Noida: The Urban Restructuring Plan (URP) rolled out by Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited has drawn criticism from residents, who say the new grievance redressal system has made routine issues harder to resolve.The URP was introduced in Nov last year to streamline grievance redressal by shifting complaints to a centralised system, supported by dedicated helpdesks and an online and telephone complaint mechanism through the 1912 helpline. Under the earlier arrangement, consumers could approach sub-divisional officers (SDOs) at local substations for billing and meter discrepancies, load corrections, and matters related to high- and low-tension lines. Residents say the shift to issue-specific helpdesks under the URP has fragmented the process, forcing one consumer to move between multiple counters, located in different sectors, for redressal of complaints.A billing-related issue, for instance, must be taken to a helpdesk in Sector 18, while matters related to new electricity connections are handled at Sector 16. Residents say consumers with multiple issues now have to travel to several locations, adding time and cost.“If someone has two or three problems—billing, load correction or a meter issue—they now have to go to different offices,” said Deepak Sharma, president of the Sector 105 RWA. “Earlier, most of this could be resolved at the local substation.”Residents complain of long waiting periods at helpdesks, with many opting to pay estimated bills generated over the past three months rather than pursue corrections for known discrepancies.The secretary general of Federation of Noida RWAs, KK Jain, told TOI the shift from the old system, managed by a single SDO, to the new process with multiple helpdesks confused residents. “We have requested the electricity department to conduct awareness meetings with the members of RWAs of FONRWA to educate residents about the new procedures,” Jain said.Acknowledging the difficulties, Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) has announced plans to open two new billing offices in Jewar and Dadri. At present, residents in these areas must travel over 40 kilometres to the centralised billing office in Sector 18 for bill corrections or to Sector 16 for new connections.Officials said the move was aimed at easing pressure on existing facilities, particularly as over 10,000 billing-related complaints are reported each month across the district, fuelling consumer frustration.The chief engineer of the Noida power department at PVVNL, SK Jain, said additional helpdesks would soon be set up in Jewar, Dankaur and Dadri, increasing the total number from seven to 11. These centres would handle both billing and new connection-related complaints, Jain said.He also urged consumers to use the 1912 customer care number, saying the complaint escalation system ensured time-bound and monitored resolution. “Any new system faces initial challenges,” he said. “But this framework is more transparent and accountable, and consumers will benefit in the long run.”The 11 URP helpdesks have been set up at 33/11 kV substations, including in Sectors 25, 20, 62 C-Block, 18, 16A, 150, Dhoom Manikpur, Itehra, Dadri and Jahangirpur, to serve over 4.5 lakh consumers. Fifteen helpdesks have come up in Ghaziabad, including Kamla Nehru Nagar, Nehru Nagar, Lal Kuan, and Pratap Vihar.
