Extra than a month after their connections were snapped over recharge arrears value ₹1,366.62 crore, a staggering 9,77,722 electrical energy customers across Uttar Pradesh remain disconnected from the vitality grid, in defending with the most trendy data from Uttar Pradesh Vitality Company Minute (UPPCL) compiled until April 18, 2026.
At a statewide overview assembly on Tuesday, UPPCL chairman Ashish Kumar Goyal directed officials to e-book customers to recharge their meters to restore vitality supply.
“We’ve requested self-discipline officials to lengthen abet to customers and persuade them to recharge their prepaid meters, whose supply turned into as soon as snapped a month previously and stays disconnected,” UPPCL director (commercial) Prashant Verma acknowledged, adding that officials were urged now to not force customers into recharging.
The figures paint a troubling characterize of the prepaid handsome meter rollout. Of the 50,13,175 customers disconnected in mid-March, virtually one in 5 (19.5%) remain without vitality — unable or unwilling to restore their connections despite the draw’s recharge-primarily primarily based utterly mannequin.
The Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Minute (PuVVNL) convey has emerged because the worst hit. Of the 13,29,367 customers disconnected in its jurisdiction, 3,89,329 remain without vitality — the top probably amongst all discoms. The convey processed 9,40,038 recharges value ₹352.92 crore, but the backlog presentations petite mark of easing.
Compounding PuVVNL’s troubles is a mounting financial burden: disconnected customers lift a prepaid detrimental balance of ₹184.01 crore and put up-paid arrears of ₹1,063.92 crore — the top probably legacy dues amongst all discoms.
The Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Minute (DVVNL) reports 2,56,560 customers aloof disconnected out of 11,ninety 9,165. The convey recorded 9,42,605 recharges totalling ₹321.55 crore, while carrying ₹82.85 crore in prepaid detrimental balance and ₹367.10 crore in put up-paid arrears.
The Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Minute (MVVNL) has 2,05,654 customers aloof without vitality out of 10,97,480 disconnections. It recorded 8,91,826 recharges value ₹294.seventy 9 crore, with ₹169.27 crore in prepaid detrimental balance and ₹401.94 crore in put up-paid arrears.
The Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Minute (PVVNL) logged the top probably recharge payment — ₹373.14 crore from 11,94,568 recharges — but 1,19,370 of its 13,13,938 disconnected customers remain offline. It carries ₹44.41 crore in prepaid detrimental balance and ₹83.19 crore in put up-paid arrears.
The Kanpur Electricity Provide Company (KESCo), the smallest discom by volume, reports 6,809 customers aloof disconnected out of 73,225. Particularly, it has zero put up-paid arrears from disconnected customers, though ₹24.13 crore stays in prepaid detrimental balance.
The detrimental balance puzzle
The disconnection disaster coincides with a broader detrimental balance divulge amongst active prepaid customers. In step with UPPCL’s prepaid individual evaluation until April 18, 2026, as many as 21,92,771 customers are working with detrimental balances, with complete dues of ₹636.14 crore. Earlier than the mass disconnection power in March, arrears stood at over ₹900 crore.
Roughly 27% of prepaid customers statewide are in detrimental balance, with KESCo topping the ratio at 38%, followed by MVVNL at 30%, and PVVNL and PuVVNL at 27% each. DVVNL fares comparatively greater at 23%.
PuVVNL alone accounts for 37% of the full detrimental dues, followed by PVVNL (25%), MVVNL (19%), DVVNL (16%), and KESCo (2%).
“With 82,07,245 handsome meters installed across UPPCL and 81,16,125 prepaid customers active in the RMS draw, virtually 12% of prepaid customers are either disconnected or working on detrimental balances. This indicates that the prepaid mannequin, despite aggressive rollout, goes through fundamental individual-aspect friction,” a senior UPPCL respectable acknowledged.
“The chance that some disconnected customers can also neutral be illegally drawing vitality without recharging can no longer be dominated out,” the respectable added.
