Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Sunday appealed to financially well-off households and income-tax payers in the state to voluntarily give up the benefit of 125 units of free electricity and contribute to Bihar's development. Addressing the two-day Pataliputra National Youth Parliament-2.0 in Patna, he said the benefit is currently extended to domestic consumers across all economic categories, regardless of their financial circumstances.

Source: Patna Press

"I appeal to the prosperous people of Bihar, particularly those who are capable of contributing, to donate the benefit of 125 units of free electricity so that the money can be utilised to strengthen the education system," Choudhary said, according to PTI. He said the government spends approximately Rs 18,000 crore on education and stressed the need to expand higher-education opportunities within Bihar.

Source: PTI via The Daily Jagran

125 unitsFree electricity per month for domestic consumers
Rs 23,000 croreApproximate annual cost of power subsidies, CM said
Rs 8,000–10,000Approximate annual subsidy per household, CM said
Rs 18,000 croreApproximate government spending on education, CM said

Choudhary said the state government spends around Rs 23,000 crore annually on electricity subsidies, amounting to an expenditure of about Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per household every year. He argued that if those who can afford to pay their bills give up the benefit, public funds could be directed to other development priorities.

The 125-unit free electricity scheme was a major promise of the 2025 Bihar Assembly election campaign. Then Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced free power of up to 125 units a month for all domestic consumers in July 2025, with the benefit taking effect from August 1, 2025 under the Chief Minister's Electricity Consumer Assistance Scheme, covering around 1.67 crore families. Households receive a 100 per cent subsidy on the first 125 units of monthly consumption.

The Chief Minister's appeal was made at a youth parliament event where he also spoke about the responsibilities of young people in strengthening democracy. No change to the scheme itself has been announced — the appeal is voluntary, and the free-electricity benefit remains in place for all domestic consumers.