Seeking to consolidate support ahead of the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday unveiled a major electricity relief package for households and outlined an ambitious solar energy rollout plan.
From August 1, all eligible domestic consumers in Bihar will receive up to 125 units of electricity free of charge, a move set to benefit nearly 1.67 crore families. The announcement, made via his official account on X, is seen as part of a wider pre-poll outreach following his earlier job guarantee promise.
“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 the post.
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He further revealed that rooftop solar panels or installations at nearby public locations will be set up over the next three years, subject to consumer consent. “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.
For extremely poor households, the Bihar government will bear the full cost of installation, while others will be given financial support under the existing Kutir Jyoti scheme.
“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. 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,” Kumar’s post read.
The twin promises, of free power and an energy transition push, come within 24 hours of his earlier directive to the Education Department to expedite the fourth Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE 4) for government school posts.
Reiterating his commitment to timely teacher appointments, Kumar asked officials to conduct vacancy assessments without delay. He also emphasised that the state’s 35 per cent reservation for women in government recruitment would apply strictly to female candidates residing in Bihar.
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