LUCKNOW, Sept. 30 -- All new electricity connections in Uttar Pradesh will now be released only with prepaid smart meters. Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) chairman Ashish Goel on Monday issued instructions to the managing directors of all distribution companies in this regard. According to the directive, in line with the guidelines of the Government of India, wherever smart meters are to be installed, they must be prepaid smart meters. Goel said that in the identified areas where smart meter installation was already being taken up on priority, all new electricity connections (except for agricultural consumers) must be issued only with prepaid smart meters, as per the instructions given earlier. He further directed that in these designated areas, new connections must be released within the stipulated time frame with prepaid smart meters. "Dedicated teams should be formed for the task, and the progress of timely issuance of new connections should be monitored daily by all chief engineers (distribution) and on a weekly basis by the director (commercial) of the DISCOMs," he said in the order. In Uttar Pradesh, there are 3.7 crore consumers at present. Among them also include around 13 lakh agricultural connections (private tubewells). According to UPPCL director (commercial) Prashan Verma, currently 40 lakh smart postpaid meters have been installed in the state. "Now, all new connections, barring agricultural ones, will be issued with smart prepaid meters and the existing post-paid meters will be converted into prepaid. In the time to come, all meters will be smart prepaid meters and will be replaced in phases," he added....