NOIDA: Mounting complaints over smart meters, ranging from overbilling to sudden disconnections, have prompted the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) to hold grievance camps in Sectors 34 and 82 through its PVVNL wing.At a meeting organised by the Federation of Resident Welfare Associations (FORWAs) in Sector 34, nearly 2,000 residents flagged inflated bills, faulty meters and erratic supply. Many demanded replacement of defective devices and verification through check meters to identify discrepancies. Residents also urged authorities to introduce a minimum balance buffer before disconnections, citing financial strain.KK Jain, president of the federation, said, “The peak billing period has only intensified calls for intervention,” and proposed that power supply remain uninterrupted for accounts with a limited negative balance. He also stressed the need for SMS alerts to keep consumers updated on billing.With summer approaching, concerns over reliability have intensified. Dharmendra Sharma, general secretary of FORWA Sector 34, called for urgent maintenance of feeder and meter panels to prevent outages.Responding to complaints, UPPCL executive engineer Mohit Dixit said a negative balance limit of up to Rs 2,000 would be introduced to ease consumer burden. He added that infrastructure upgrades were underway to improve supply stability.A similar camp in Sector 82’s EWS Pocket-7 saw residents report prolonged outages even after bill payments. RWA president Raghavendra Dubey criticised the system, calling it a “noose around the people’s necks,” and added, “This exacerbates the distress faced by families, particularly those with young children.” Residents also complained about poor responsiveness of the 1912 helpline, though officials assured them that grievances would be addressed.Trouble was also reported in Sector 19, where around 5,200 families faced disruption after smart meters were abruptly shifted to prepaid mode. RWA general secretary Laxmi Narain said, “The implementation of smart meters began about six to seven months ago… But its hasty implementation without prior information and educating the consumer led to widespread outages.”PVVNL chief engineer Sanjay Kumar Jain acknowledged the accelerated transition. “We are committed to resolving these complaints by organising special camps,” he saidAbout 40,000 smart meters have been installed across different sectors in Noida so far.
