Report of Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC) correspondent
Over the last few days, Uttar Pradesh has seen widespread protests against smart meters. Hundreds of women and men stepped out on the streets in Fatehpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Kanpur, Agra, Hamirpur, Banda, Aligarh, Firozabad, Hathras, and other cities to dump the smart meters that were forced upon them in the first place. Citizens were protesting against the inflated bills and automatic disconnections enabled by these “loot meters.”
Notably, consumers, farmers, and power workers in UP have organized several demonstrations and protests against smart meters. Recently, on 27 April, farmers in the state held a huge demonstration demanding the withdrawal of smart meters and electricity privatisation. Electricity workers have been consistently opposing all forms of private profit via public loot, including smart meters.
This widespread opposition has forced the UP government to roll back smart prepaid meters. UP Power Minister was forced to announce that all the smart meters already installed will no longer work in prepaid mode and consumers will continue paying the bills as in the past. That is, for consumption in one calendar month, consumers will get the bill in the first ten days of the next month, and they will then have to pay within the stipulated time period. He also announced that existing meters will not be forcibly replaced by smart meters. It should be noted that out of the state’s 3.5 crore power consumers, 87 lakh have smart meters and 75 lakh have prepaid smart meters.
This is a huge victory for all working and toiling people in the state. Electricity workers and consumers must take inspiration from the people of UP and similarly organize joint opposition against smart meters and all forms of privatisation. Let us unitedly oppose this loot of the people!