LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has imposed a penalty of Rs 7.18 lakh on Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL), after it took suo motu of about more than 1.93 lakh prepaid smart meter consumers whose connections were disconnected for over two hours despite their prepaid accounts showing a positive balance.The order follows an examination of data related to reconnection timelines between March 13 and April 10, during which consumers experienced temporary power disruptions. On April 22 TOI had reported a detailed story about the power outage caused by the smart metering system.According to information submitted before the regulatory body by UPPCL, electricity supply to more than 40.27 lakh prepaid consumer households was disconnected during the period because of insufficient balance in their prepaid accounts. Of these, around 24.14 lakh consumers recharged their accounts and became eligible for reconnection. Further in the submission, it was revealed that power supply was restored within 30 minutes for 18.78 lakh consumers, accounting for nearly 78 percent of reconnections.A further 22.21 lakh consumers received restored supply within the two-hour period prescribed under the regulations, representing about 92% of cases.However, around eight per cent of consumers, 1.93 lakh connections, had to wait for more than two hours after recharge for restoration of supply.The Commission noted that under the UPERC Standards of Performance Regulations, 2019, electricity supply to prepaid consumers must be restored within two hours of recharge, and distribution licensees are required to meet this standard in at least 95% of cases.The commission observed that the required benchmark was not achieved on several days between March 13 and April 10. It reviewed explanations submitted by UPPCL, which attributed delays to communication and network constraints, synchronization issues between payment gateways and remote management systems, system latency during peak transaction periods, and isolated technical issues at the meter level. UPPCL also argued that the smart prepaid metering programme was in a transition and stabilization phase.After examining the submissions, UPERC rejected these explanations and held that smart meter installations under the RDSS programme had already achieved operational status. The commission stated, that, “Recurring delays could not be treated as temporary failures and that consumers should not face prolonged outages after making payments.”It further observed that delayed reconnections cause inconvenience and distress to consumers and undermine confidence in the electricity distribution system.Consequently, the commission imposed a penalty of Rs 7.18 lakh for violations recorded across 10 days when the prescribed standard was not met. The order also directed UPPCL to undertake a root cause analysis and implement corrective measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents.Meanwhile, Avadhesh Kumar Verma, member of UPERC’s Supply Code Review Panel sub-committee and chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad (UPRVUP), described the action as the highest penalty imposed by any regulatory authority on a power corporation in such a matter.He said, “The issue of consumer compensation remains unresolved and that UPRVUP is pursuing a demand for a refund of Rs 50 each to the 1.93 lakh consumers whose electricity supply was restored after more than two hours due to issues linked to the smart metering system.”
