections in the State would now be issued only in smart postpaid mode.
According to the statement, the security deposit amount that had earlier been adjusted under the prepaid system would now be recovered in four equal monthly instalments in accordance with provisions of the Electricity Supply Code-2005 and Cost Data Book-2026.
Domestic consumers with pending electricity dues till April 30, 2026, will be allowed to clear them in 10 instalments, while consumers of other categories will be able to pay in three instalments of 40%, 30% and 30%, respectively.
The Minister said postpaid consumers would continue to get a 15-day payment period from the date of bill issuance, followed by a seven-day disconnection notice period, as per earlier arrangements.
“To address consumer complaints, special grievance redressal camps and assistance centres will be set up at offices of executive engineers and sub-divisional officers between May 15 and June 30, while additional arrangements are also being made through the 1912 helpline,” the statement said.
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission Advisory Committee member and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad chief Avadhesh Kumar Verma welcomed the decision but said it should have been taken much earlier.
Mr. Verma told PTI that the Centre had already issued rules and made an announcement regarding the issue on April 1, 2026, yet prepaid smart meters continued to be installed in Uttar Pradesh despite repeated objections from consumer groups.
He alleged that the State government took the decision only after being questioned by the central regulatory body over why penalties should not be imposed for continuing with the prepaid system.
“About 83 lakh families in the State had smart prepaid meters installed in their homes and they faced difficulties for a long time while people like us kept fighting legal battles over the issue,” Mr. Verma said.
Citing Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited figures, he claimed that around 85 lakh smart meters had been installed in the State, of which nearly 83 lakh were prepaid.
He also said consumers have the legal option to choose whether to have prepaid or postpaid meters installed on their premises and cited provisions under State and Central electricity laws to support his claim.
Over the past several months, protests against smart prepaid meters had been reported from multiple districts of Uttar Pradesh, with consumers in some places allegedly removing the meters from their homes and dumping them outside collectorates, on roads and at public intersections to express anger over alleged inflated billing and irregularities in payment systems.
The State government had earlier assured consumers that appropriate action would be taken after taking cognisance of the complaints.
Published – May 08, 2026 05:07 pm IST
