Patna: Through multi-pronged strategy, Bihar has made significant strides that have propelled the Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited (BSPHCL) to a sustainable and profitable entity. The state has set a target to generate 1 Gigawatt (GW) solar energy.
Principal Secretary Energy Department and Chairman-cum-Managing Director, BSPHCL, Sanjeev Hans, while addressing ‘Sustainable Energy Management Conclave’ on the topic ‘Building Sustainable Energy Ecosystem’ said under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Bihar has shown the will to adopt sustainable practices. "Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali Abhiyan, launched in 2019, is a path-breaking programme that has helped Bihar not only increase the green cover, but also invest in the future. In the power sector, under the program, solar rooftop plants are being installed on all Government buildings; all Government Departments are getting bills so that power consumptions are monitored. Under the scheme, all wards are getting 10 solar lights each,” he said.
“Under guidance of the Chief Minister, we have created a record by installing about 18 lakh Smart Prepaid Meters, which is enabling us to cut our losses and promote sustainable practices,” Hans said.
“We have earned a profit of Rs 214 crore changing the notion that BSPHCL is an inherently loss-making company. Earlier the AT&C losses were 53-54%, which has now come down to 23%,” he said.
“There is a global concern over climate change. About one-fourth of air pollution is caused by power systems across the world. In this scenario, Bihar is contributing its bit by taking to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) by combating climate change and its impact,” he said.
Hans said the digital interventions like launch of Suvidha App; launch of Raid & FIR Management; SAMADHAN – for block-wise real time monitoring; SAMRIDDHI for energy payment prioritization; SAMPURN for automated energy accounting and auditing of entire power cycle of DISCOMs etc have brought a paradigm shift in energy landscape.
“We have set an ambitious target of generating 1 Gigawatt renewable energy and for this we are exploring various possibilities like installation of solar panels in ‘Chaurs’ and ponds.
Addressing the conclave, Mahendra Kumar, Managing Director, South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (SBPDCL), said, “There has been huge transformation in the energy sector. We have completed electrification of all households. We have augmented our infrastructure, building capability to supply more than 7000 MW peak load.”
“We have increased the number of Grid Sub Stations (GSS) to 140 and Power Sub Stations to 1200, while the number of power consumers have increased to 189.5 lakh,” he said.
“The Suvidha App is a major digital intervention through which we have been able to process about 50 lakh applications,” he said. He added that to promote green energy storage and generation facilities for solar energy were being developed in Kajra. /BI/
