Poor response to UPPCL’s one-time settlement scheme, only 18.21% consumers enrol so far
Only 38.32 lakh out of 2.10 crore eligible consumers have enrolled, raising concerns over the effectiveness of the initiative aimed at clearing long-standing electricity dues
LUCKNOW The UP Power Corporation Limited’s (UPPCL) one-time settlement scheme (OTS) has evoked poor response, with only 18.21% of eligible consumers (defaulters) registering for it so far. Only 38.32 lakh out of 2.10 crore eligible consumers have enrolled, raising concerns over the effectiveness of the initiative aimed at clearing long-standing electricity dues, prompting the UPPCL management to extend the scheme till February 15.
“The response to the OTS this time is not encouraging. And not giving 100% rebate on the surcharge/interest is believed to be one of the reasons for defaulters not availing the scheme the way they were expected to,” a senior UPPCL official said.
Data highlights stark regional disparities, with some discoms performing better than others, but the overall participation of consumers remains far below expectations.
According to the latest OTS review report discussed in a meeting chaired by UPPCL chairman Ashish Kumar Goyal, UPPCL’s five discoms —MVVNL, PuVVNL, DVVNL, PVVNL, and KESCo —have registered a combined total of 20,51,021 consumers under the scheme. Of these, 14,37,585 consumers are categorized as ‘never paid’.
Among the four discoms, PVVNL has registered the highest participation, with 22.77% of consumers enrolling. Despite leading in performance, even PVVNL’s numbers indicate that nearly four out of five eligible consumers have not registered. The region collected ₹7,063.77 crore in payments, showing better urban engagement, but the lack of wider participation remains a challenge.
MVVNL, the second-largest discom by consumer base, has managed only a 16.20% registration rate, with just 10.62 lakh consumers. Worse still, its ‘never paid’ category has one of the lowest registration rates at just 51 per thousand consumers, signaling a failure to bring chronic defaulters into the scheme.
Similarly, PuVVNL, despite having the largest consumer base, has seen only 17.87% of consumers enroll, though it leads in payment collections at ₹9,824.07 crore.
The worst-performing discom is KESCo, where a mere 7.05% of eligible consumers have registered — the lowest in the state. With only 10,264 consumers participating out of 1.45 lakh eligible, KESCo that largely caters to urban consumers has collected just ₹88.18 crore, raising questions about the effectiveness of its outreach efforts.
A zone-wise analysis revealed that Prayagraj, Varanasi, and Gorakhpur have registered the highest number of consumers under the OTS scheme. Urban centres such as Lucknow and Noida have also shown encouraging participation. However, certain divisions, particularly in rural areas, still lag in registrations and payments.
“With over 80% of eligible consumers yet to enroll, the scheme risks falling short of its objective of recovering the long-standing dues from consumers,” the official said, suggesting: “The UPPCL needs to launch a ruthless drive against habitual defaulters after the OTS ends.”
