All discoms, except one, record below 50% registration for bill relief scheme | Lucknow News
Lucknow: The latest progress report of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) on ‘never paid’ and ‘long unpaid’ electricity consumers reveals a major gap in registrations under the electricity bill relief scheme, with four out of five discoms failing to cross even 50% enrolment.According to the report dated Feb 16, a total of 1,25,39,295 consumers were identified as eligible under the Bijli Bill Rahat Yojana 2025-26. However, only 43,64,500 consumers have registered so far, reflecting an overall registration rate of 34.81%.
Among five distribution companies, only Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (PVVNL) managed to cross the halfway mark. Out of 10,30,601 eligible consumers, 5,73,603 have registered, achieving a registration rate of 55.66%.In contrast, the remaining four discoms — Dakshinanchal (37.65%), Madhyanchal (32.34%), Purvanchal (31.44%), and Kesco (27.29%) — are all below 50%, highlighting slow progress in bringing defaulters under the scheme.Purvanchal, which has the highest number of eligible consumers at 50,78,702, has registered only 15,96,492 consumers so far. Similarly, Madhyanchal, with 42,34,457 eligible consumers, has managed 13,69,295 registrations.Financial indicators in the report reflect the scale of the challenge and progress. UPPCL has so far collected Rs 4,607.1 crore from defaulters under the scheme, with 28.91 lakh consumers settling their dues completely. Waivers provided under the scheme include Rs 4,019.3 crore in principal and Rs 1,188.61 crore in late payment surcharge (LPSC), showcasing significant relief extended to long-pending consumers to encourage settlement.During a review meeting on Tuesday, UPPCL managing director Pankaj Kumar directed officials to accelerate electricity bill recovery and the implementation of the state’s electricity bill relief scheme. He asked officials to seek explanations from all divisions where registration among never paid consumers is below 50%.He said more focused effort is needed to identify each defaulting consumer and ensure dues are deposited under the relief scheme.He noted that since the state-wide launch of the electricity bill relief scheme on Dec 1, 2025, consumer response has been encouraging. “UPPCL has collected Rs 4,934 crore from nearly 44.5 lakh consumers under the scheme,” Kumar said.He also ordered strict action in areas reporting low registration in electricity theft cases. Divisions with collection efficiency below 70% were asked to improve performance. He instructed officials to reach out to consumers with loads above 5 kW and ensure recovery of their dues.
