The political tussle over prepaid smart meters in Uttar Pradesh intensified on Monday with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav claiming that the state government’s rollback reflects “people’s power” and sustained public opposition, and warned of a fresh round of protests if consumers’ demands are not met.

In a post on X, Yadav claimed that “collective opposition to the corrupt prepaid meter system” forced the government to step back. He accused the BJP government of inflating electricity bills on the pretext of prepaid metering and demanded that the excess charges be “logically adjusted” in the upcoming bills.

The SP chief said if the “excess billing” is not corrected and money “taken from the public” is not returned, people would “come together for another new movement,” signalling the possibility of renewed statewide protests.

“They will have to return the money extracted from the public on the pretext of electricity bills. The BJP will have to return this loot to the people,” he wrote.

The remarks come amid the ongoing controversy over the state’s smart metering system, which triggered protests in several districts, with consumers alleging forced migration to prepaid systems and lack of transparency in billing. The state government has now decided that prepaid smart meters will not be made mandatory for all consumers.

Yadav also questioned the use of technology in governance, arguing that if tools like artificial intelligence can be deployed in electoral systems, they should also be used to rectify billing discrepancies.

The state government, however, has maintained that smart meters are aimed at improving efficiency, reducing losses and ensuring accurate billing.