Bihar CM Nitish Kumar announces free electricity upto 125 units ahead of assembly polls

The free electricity will be available to the Bihar residents from August 1, meaning from the July bill.

The assembly elections are due to be held in the last quarter of the year.

In an X post, the Chief Minister announced the government will also bear the cost of the installation of solar power plants at homes of extremely poor families but "appropriate support" for the rest.

Nitish wrote on X, "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.

"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."

"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," he added.

Earlier, the Janata Dal (United) chief announced 35 percent reservation for women, who are permanent residents of Bihar, in government jobs, in a bid to draw the women's support in the polls.

In June, the Nitish Kumar government  announced a major hike in the monthly pension scheme for all elderly, disabled and widowed women in the state.

Nitish announced on X a hike in pension under Social Security Pension Scheme from Rs. 400 to Rs. 1,100 per month.

The amount will be credited to the accounts of the beneficiaries on 10th of every month, the Chief Minister had said.

"The elderly are a precious part of society and ensuring their dignified living is our top priority. The state government will continue to make efforts in this direction," Nitish said in his post on micro-blogging site.

Bihar is ruled by a coalition government that consists of JD(U) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).