Energy Sector
■ In the recent past, Bihar has progressed immensely in terms of availability of power across the state. The vision roadmap supports low carbon pathway to sustain the economic growth which focuses on increasing the number of state-owned power generation plants, with an increased share of renewable energy, separate feeder for agricultural purpose, Demand-side management by improving the overall efficiency in distribution System and strengthen the distribution companies.
Bihar has adopted a long-term approach for the energy sector to fulfil its vision to Supply of Electricity to all households ( Har Ghar Bijili) as outlined in the Seven Resolves' (Saat Nishchay) of the State Government.
To attain the objective of universal household electrification, power companies in Bihar have been able to provide electricity to all 39,073 villages by the deadline, December 2017 and to all 1.06 lakh rural habitations by April 2018. Further, the target of providing electricity connection to all willing 1.40 crore households has been achieved in October 2018.
In the next phase, the connection is being provided to all agriculture pump sets, which are presently running on diesel.
■ Availability of Power
There was a significant improvement in projected peak demand in Bihar from 2650 MW in 2012-13 to 5300 MW in 2018-19, implying a growth of around 100% in six years.
The peak demand met again had a growth of around 185% to reach 5139 MW during 2018-19, from 1802 MW in 2012-13.
The peak deficit in power has been around 32% in 2012-13, but it substantially decreased to 3% in 2018-19.
The availability of power has increased from an average of 6-8 hours to 20-22 hours in rural areas and from 10-12 hours to 22-24 hours in urban areas.
The per capita consumption in the state has risen from 145 kWh in 2012-13 to 311 kWh in 2018-19, implying growth of 114% in six years.
The expected power demand of Bihar by 2021-22 shall be of the order of 6900 MW, with an annual energy requirement of 39,841 MU. The power capacity availability in the state was 3889 MW in 2018, and increased to 4767 MW in 2019, implying a growth of 22.6%.
The total available capacity for Bihar by 2021-22 is expected to be 10,102 MW, of which 6421 MW (63.6%) will be conventional and the remaining 3681 MW (36.4%) non-conventional.
■ Institutional Structure of Power Sector
In April 1958, the Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) was originally constituted under Section 5 of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 and was mandated for the management of generation, transmission, distribution and other electricity-related activities in Bihar.
Under the new Bihar State Electricity Reforms Transfer Scheme 2012, the BSEB has been unbundled into five companies in November, 2012.
(i) Bihar State Power (Holding) Company Limited (BSPHCL),
(ii) Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited (BSPGCL),
(iii) Bihar State Power Transmission Company Limited (BSPTCL),
(iv) North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (NBPDCL) and
(v) South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (SBPDCL).
The responsibilities of the newly-formed companies are briefly described below:
■ Bihar State Power (Holding) Company Limited (BSPHCL) :
This Company owns shares of the newly-incorporated, reorganized four companies, viz. Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited, Bihar State Power Transmission Company Limited, South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited, and North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited.
It is vested with the assets, interest in property, rights and liabilities of the erstwhile Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB). The Company will primarily be an investment company. It will co-ordinate the activities of other companies, handle disputes and provide all necessary support to them.
Under the plan activities, the BSP(H)CL prepares schemes on electricity generation, transmission & distribution. The state government provides funds for implementation of the scheme from its plan allocation and also obtains central allocation/funding from the Govt. of India.
Its subsidiaries company are as follows:
• Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited (BSPGCL) :
This company is responsible for coordinating and advising other companies and concerns, including subsidiaries, engaged in the generation of electricity.
The coordination and advisory roles include all matters concerning the construction, operation and maintenance of generating stations and associated facilities.
It is also responsible for procuring fuel and its transportation to various sites and settling pending disputes.
• Bihar State Power Transmission Company Limited (BSPTCL) :
This company is responsible for the transmission of electricity and is vested with the transmission assets, interest in property, and rights and liabilities of the erstwhile BSEB.
Besides planning and coordination activities, this company is expected to develop an efficient system of intra-state transmission lines for electricity, connecting load centres to the generating stations.
• North and South Bihar Power Distribution Companies Limited (NBPDCL and SBPDCL)
These two companies undertake the activities of distribution of electricity to all consumers, trading of electricity, and implementation of rural electrification schemes.
At present, rural electrification is done through several schemes:
- Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY),
- Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF),
- Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA),
■ Electricity Generation:
The total generation capacity of power as on March 2019 for the state was 4767 MW. Out of this, 82% is from coal-based thermal power, 11% from hydropower (renewable), and the balance 7% from renewable energy sources.
In terms of ownership, the central sector has the largest share of 86%, followed by the private sector/IPPs (13%) and the state sector (1%).
■ Thermal
The present status of the two generating units (Barauni Thermal Power Station and Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Limited) that remained in Bihar after bifurcation of the state in the year 2000 have now been transferred to the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).
■ Thermal Power Projects
|
Sl.
No. |
Project |
District |
Installed Capacity in MW |
|
1 |
Barauni Thermal Power Station |
Begusarai |
470 |
|
2 |
Barh Super Thermal Power Plant |
Patna |
1320 |
|
3 |
Kahalgaon Super Thermal Power Station |
Bhagalpur |
2340 |
|
4 |
Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Limited |
Muzaffarpur |
610 |
■ Ongoing and Proposed Projects:
• Nabinagar Super Thermal Power Project: This project is located in Aurangabad district.
In the Stage-1 Plant of Nabinagar, the commissioning of the first unit of 660 MW has been completed and the construction work of the other 2 units of 660 MW each is in progress.
• Power project in Buxar
An agreement was signed with Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (SJVNL) for construction of greenfield power project at Chausa (Buxar), having 2 units of 660 MW each.
The project is expected to be completed by the year 2023.
• Ultra Mega Power Project in Banka
A proposal has been prepared for the establishment of Ultra Mega Power Project in Banka (approximately 4000 MW), for which 2500 acres of land has been identified.
The Union Ministry of Power has allocated Pirpainti/ Barhat Coal Blocks for the project.
Bihar has been allotted 2000 MW of power from this project.
■ Hydro
Bihar State Hydroelectric Power Corporation(BHPC) Limited:
BHPC has been established to harness the hydroelectric potential in the State. The BHPC conducts survey for this purpose and prepares the schemes on hydroelectric power generation. The State Govt. provides funds from its plan allocation and also facilitates funding, from the Central Government and Govt. of India Financial institutions.
During the Tenth Plan, BSHPC had started exploring possibilities for major hydel projects, besides its earlier mandate for minor hydel projects. There are 13 minor hydel projects that are currently operational in the state with a total installed capacity of 54.3 MW.
■ Projects under operation
|
Sl.No. |
Project |
River |
District |
Installed Capacity in MW |
|
1 |
Kosi Hydel Power Station (KHPS); Kataiya |
Kosi |
Supaul |
19.2 |
|
2 |
Eastern Gandak Canal HE
(Hydroelectric) Project; Valmiki Nagar |
Gandak |
West Champaran |
15 |
|
3 |
Sone Western Link Canal HE Project;
Dehri |
Son |
Rohtas |
6.6 |
|
4 |
Sone Eastern Link Canal HE Project; Barun
|
Son |
Aurangabad |
3.3 |
|
5 |
Agnoor HE Project |
Son |
Arwal |
1 |
|
6 |
Dhelabagh HE Project
|
Son |
Rohtas |
1 |
|
7 |
Triveni Link Canal HE Project |
Gandak |
West Champaran |
3 |
|
8 |
Nasriganj HE Project |
Son |
Rohtas |
1 |
|
9 |
Sebari HE Project |
Son |
Rohtas |
1 |
|
10 |
Jainagra HE Project |
Son |
Rohtas |
1 |
|
11 |
Shirkhinda HE Project |
Son |
Rohtas |
0.7 |
|
12 |
Belsar HE Project |
Son |
Arwal |
1 |
|
13 |
Arwal HE Project |
Son |
Arwal |
0.5 ©bpscexampreparation.blogspot.com |
■ Renewables
Bihar Renewable Energy Development Agency(BREDA):
To promote renewable energy power projects, the State Government has also created an agency called Bihar Renewable Energy Development Agency (BREDA).
This agency is responsible for the development of projects that would use non-conventional energy sources for the production of electricity.
It has been nominated as the nodal agency to carry out the remote village electrification programme.
The State Government provides funds to BREDA, both for the schemes and also for the expenditure on establishments and expenditure on subsidies.
BREDA is currently executing projects of solar pumps and rooftop installations under CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) model. Various other projects like Floating Power Plants and Ground Mounted Grid-tied Solar Power Plants are under different stages of approval.
■ Electricity Transmission:
The transmission network serves as an important link between the generation and distribution of electricity. To meet the growing demand of power, a robust and reliable transmission network is required for both inter-state and intra-state transmission. The existing transmission system is, therefore, being strengthened with proper planning to cater to the demand for 24 hours availability of power by all categories of consumers.
Presently, about 16,644 circuit km EHV (Extra High Voltage) transmission line, 148 grid substations with total transformation capacity of 8510 MVA at 220/132 kV level and 13,870 MVA at 132/33 kV level comprise the transmission system in Bihar.
The peak demand met was 3459 MW in 2015-16, which increased to 5891 MW in September 2019, implying an increase of 70% in four years.
■ Electricity Distribution:
Distribution is an extremely important component of the whole electricity supply chain.
The distribution system in Bihar is being served by two distribution companies, viz. North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (NBPDCL) and South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (SBPDCL). As in March 2019, these companies are serving more than 145 lakh electricity consumers.
Recently, there has been a substantial improvement in the power situation in the state due to the measures taken by the State Government in areas such as reducing transmission and distribution (T&D) losses, and staggering of loads to 24 hours of the day.
The distribution companies made all-out efforts to address this issue by improving the billing and collection system, along with the metering of all consumer connections. This resulted in the reduction of Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) loss from 59.2% in 2011-12 to 40.6% in 2016-17 and further reduced to 30.2% in 2017-18; however, there was a slight increase in 2018-19 (30.4%).
DISCOMs are striving hard to bring down the AT&C loss to 15%.
