CMNitishKumar asked the officials and engineers concerned in the energy department to complete the installation of Smart Prepaid Meters (SPMs) at all the households across the state before 2025. He also ruled out giving free electricity to the consumers. The SPM installation would entail an expenditure of Rs12,657 crore, including Rs11,100 crore in the rural areas. As many as 3.5 lakh of SPMs have been installed in 19 towns till December.
The 19 towns where the SPM installation work has been going on are Bettiah,Raxaul,Motihari, Sitamarhi, Chhapra, Ara, Arwal, Rajgir, Hajipur, Patna, Masaurhi, Biharsharif, Samastipur, Dalsingsarai, Begusarai, Khagaria, Munger, Purnia and Katihar.
Nitish said just as the SPM installation work has begun on a big scale, some sections might demand free electricity. Ruling it out, he said the government has been purchasing power of Rs12,000 crore every year, but the revenue returns to the department is only Rs5,500 crore. The remaining sum is being given to power consumers as a huge relief. Anything beyond it will not be sustainable. This, I have said even at the election meetings, Nitish said, adding that the power consumption in the state has increased from 700MW in 2004-05 to 6,627MW at present.
The CM said his government has made remarkable achievements in the power sector and the Centre has also consented to let the state purchase power from its quota. He also noted that another achievement would be the entry of Bihar Development Agency (BREDA) in the production of renewable energy. He laid the foundation stone for its schemes worth Rs1,011.95 crore.