Patna, Aug 15: Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary on Friday unveiled a new vision for the state’s power sector, combining free electricity for households with cheaper power for farmers, rooftop solar expansion and efforts to reduce the cost of power generation.
Addressing the 80th Independence Day celebrations at Gandhi Maidan here, Chaudhary said consumers in Bihar are currently being provided up to 125 units of electricity free every month, a scheme that costs the state government around ₹23,000 crore annually.
The Chief Minister said the government’s focus would now extend beyond subsidies to increasing power generation capacity and reducing production costs to make Bihar’s energy sector more sustainable.
“Electricity subsidy is providing relief to the common people, but to provide low-cost electricity in the long run, it is necessary to increase the production capacity,” Chaudhary said.
He identified rooftop solar as a key component of the state’s future energy strategy, saying efforts would be made to encourage installation of solar panels on residential buildings.
“The government is trying to install solar panels on the rooftops of as many homes as possible,” he said.
According to the government, wider adoption of rooftop solar could enable households to meet part of their electricity requirements locally while reducing overall demand and pressure on the power distribution system.
Chaudhary also highlighted the subsidised electricity being provided to the agricultural sector, saying farmers are currently paying 55 paise per unit.
“Farmers are being charged a mere 55 paise per unit,” he said, adding that more than 60 lakh farmers are connected with the government through digital platforms.
The government, he said, intends to further expand digital connectivity to improve delivery of schemes and services to farmers.
The Chief Minister also claimed that Bihar is among the states providing the highest electricity subsidies in the country and that its subsidy is higher than that of neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
The announcements come against the backdrop of the state’s challenge of balancing extensive electricity subsidies with the financial sustainability of the power sector.
The proposed model seeks to combine 125 units of free electricity, subsidised farm power, lower-cost generation and expansion of solar energy.
If implemented rapidly, the government hopes that increased renewable generation and lower production costs will help reduce the long-term financial pressure on the state’s power system.
The Independence Day celebrations at Gandhi Maidan were also marked by elaborate security and crowd-management arrangements. The venue was divided into four sectors and sub-sectors, with magistrates and police personnel deployed at 62 locations around Gandhi Maidan and Kargil Smriti Chowk.
The power-sector roadmap, however, remained a key highlight of the Chief Minister’s address, signalling a shift towards combining consumer relief with efforts to strengthen Bihar’s long-term energy infrastructure.
