After drawing the chief minister’s ire over mounting power complaints, the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) has now turned its attention to overhauling the state electricity grievance helpline ‘1912’. The department is preparing a major revamp aimed at making the helpline faster, more responsive and capable of ensuring actual resolution of consumer complaints.
Rising power outages across the state have exposed serious gaps in the electricity complaint system, with consumers reportedly 10 to 12 minutes just to register grievances through the toll-free helpline.
“The 1912 helpline should not remain limited to complaint registration alone. It must become a complaint-solving helpline, it requires a lot of monitoring at certain levels,” said energy minister AK Sharma.
Currently, the helpline is receiving nearly 70,000 complaints daily across the state — almost double the normal average of 30,000 to 35,000 complaints. More than 80% of the complaints relate to power supply disruptions and unscheduled outages, highlighting widespread public dissatisfaction over erratic electricity supply.
During his surprise inspection of the 1912 control room on May 24, the energy minister directly interacted with consumers over phone calls to assess the ground reality. Several consumers informed the minister that after lodging complaints related to power cuts, they received neither updates on the status of their grievances nor details about the officials handling them.
Officials admitted that once complaints are forwarded to subdivisions or local officers, consumers are rarely informed about who is handling their case, how much time resolution may take or whether any action has started at all.
It was found that simply forwarding complaints to field officials was not enough. There was a need to ensure continuous monitoring, regular follow-ups, and proper feedback mechanisms so that consumers remain informed until their issues are fully resolved.
Officials said the rising load has also accelerated digital complaint registrations. Nearly 47.8% of complaints are now being registered through automated digital systems without direct interaction with call centre agents.
“The effort is to make the grievance redressal mechanism more accountable and consumer-friendly. For this, complaints must be monitored at district level, then at substation level,” said a senior UPPCL official. “Strict action will be taken against any officer or employee found negligent or indifferent to resolve complaints,” the official warned.
Around 31% of complaints are being lodged through the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, where consumers directly select the power supply disruption option, while nearly 7.5% are being registered through WhatsApp chatbot service. Earlier, digital complaint registrations accounted for only 4% to 5% of the total volume.
Reacting to the surge in complaints, All India Power Engineers’ Federation chairman Shailendra Dubey said the increasing numbers clearly reflect growing public frustration over electricity supply conditions. Representatives of the UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad also expressed dissatisfaction over the existing mechanism and demanded a more transparent and accountable system.
