LUCKNOW: It is a double bonanza for electricity consumers in Uttar Pradesh this July. Along with a 4.43% reduction in power bills due to a negative Fuel and Power Purchase Adjustment Surcharge (FPPAS), the highest monthly relief in the past 15 months, amounting to a negative adjustment of Rs 358.31 crore, around five lakh consumers who took new electricity connections between Sept 10, 2025, and March 6, 2026, will also start receiving refunds of excess smart meter charges through adjustments in their electricity bills from Wednesday.The refunds come after Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) on March 6, directed the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) to return the excess amount collected from consumers. The order followed a months-long TOI series that highlighted discrepancies in smart meter pricing and billing.Confirming the rollout, UPPCL director (commercial) Prashant Kumar Verma told TOI, “Based on the rates fixed in the Cost Data Book 2025, the excess amount will be refunded from July bills. Consumers can check their bills for the adjustment.”UPPCL is expected to refund between Rs 150 crore and Rs 200 crore through bill adjustments.The issue stemmed from UPPCL’s decision to continue charging consumers according to the Cost Data Book 2019, despite introducing a different category of smart prepaid meters. Consumers taking new electricity connections in prepaid mode, which was made mandatory from Sept 10, 2025, were charged Rs 6,016 for single phase meters and Rs 11,341 for three phase meters.However, TOI’s investigation found that while UPPCL was collecting charges for IS 16444 standard smart prepaid meters, it was relying on rates approved under the older Cost Data Book 2019 for IS 15884 standard prepaid meters. This mismatch resulted in consumers paying about Rs 3,216 extra for every single phase connection and around Rs 7,241 extra for each three phase connection.The discrepancy became more apparent after UPERC issued the Cost Data Book 2025 on Dec 31, 2025, fixing the cost of smart meters at Rs 2,800 for single phase and Rs 4,100 for three phase meters. Despite the revised rates, discoms continued collecting the higher charges until the second week of March 2026.Official estimates indicate that 3.67 lakh consumers were overcharged between Sept 10 and Dec 31, 2025, alone. Since collections at the higher rates continued until March 6, the total number of affected consumers has risen to nearly five lakh.The mandatory prepaid smart meter policy introduced by UPPCL on Sept 10, 2025, was later withdrawn by the Uttar Pradesh government on May 4, 2026. Subsequently, on May 29, 2026 UPERC reiterated that consumers were free to choose either prepaid or postpaid billing.Calling the refunds a “historic victory” for electricity consumers, Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad (UPRVUP) chairman and state advisory committee member Avdhesh Kumar Verma said the discoms stopped collecting the excess amount only after UPERC’s March 6 order.He also credited TOI’s reporting for exposing the difference between IS 15884 and IS 16444 smart meters and said evidence presented by the UPRVUP showed UPPCL’s own discoms were procuring smart prepaid meters at Rs 2,500 to Rs 2,630 per unit, substantially lower than the amount recovered from consumers.
