More than two years after the Uttar Pradesh government announced free electricity for private agricultural tubewell consumers, official data shows that less than half of the intended beneficiaries have so far chosen to avail the benefit.
This, according to officials, is because a large number of farmers are not willing to fulfil the conditions that came as riders with the free power scheme implemented as part of the BJP’s promise made to farmers in the 2022 election manifesto.
A detailed note prepared recently by Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) for the state government reviewed the implementation of the government order dated April 6, 2024, under which private tubewell consumers became eligible for free electricity with effect from April 1, 2023. Under the scheme, consumers are entitled to free supply up to 140 units per kW per month.
The assessment shows that Uttar Pradesh has a total of 16,15,912 private tubewell consumers (farmers) across its four power distribution companies. However, availing the scheme requires fulfilment of three conditions — registration under the scheme, installation of meter and payment of all electricity arrears outstanding till March 31, 2023.
According to the data, only 27,071 consumers had no arrears till March 31, 2023, while as many as 13,38,294 consumers had pending dues. Of those with zero arrears, 26,346 consumers were metered and 725 remained unmetered. Among consumers having arrears, 8,42,064 were metered while 4,96,230 were unmetered.
{{/usCountry}}According to the data, only 27,071 consumers had no arrears till March 31, 2023, while as many as 13,38,294 consumers had pending dues. Of those with zero arrears, 26,346 consumers were metered and 725 remained unmetered. Among consumers having arrears, 8,42,064 were metered while 4,96,230 were unmetered.
{{/usCountry}}UPPCL’s registration drive till April 18, 2026 shows that 10,61,280 consumers registered under the scheme, while 5,54,632 consumers did not register. Among registered consumers, 7,87,095 had no arrears and 274,185 consumers registered despite having outstanding dues.
However, registration did not automatically translate into eligibility. Out of 274,185 registered consumers with arrears, only 145,020 consumers cleared their dues up to March 31, 2023 while 129,165 consumers did not pay the arrears.
After combining consumers who already had no dues and those who later cleared arrears, UPPCL calculated that 9,32,115 consumers became arrear-free. But even among them, only 6,91,965 consumers had meters installed while the remaining 240,150 consumers remained unmetered and, therefore, outside the benefit net.
The note further shows that free electricity is available only up to a quarterly consumption ceiling of 420 units per kW, equivalent to three months of entitlement at 140 units per kW per month.
Among the 6,91,965 metered and arrear-free consumers, 4,49,648 consumers or 64.81% stayed within the prescribed consumption limit and, therefore, became eligible for free electricity. Another 2,42,317 consumers or 35.19% exceeded the limit and would have to pay charges for consumption beyond the prescribed ceiling.
“Overall, we have estimated that only 6,91,965 consumers or 42.82% of the total private tubewell consumer base presently meet the principal conditions for receiving the benefit of free electricity,” a senior UPPCL official said.
The remaining 57.18% continue to remain outside effective coverage due to non-registration, pending arrears or lack of metering.
The official said that the UPPCL undertook multiple measures to improve enrolment and compliance, including instalment facilities for clearing old dues, repeated extension of registration timelines, field-level awareness campaigns, enrolment camps and outreach through public representatives and social media.
“We have now sought policy guidelines from the state government on handling consumers (farmers) exceeding the consumption ceiling, treatment of unregistered consumers, billing of registered consumers who did not clear old dues, treatment of unmetered consumers and fixing a final deadline for enrolment,” he said.