Noida Smart Meter Transition Triggers Widespread Power Grievances
The power department in Noida found itself overwhelmed this week as a surge of complaints regarding inflated electricity bills and abrupt disconnections, tied to the ongoing smart meter installation, poured in from various sectors across the city. Officials conceded that a server failure under the new urban restructuring plan (URP) system had left thousands of consumers without timely assistance, exacerbating the crisis.
Flood of Complaints from Multiple Sectors
Residents from sectors including 82, 105, 12, 52, 31A, 33, 26, 45, and 62 reported issues on Monday and Tuesday, such as power cuts despite payments being made, meters operating at abnormally high speeds, and technical failures during online recharges. Many attempts to contact officials for resolution went unanswered, adding to the frustration.
Resident Federation Demands Immediate Action
On Wednesday, a delegation from the Federation of Noida Resident Welfare Associations (FONRWA) met with senior officials from the Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL), including Chief Engineer Sanjay Kumar Jain and Superintending Engineers Umesh Yadav and Vivek Kumar. KK Jain, the federation's secretary general, highlighted the severe difficulties faced by residents post-smart meter installation, noting instances where electricity supply was disconnected even after payment deductions.
Officials Acknowledge System Breakdown
Chief Engineer Jain admitted that the new system's server had collapsed under the weight of the complaints, hindering consumers from making timely payments and leading to prolonged disconnections. He assured that continuous improvements are underway to prevent future occurrences. Superintending Engineer Umesh Yadav attributed the outages to software glitches, claiming most problems were resolved by Wednesday.
Scale of the Smart Meter Rollout and Disruptions
Approximately 40,000 households in Noida have been equipped with prepaid smart meters, which record energy consumption in real-time and transmit data automatically to the utility provider, eliminating manual readings. However, this transition has proven highly disruptive for the district's total of 4.8 lakh consumers.
Resident Concerns Over Billing and Accessibility
Deepak Sharma, RWA president of Sector 105, reported that households with smart meters have experienced sharp increases in electricity bills under the prepaid system. Consumers are distressed by sudden disconnections due to balance depletion, glitches during online recharges, and meters running too fast. Under the URP system, implemented statewide by UPPCL in December last year, consumers must visit centralized helpdesks in sectors 18 and 16 to resolve issues, replacing the previous local substation handling. Sharma criticized this setup, noting long queues and inadequate parking, which delay bill rectifications.
Calls for Systemic Improvements
KK Jain echoed these concerns, labeling the two centralized helpdesks insufficient for a city of Noida's size and demanding additional complaint resolution centers. FONRWA also urged a halt on further smart meter installations until the system stabilizes and called for no disconnections while technical issues persist.
Official Response and Future Steps
Chief Engineer Jain stated that the matter of temporary relief from disconnections would be escalated to the managing director. For billing discrepancies, he advised consumers to lodge complaints so that check meters could be installed for verification and encouraged the use of the UPPCL mobile app for services.
