Samajwadi Party workers held a protest against smart and prepaid electricity meters in Lucknow last week. (Express Photo by Vishal Srivastav) In a major climbdown amid mounting public protests against its decision, the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday announced to discontinue the prepaid electricity meter system in the state, saying all smart meters will now function as postpaid connections. In a post on X, Energy Minister A.K. Sharma outlined a series of relief measures for electricity consumers, saying, “The consumer is God…In view of the technical difficulties arising for electricity consumers from smart/prepaid meters, an important decision has been taken today to provide them significant relief.” All smart meters will function like “normal/postpaid meters”, he said.…