Lucknow, March 31 -- Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) on Monday urged consumers to maintain a positive balance in their smart prepaid meters and recharge on time to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply, warning that power may be automatically disconnected if the balance turns negative. Addressing a press conference, UPPCL chairman Ashish Goyal and managing director Pankaj Kumar appealed to consumers to support what they described as a "historic reform" in the state's power sector through the rollout of smart meters. Officials said Uttar Pradesh had already installed over 70 lakh smart prepaid meters, marking a rapid transition towards a more transparent and consumer-friendly electricity system. "The key objective is to provide error-free billing with minimal human intervention, ensuring that consumers receive accurate bills based strictly on actual energy consumption," they said. Among the major benefits highlighted were real-time tracking of daily and hourly consumption, improved service transparency, and a 2% tariff rebate under the prepaid system. Consumers can monitor usage through the official UPPCL Smart Consumer App and identify high-consumption appliances to manage electricity expenses. Responding to a question Goyal claimed the disconnection and reconnection under the prepaid system were fully automated. "While supply is restored soon after recharge in most cases, it may take up to two hours due to system processing. Consumers facing delays beyond this can contact the helpline 1912," he said....