Surcharge rivals principal as 54 lakh small consumers never pay bills in UP
Uttar Pradesh faces ₹55,980 crore in unpaid electricity dues from 1.45 crore consumers, with chronic non-payment hindering recovery efforts.
Uttar Pradesh’s power sector is burdened with an extraordinary ₹55,980 crore in unpaid electricity dues locked against more than 1.45 crore consumers across small domestic and commercial categories. A large share of them have never paid their bills even once, despite drawing power for years.
An internal document discussed during a recent review meeting by energy minister AK Sharma discloses that the surcharge component alone has swollen to ₹21,553 crore, almost two-thirds of the principal amount of ₹33,427 crore, showing how habitual non-payment has steadily converted routine dues into an unmanageable stock of legacy arrears.
The Bijli Bill Rahat Yojana, or the one-time settlement scheme, launched by the UP Power Corporation Ltd (UPPC) on December 1, targets consumers with loads of up to two kW (domestic) and 1 kW (commercial).
The domestic 1 kW category, which forms the backbone of rural and semi-urban consumption, shows the sharpest accumulation of arrears. Here, 49.44 lakh consumers have never paid a single bill, with dues standing at ₹25,319 crore, while another 71.91 lakh consumers hold dues of ₹15,097 crore.
Together, the 1.21 crore domestic 1 kW consumers alone carry ₹41,416 crore in arrears, making this segment the single biggest contributor to the state’s ballooning power dues.
The domestic 2 kW category, though smaller in size, displays a similarly entrenched pattern. Of the 22.50 lakh consumers in this group, 4.28 lakh have never paid and owe ₹6,907 crore, while 18.21 lakh long-unpaid consumers add another ₹6,335 crore. The commercial or essential 1 kW segment, which includes small shops and establishments that depend on electricity for daily operations, is no exception. Here, 39,742 consumers who’ve never paid owe ₹617 crore, and 1.33 lakh ‘long-unpaid’ consumers owe ₹705 crore, taking the category’s total to ₹1,322 crore.
While much smaller in absolute numbers than domestic slabs, this segment highlights that chronic non-payment extends across both household and small-business users.
Across all slabs, the surcharge build-up is the single largest stress point. Against the total outstanding of ₹55,980 crore, the principal component is ₹31,205 crore, while surcharges alone account for a massive ₹24,775 crore.
This means almost half the accumulated burden on defaulters is not for electricity consumed but for penalties, making it practically impossible for low-income households to clear dues without some form of relaxation.
“Despite launching one-time settlement schemes almost every year, UPPCL has not been able to make a dent in the stock of arrears. Each year begins with a higher starting base of unpaid dues, even as honest consumers continue to shoulder rising costs,” said a senior energy department official.
“This year’s version of the scheme, rolled out as the Bijli Bill Rahat Yojana, again offers a window for surcharge waiver and even the principal settlement, but the scale of the challenge is evident in the figures. More than ₹55,000 crore stuck across 1.45 crore consumers, many of whom have remained outside the payment cycle for years,” a senior UPPCL said.
UPPCL sees a significant revenue opportunity. “If just half of the eligible consumers opt for settlement under the ongoing Bijli Bill Rahat Yojana, the corporation could realise between ₹15,000 crore and ₹20,000 crore, a recovery that would meaningfully ease its cash flow stress, help fund network upgrades and reduce the structural deficit of the state’s power distribution system,” the official noted.
