Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on July 17 announced that all domestic consumers in the state would get up to 125 units of electricity free of charge starting August 1, 2025.
“We have been providing electricity to everyone at affordable rates from the very beginning. Now we have decided that from August 1, 2025, that is, from the July bill itself, all domestic consumers in the state will not have to pay any money for electricity up to 125 units. This will benefit a total of 1 crore 67 lakh families in the state,” Kumar said in a post on social media platform X.
The subsidy will reflect in consumers’ July bills, with 1.67 crore households expected to benefit from the initiative.
“This means that no charges will be levied for 125 units in the bills for July itself,” the Chief Minister said, while reiterating, “we have already been providing cheap electricity to all consumers.”
A longstanding advocate of uniform power tariffs across the country, Nitish has previously highlighted that Bihar pays higher rates for electricity sourced from the national grid.
His latest decision is also seen as a response to opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav’s promise of providing 200 units of free power if voted to power. Tejashwi’s RJD leads the INDIA bloc in the state.
Nitish also outlined future plans to expand solar energy infrastructure in Bihar. “We have also decided that in the next three years, with the consent of all these domestic consumers, solar power plants will be installed on their rooftops or at nearby public places to provide benefits,” he said.
He further explained that under the Kutir Jyoti scheme, extremely poor households would have solar panels installed entirely at the state’s expense, while other consumers would receive government assistance. “Under the Kutir Jyoti scheme, for extremely poor families, the state government will bear the entire cost of installing solar power plants, and for the rest, the government will provide appropriate support,” Kumar wrote.
“This means domestic consumers will no longer have to bear any cost for electricity up to 125 units, and at the same time, it is estimated that within the next three years, up to 10,000 megawatts of solar energy will be available in the state,” he added.
Push to Solar Power
Chief Minister announced that the government has also decided to install solar power plants on the rooftops or in the nearby public places of domestic consumers in the next three years.
“We have also decided that in the next three years, with the consent of all these domestic consumers, solar power plants will be installed on their rooftops or at nearby public places to provide benefits,” he added.
Kumar further stated that the state government will fully cover the cost of installing solar power systems for extremely poor families, while others will receive suitable financial assistance under the Kutir Jyoti scheme.
He stated that the state could have up to 10,000 megawatts of solar energy available within the next three years.
“Under the Kutir Jyoti scheme, for extremely poor families, the state government will bear the entire cost of installing solar power plants, and for the rest, the government will provide appropriate support.” he said.
Kumar added, “This means domestic consumers will no longer have to bear any cost for electricity up to 125 units, and at the same time, it is estimated that within the next three years, up to 10,000 megawatts of solar energy will be available in the state.”
This announcement came as a move to woo voters ahead of the state assembly elections scheduled for later this year.
Continuing with his string of poll sop announcements, a day earlier, Bihar CM Kumar directed the Education Department to promptly assess vacancies for teachers in government schools and initiate the process for conducting the Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE) 4.
The Chief Minister said that the government is committed to filling teaching positions without delay and has asked officials to expedite the recruitment process.
He also reiterated the government’s policy on women’s reservation in the recruitment process, stating that the 35 per cent quota for women will apply only to those who are residents of Bihar.
(With inputs from agencies)
