UPPCL rolls out two-stage audit to prevent inflated power bills | Lucknow News

UPPCL has introduced a two-stage audit mechanism that will automatically flag abnormal meter readings.

LUCKNOW: Usha Pal of Unnao, who has a 1 kW electricity connection, was left in panic after receiving a power bill of Rs 1.18 lakh last month. Following rectification by Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL), the amount was reduced to Rs 37,496 for the period from Nov 2025 to Nov 2026.To prevent such billing errors, UPPCL has introduced a two-stage audit mechanism that will automatically flag abnormal meter readings and unusually high bills for verification before they reach consumers.Speaking to TOI, Ranvir Prasad, principal secretary (energy) and UPPCL chairman, said, “It was a mandate from the Chief Minister that power bills should be correct. Therefore, we have launched a robust mechanism to avoid wrong billing. Based on the learnings from this mechanism, we will introduce further refinements in the coming months to improve its effectiveness.”Prasad clarified that the system would apply to future bills and primarily address clerical and human errors. He added that pre-auditing was already a standard practice in power distribution companies and other sectors.Explaining the mechanism, UPPCL director (commercial) Prashant Verma said incorrect meter readings sometimes resulted in disproportionately high bills. Even when such bills were withheld from consumers, erroneous entries remained in the corporation’s database and required subsequent correction.Under the first stage, called pre-audit, meter readings will be checked against predefined limits before bill generation. Consumption exceeding 24 units per kilowatt of sanctioned load per day will trigger verification.The system will also examine the maximum demand indicator (MDI), which records the highest electricity demand registered by a meter. Readings exceeding ten times the sanctioned load, or an MDI above 14 kW for single-phase meters and 44 kW for three-phase meters, will be flagged.Verma illustrated how a simple data-entry mistake could turn a reading of 990 units into 9,990 units, generating an inflated bill. Such discrepancies will now be detected at the initial stage.The second stage, called post-audit, will scrutinise bills after generation. Accounts showing a credit balance exceeding Rs 15,000, outstanding dues above Rs 5 lakh per kilowatt of sanctioned load, or a current bill assessment exceeding Rs 10,000 per kilowatt will be flagged.These cases will undergo a maker-checker process, in which field personnel will verify readings and a designated senior official will approve the entries before bills are released. Verification may take an additional five to ten days.While the new arrangement focuses on preventing fresh billing discrepancies, UPPCL is separately addressing errors accumulated under the previous system.The initiative comes against the backdrop of Rs 63,357 crore in outstanding electricity dues from over 93 lakh long-unpaid and never-paid consumers across the state’s five distribution companies.“For the old arrears of Rs 63,357 crore, we are working separately,” Prasad told TOI.Welcoming the move, Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad chairman Avadhesh Kumar Verma said the organisation had long advocated a double-stage audit system. He expressed hope that accurate billing would reduce disputes, strengthen consumer confidence and encourage timely payments.