Electricity has grown to be the life force of our civilisation. We might come up with millions of appliances and gadgets but there still seems to be no commercially feasible alternative to electricity. However, priceless as this commodity might appear, it is a paid utility and often, it tends to be misused.
The Uttar Pradesh Energy Minister reports that a record of government officials, public representatives and ministers in the matter of depositing electricity bills does not seem to match up or tally. Bearing this miscalculation in mind, the state government has decided on installing electricity meters on all government houses under the Prepaid smart Meter scheme. For the implementation of this, the Uttar Pradesh government has placed orders for 50 lakh prepaid smart meters.
About the Prepaid Smart Meter scheme in Uttar Pradesh
Reports given out by the Energy Minister in the state shows that the electricity department owes ₹13,000 crores to the government departments in Uttar Pradesh. In an attempt to recover the massive amount, the electricity department seemed to be reasonable enough to offer the option of paying the amount in instalments too, but to no avail.
Objective of the Uttar Pradesh Prepaid Smart Electricity Meter Scheme
The main objectives of initiating the Electricity Department Smart Meter scheme stand to be as follows:
- With the assistance of prepaid smart electricity meters, in the future, electricity can be paid on time by government officials, public representatives and ministers, and there will be no scope for misuse of electricity. With the installation of prepaid meters, users will now have to pay first and use them later.
- With timely payments of electricity bills, the burden of bill amount recovery will reduce for the department. Overall, with this in place, the state government will be in a position to use the money to provide other facilities for the people.
- Due to this process in place, the electricity rates in the state will also experience a steep decline, which will benefit everyone in the long run.
- The major problem these days in Uttar Pradesh seems to be electricity theft. This can be solved through prepaid meters. If an attempt is made to steal these meters, the electricity department will clearly be notified in the area and they shall also receive due evidence to prove it.
Implementation of the scheme
Under the implementation of the Smart Meter scheme, UPPCL will install prepaid meters in the following districts:
- Kanpur
- Varanasi
- Meerut
- Gorakhpur
- Bareilly
- Lucknow
The UPPCL will also provide the facility of recharge of pre-paid meters in advance even with ₹50 recharge. In order to get the benefits of the prepaid electricity meter scheme in Uttar Pradesh, people can submit any of the following documents as proof:
- Aadhaar card
- Pan Card
- Ration card
- Driving license
- Voter Card
- Bank passbook
Summing it up
Keeping tabs on electricity usage and bills grows to be a tedious task in itself. Recovering due amounts adds up to the difficulty of the task and impedes the smooth functioning of the department. The system which enables “pay first, use later” should halt unlawful practices and bring in a lot more seamlessness in the way electricity is consumed in the state.