Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited on Friday said it will return excess smart meter charges to 93,138 consumers.The announcement came as UPPCL said it had begun implementing consumer relief measures following directions issued by the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission.According to the statement issued by UPPCL director (commercial) Prashant Kumar Verma, the utility has started refunding excess smart meter charges collected from consumers and initiated the process of restoring security deposits for consumers shifted back to the postpaid billing system.Verma said that 93,138 consumers who obtained new electricity connections with prepaid smart meters were initially charged according to the rates applicable at the time. However, after UPERC fixed the official cost of smart meters, it was found that Rs 33.22 crore had been collected in excess from these consumers and would be refunded.According to the statement, UPPCL has already adjusted Rs 29.79 crore in the electricity accounts of 83,813 consumers across all discoms. The remaining eligible consumers will receive the balance amount in their electricity accounts, with the adjustment reflected in their upcoming bills.Avadhesh Kumar Verma, chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad (UPRVUP) and a member of the state advisory committee, said UPPCL must refund the excess amount to all 5.97 lakh consumers who were overcharged. He said the consumer body would move UPERC against UPPCL if the refunds were restricted to only 93,138 consumers.UPPCL to restore security deposit to 83L smart meter consumersUPPCL also announced another relief measure concerning nearly 83 lakh smart meter consumers who had earlier been shifted from postpaid to prepaid billing. The corporation said that while converting consumers to the prepaid system, their security deposits had been adjusted against their bills. Now, as consumers are being shifted back to the postpaid system, the deducted security deposit will be restored in four equal installments. The first installment is being added to the July electricity bill, while the remaining three installments will be reflected in bills over the next three months.
