Bihar News: Remarkable Reduction in Electricity Rates in Bihar 2025

Bihar News : This is a huge relief for the citizens of Bihar as the Bihar government has reduced the prices of electricity for this financial year. The new rates will be applicable from April 1,2025. Moreover, Smart Prepaid Meter users will get additional benefits. Here are the details of the price reduction for each category.

Bihar Electricity tariff per unit 2025

Recently, the Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission has implemented new electricity rates for Bihar. These prices will be applicable for this financial year (2025-26) starting from April 1st, 2025 till March 31,2026.

The electricity companies were demanding an increase in prices but this is the fourth consecutive year when there is no change in electricity rates for the citizens of Bihar.

Moreover, the reduction in the electricity rates has been possible because the Bihar government has granted ₹15,343 crore for the same. This shows the Bihar government’s commitment to providing affordable electricity for better economic growth of Bihar.

Who will benefit from the cheaper rates?

With the new rates in action, the consumers falling in the Kutir Jyoti (BPL) category will get the electricity for 54 paise less than before. So, the rural consumers who consume more than 50 units of electricity will benefit significantly from this reduction.

Approximately 1.25 crore consumers in this category (domestic and Kutir Jyoti/BPL in rural areas) will benefit from this cheaper electricity rate.

Meanwhile, there is no change in the electricity rates for the other categories like urban domestic, rural and urban commercial, agricultural, and industrial connections. People will continue to pay their electricity bills according to the rates that were in effect before March 31.

Special Discount for Smart Meter Users

The consumers who have smart meters installed at their homes will get an additional 25 paise discount per unit. Before this, the smart meter users were already receiving a 3% discount for recharging their meters.

Interestingly, more than 62 lakh smart meters have been installed in Bihar so far. If domestic consumers in rural areas have installed smart prepaid meters, they will get electricity at 79 paise per unit cheaper. This is a huge relief for them.

Caution for Smart Prepaid Meter Users

The Bihar government has introduced a Six-month grace period of the new users who switch from Post-paid to Smart Prepaid meters. The consumers who install smart prepaid meters will not have to pay a penalty for using more electricity than their allowance for up to six months.

However, those who installed smart meters more than six months ago and exceed their electricity limit will have to pay a penalty. So, people are advised to increase their electricity load for escaping any penalties.

Consumers who wish to increase or decrease their electricity load can now apply for it through the Facility app.

Special Rates for Cold Storage Units

This is good news for the cold storages that now they will be billed in accordance with the agriculture-based rates which are generally cheaper than commercial rates. For this, new categories have been created based on their electricity consumption.

Specifically, cold storage units handling agricultural products with demand of up to 74 kW (killo Watts) will now be included in a special category called LT IAS-1. This category is designed to offer lower electricity rates for agricultural uses, making it more affordable for cold storage operations.

Additionally, a new category has been created for HT cold storage (11 kV). This is for cold storage units that require high voltage electricity ranging from 50 kVA to 1500 kVA. This new category will help larger cold storage units by providing them with electricity at more affordable rates suited to their higher energy needs.

Key Changes in Electricity Tariffs for Commercial / Industrial Consumers

The recent changes in electricity tariffs have introduced several updates for the commercial and industrial consumers.

One of the important changes is the introduction of the kVAH tariff for MDS One and MDS Two consumers (whose electricity demand ranges from 0.5 kW to 70 kW). Now, with this new tariff, the rates will be based on both real power (kW) and reactive power (kVAR) used. The kVAH system will reflect their actual electricity consumption for fair pricing. There might be a rise in the prices for the ones who have high reactive power usage.

Moreover, industrial and larger commercial consumers will now be billed on the basis of the Time of Day (TOD) tariff. This means that the rates will be according to the time of day i.e. high rates for peak-hours and comparatively lower rates for night-time hours. This is an opportunity for the commercial consumers to lower their bills by shifting power usage to off-peak hours, when electricity rates are lower. However, this might also lead to higher charges during peak hours.

Additionally, HT consumers (large industries and commercial setups) will receive a 1% discount if they make online payments. But, only up to a maximum of ₹50,000 will be discounted. A proposal to increase the rates for these consumers has been rejected.

Increase in Green Tariff Rates

While most consumers will be benefiting from the discounts and new tariff systems, there is an exception in the case of Green Tariff. The people using renewable energy (Green Tariff) will now face a price rise. The Green Tariff has been increased by 42 paise.

This might discourage some consumers from the usage of green/renewable energy but we have to understand that this increase is because green energy comes with higher costs, and this adjustment helps cover those expenses. This also reflects the Bihar government’s growing investments in renewable energy production.

Conclusion

Overall this is good in the sector Bihar news. There is a remarkable reduction in prices which will benefit around 1.2 crore users. And the 62 lakh consumers who use smart prepaid meters are getting additional discounts. This is a great move to encourage the use of smart meters. New categories for the commercial and industrial consumers will also be fruitful for the businesses. The cold storage units will avail the benefits of cheaper agriculture-based rates. However, one notable difference is that the rates of renewal energy have been increased slightly to cover higher production costs. But nonetheless, this is great news for the residents of Bihar.

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