New Delhi: Bihar is one of India’s poorest and least industrialised states but it has recorded among the country’s highest growth in electricity demand over the last few years. Earlier this week, the Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission approved a plan for the state to buy 200 MW of solar power to ease Patna’s peak-hour load and meet its renewable purchase obligation. It’s one more sign of a state whose electricity consumption has outgrown the old stereotype of a power-starved hinterland.
Total power demand in Bihar has risen from 4,965 MW in 2017-18 to 6,880 MW in 2022-23, showing growth of 38.6 per cent over five years, according to a DST-Centre for Policy Research report released earlier this year. The report, titled ‘Energy Transition in Bihar Progress, added that per capita consumption of electricity more than doubled from 145 kWh in 2012-13 to 329 kWh in 2021-22.
Where is this demand coming from, and what is the state doing to meet it?
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What is driving demand?
Bihar’s economic growth in recent years has pushed up electricity use across sectors, according to the report. But with more than 100 million people, household demand is responsible for the lion’s share of consumption.
The report tracks sector-wise power use from 2012-13 to 2020-21 using Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data. In this period, total energy sold climbed from 7,060 MU to 24,614 MU.
“When we look into the sector-wise consumption, we have seen that domestic power consumption (56%) has been consistently high followed by industrial power consumption (28%),” the report says. It notes, however, that energy sales to public lighting have decreased by 22.27 MU from 106.21 MU in FY 2019-20 to 83.94 MU in FY 2020-21.
In terms of Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), it was found that electricity use grew the fastest in the domestic sector at 31.89 per cent between 2012-13 and 2020-21, followed by public water works and sewage pumping at 26.28 per cent, and agriculture at 22.71 per cent. For industry, electricity use grew steadily too in this period, with low and medium voltage units posting a CAGR of 21.50 per cent and high-voltage industries growing at 11.02 per cent.
As reported earlier by ThePrint, Bihar’s per-capita GSDP was just Rs 66,828 in 2023-24, barely a third of the national average, and only about 6 per cent of its workforce is in manufacturing. Even so, new industrial clusters are coming up, and in 2020-2024 a total of 2,154 factories received Phase One clearance — almost twice the number cleared in 2016-2020.
In 2024-25, Bihar ranked sixth in the country for GSDP growth at constant prices (2011-12), with a growth rate of 8.64 per cent.
In October 2024, the State Energy Efficiency Action Plan for Bihar projected the state’s GSDP rising from around Rs 5.8 lakh crore in 2015 to more than Rs 30 lakh crore by 2030. Over the same period, energy use is expected to nearly triple from 5.9 Mtoe to about 15.8 Mtoe (million tonnes of oil equivalent).
“It has long been axiomatic that economic growth and energy demand are linked. As an economy grows – its energy demand increases,” the report said.
How is Bihar meeting this demand?
The gap between peak demand and supply has been narrowing, according to the DST-Centre for Policy Research report. Peak demand increased from 4,965 MW in 2017-18 to 6,880 MW in 2022-23. The supply deficit fell from 430 MW to 142 MW in the same period.
“Nevertheless, a peak deficit of 2.06% was recorded in 2022–23, highlighting that the state has not yet achieved complete demand-supply parity,” the report said.
While it noted that Bihar has been actively expanding its power generation capacity by establishing new power plants and upgrading existing infrastructure, bridging the gap and meeting energy security needs will require “continued investment in generation capacity, grid infrastructure, and renewable energy integration”.
There’s also a lag in adopting clean energy.
Bihar’s electricity mix is still dominated by coal, which makes up about 95 per cent of the state’s installed capacity, with renewable sources making up the remainder.
“Only 15 per cent of the state’s Renewable Energy policy, 2017 target has been achieved so far,” the report said.
Changes, however, are being effected on this front, with an emphasis on solar energy.
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Push for renewable energy
There’s limited scope for wind and hyderoelectric energy in Bihar, but expanding solar has become a cornerstone of its energy strategy.
The Bihar Renewable Energy Development Agency (BREDA) is overseeing several initiatives to scale solar through parks, rooftop systems, and off-grid solutions for electrification in villages.
The state runs schemes such as the Mukhyamantri Navin Evam Navikarniya Saur Pump Yojana, under which 2,771 solar pumps have been installed. Small floating solar units have also been set up in Supaul and Darbhanga under the ‘Niche Machhli Upar Bijli’ concept.
Bihar’s Renewable Energy Policy 2025 aims to achieve a cumulative target of 23,968 MW of renewable energy and 6.1 GWH of storage by FY 2029-30.
Earlier this year, solar also made its way into election promises.
Ahead of the assembly polls, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar promised free electricity of up to 125 units to 1.64 crore families in the state, but he also sold solar to them.
“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,” the CM posted on X. “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.”
The CM added that within the next three years, an estimated
“10,000 megawatts of solar energy will be available in the state.” It’s an ambitious target—as of June 2025, solar power energy accounted for only 328.34 MW in Bihar.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)