Govt to launch unified power billing system from today

Patna: Bihar is set to roll out a new unified billing system for electricity consumers across the state from Friday, replacing its decade-old infrastructure with an advanced digital platform aimed at streamlining services for nearly 2.25 crore users. The new system is expected to be fully operational across the state by June.

Officials said the existing billing framework, introduced in 2014, was designed for around 70 lakh consumers and operated through separate software systems for urban and rural regions. Over the past 10 years, the number of consumers has more than tripled, leading to delays and inefficiencies in service delivery. To address these challenges, power distribution companies have developed an integrated digital billing solution.

Energy department secretary Ajay Yadav said the new platform is a comprehensive revenue management system that merges earlier rural and urban billing networks into a single interface. He added that the phased rollout is nearing completion following extensive testing.

The new application, named ‘Suvidha Bihar’, includes features such as billing based on consumers’ daily electricity usage. It also introduces the Time-of-Day (TOD) tariff mechanism to encourage balanced consumption. Under the system, electricity used between 9am and 5pm will be billed at 20% lower rates, while usage between 5pm and 11pm will attract tariffs 10% higher than the standard rate. Normal tariffs will continue from 11 pm to 9 am. Officials said the model is expected to help reduce peak-hour load on the grid.

The software had been under trial for several days prior to its rollout. As part of data migration for nearly one crore consumers, online services were temporarily suspended from May 20 evening to May 22 morning.

Once fully implemented, the unified system will allow consumers to access services such as bill payments, new connections, rebates and grievance redressal through a single platform, making electricity services more efficient and consumer-friendly across Bihar.