Kashmir Power App Hit by Cyberattack, New App Launched for Bill Payments

Thousands of electricity users in Kashmir have been unable to pay their bills since early May after a cyberattack hit the Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited (KPDCL)'s Bill Sahuliyat Smart app.

The app, which is widely used by people across the Valley—especially in areas with smart meters where paper bills are no longer used—stopped working following the attack. This has caused serious trouble for users who rely only on digital platforms for paying their electricity bills.

KPDCL’s Chief Engineer Aaquib Sultana Waheed Deva confirmed the incident, saying, “During the recent hostilities between India and Pakistan, the Bill Sahuliyat Smart app suffered a cyberattack. As per government rules, we had to secure the system before bringing it back online. It will be up and running soon.”

To help people in the meantime, the department has launched a new app called Bill Sahuliyat Plus, now available on the Google Play Store. This app allows users to pay bills, recharge prepaid meters, and view their electricity usage.

Deva also assured people that no power disconnections will take place while the original app remains down. “Consumers can continue using the new app or pay through other methods without worrying about losing electricity,” he said.

Despite this, many people say the outage has caused them stress and confusion.
“I’ve been trying to pay my bill since the first week of May, but the app just doesn’t work. With no paper bill and no working app, we don’t know what to do,” said Fayaz Ahmad from Bemina.
“It’s been almost a month since I recharged my meter. I don’t even know how much balance is left,” said Shabnam Jan, a teacher from Rajbagh.

To help people manage, KPDCL has advised using alternate options like the J&K Bank mPay app and visiting physical bill payment counters where available. A video tutorial on how to use the new Bill Sahuliyat Plus app has also been posted on KPDCL’s official Facebook page. For updates and questions, people can also check the department’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle.

KPDCL said they are working with cybersecurity experts to investigate the attack and improve the system’s security. Officials also hinted that any late fees or penalties caused by the app failure will be waived, and people don’t need to worry about disconnection notices until everything is fully restored.