Top News

In a focused effort to reduce outstanding electricity bill dues in Uttar Pradesh, more than 15,000 women known as Vidyut Sakhis collected about ₹657 crore in power bill arrears over a three-month period under a One Time Settlement (OTS) initiative of the UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL). The campaign, spanning December 2025 to February 2026, saw the settlement of nearly 17.75 lakh pending bills, according to officials involved in the programme.

The Vidyut Sakhis are women trained under the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission and engaged to facilitate electricity bill payments directly at or near consumers’ homes. Their role includes accepting payments on behalf of UPPCL and assisting local residents with basic electricity-related issues, especially in rural or semi-urban areas. This model aims to bring billing and collection services closer to consumers and increase efficiency in revenue recovery.

Across the three months, the collections varied month-to-month. December recorded the highest inflow of arrears settlements at around ₹349 crore, followed by ₹188 crore in January and ₹120 crore in February. A total of about ₹8 crore was earned collectively by the Vidyut Sakhis as commission, calculated based on the volume and value of transactions they facilitated. The commission structure differed for rural and urban areas, with a set amount per transaction for lower-value bills and a percentage of higher amounts.

Individual performers also stood out in the exercise. Among them, Soni Dwivedi from Amethi district settled arrears worth around ₹3.1 crore, while Mehar Jahan from Rampur and Rajshree Shukla from Barabanki each collected over ₹2 crore in dues. Districts including Saharanpur, Sultanpur and Meerut were noted for significant contributions to the overall collection figures.

Authorities described the initiative as a strategy to strengthen accountability and improve revenue collection without imposing direct pressure on consumers. By involving local women as intermediaries, the programme has sought to combine livelihood opportunities with public service delivery, particularly in areas where regular utility outreach may be limited.

The use of Vidyut Sakhis reflects an approach adopted by UPPCL to tackle longstanding issues of unpaid electricity dues while attempting to make the payment process more accessible and transparent for customers. Officials believe that such decentralised efforts can complement broader reforms in the power distribution sector, where arrears recovery has typically been a challenge.