Prayagraj. At present, the government has put a stop to the fast running smart meter project in Uttar Pradesh. A campaign was going on across the state to replace old electricity meters and install smart meters, under which about 3.5 crore consumers were to be covered. About 78 lakh smart meters have been installed so far, but increasing complaints in recent times have raised questions on this entire project.

In fact, consumers from many districts including Prayagraj had complained that after the installation of smart meters, their electricity bills had suddenly increased. Apart from this, incidents of power cuts without prior notice also came to light, due to which dissatisfaction among the common people increased. At many places, consumers also protested and raised the demand for reinstallation of old meters.

Taking these continuous complaints seriously, the state government has decided to temporarily stop the process of installing smart meters. The government believes that until the problems of the consumers are not resolved, it would not be appropriate to carry forward this scheme.

The government has constituted a technical committee to investigate the entire matter. This committee will deeply examine the functioning of smart meters, billing system and data recording process. It will also be seen whether there is any technical flaw or glitch in the software, due to which bills are rising or power supply is being disrupted.

According to Energy Department officials, only after the report of the committee comes, it will be decided how to take the smart meter project forward. If any defects are found during inspection, installation will be started again only after they are rectified.

Meanwhile, the government has instructed power companies to immediately resolve consumer complaints and not to cut off electricity without informing any consumer. Besides, instructions have also been given to keep special vigil in the areas where there are more complaints.

The smart meter project was being considered a big step towards making the electricity system modern and transparent, but in the current situation this scheme has come under scrutiny. Now everyone’s eyes are on the report of the technical committee, which will decide the future of this project.