Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government has ordered all smart electricity meters installed under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) to be operated in postpaid mode, discontinuing the smart prepaid meter system across the state.
Energy Minister Arvind Kumar Sharma said the decision was taken following directions from the chief minister and aimed at providing relief and convenience to electricity consumers.
Under the new system, consumers will receive electricity bills after usage instead of paying in advance. Electricity consumed in May 2026 will be billed in June under the postpaid arrangement.
The order will be implemented across all major power distribution corporations including Purvanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam, Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam, Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam, Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam and KESCO Kanpur.
Sharma said smart postpaid bills would be issued by the 10th of every month and made available to consumers through SMS and WhatsApp. In areas where automatic readings cannot be generated due to network or communication issues, manual readings will be carried out through Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Provider agencies to ensure timely billing.
The minister said all new electricity connections in the state would now be issued only in smart postpaid mode.
He added that consumers whose mobile numbers are either unregistered or incorrectly recorded in the system would be covered through awareness campaigns at the DISCOM level to ensure they receive billing updates and notifications.
Consumers will also be able to access their bills through the electricity distribution corporations’ WhatsApp chatbot services and the 1912 helpline.
The government has also announced a relief mechanism for pending dues. Domestic consumers with outstanding electricity bills up to April 30, 2026, will be allowed to clear dues in 10 installments. Consumers from other categories will be able to pay pending dues in three installments of 40 percent, 30 percent and 30 percent.
According to the government order, postpaid consumers will continue to get a 15-day payment period from the date of bill issuance, followed by a seven-day disconnection notice period. Delayed payment surcharge will be applicable in case of non-payment within the stipulated period as per the Electricity Supply Code and tariff orders.
Also Watch:
The security deposit amount that had earlier been adjusted under the prepaid system will now be added to consumers’ bills in four equal monthly installments in accordance with provisions of the Electricity Supply Code-2005 and Cost Data Book-2026.
To address complaints related to smart meters and billing, the state government will organize special grievance redressal camps and assistance centres at Executive Engineer and Sub-Divisional Officer offices from May 15 to June 30.
The Energy Minister said additional arrangements were also being made through the 1912 helpline to ensure prompt resolution of consumer complaints.
