Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is preparing to give people another big relief before the upcoming assembly elections. The state government is planning to provide 100 units of electricity free every month to households. According to officials, the Energy Ministry has made a draft proposal, which has been approved by the Energy Department and will soon be sent to the cabinet for final approval.
This scheme will benefit only domestic consumers, while commercial users will not get free electricity. The government is also discussing giving extra concessions on power used for agriculture. Officials say that talks on this are in the final stage and a decision will be taken soon to help farmers reduce their electricity bills.
At present, there are around 2.08 crore electricity consumers in Bihar. Out of these, 60 lakh households have smart prepaid meters installed. These consumers already get a discount of 25 paise per unit on their bills. Under the new plan, they will continue to get this discount along with 100 units of free electricity every month.
Currently, people in rural areas pay Rs 7.42 per unit for the first 50 units, but after subsidy it becomes Rs 4.52 per unit. The free electricity plan is being seen as an effort by Nitish Kumar’s government to reduce people’s expenses and gain support ahead of the assembly elections later this year.
