South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (SBPDCL) is a discom formed in November 2012 following the dissolution of the Bihar State Electricity Board. It bears the responsibility for electricity distribution across 17 districts of south Bihar, namely, Patna, Nalanda, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Lakhisarai, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Buxar, Bhojpur, Rohtas, Arwal, Munger, Banka, Nawada, Sheikhpura, Jamui and Kaimur.
SBPDCL has been working to improve its operational efficiency, ensure consistent power supply in the state and contribute to Bihar’s economic development and electrification objectives. Not only has SBPDCL shown a consistent increase in revenues, it is also among the most profitable discoms in the country today.
Consumer mix
SBPDCL serves a total of 7.5 million consumers. Among these, approximately 84.5 per cent are domestic consumers, accounting for 44.48 per cent of the total energy consumption. Irrigation consumers constitute 5.18 per cent of the total, accounting for 22.77 per cent of the energy, while commercial consumers represent 8.57 per cent and use 9.29 per cent of the energy. The remaining energy consumption share of 23.46 per cent is distributed across other consumer categories such as public lighting (0.03 per cent), public waterworks (0.04 per cent), industrial use (1.25 per cent) and railways (0.43 per cent).
System infrastructure
SBPDCL’s infrastructure comprises 617 substations at the 33/11 kV levels with a total installed capacity of 10,648 MVA. It also includes 1,095 feeders at the 33 kV level and 2,871 feeders at the 11 kV level. The total line length at the 33 kV level spans 9,375 ckt km; the 11 kV level covers 69,888 ckt km; while the low tension (LT) network spans 165,190 ckt km. SBPDCL also owns 143,589 kVA of 11/0.4 kV transformers.
Smart meter roll-out and renewables
One of the most significant technological interventions that contributed to the profitability of the Bihar discoms in 2023-24 was the widespread adoption of prepaid smart meters. According to the National Smart Grid Mission portal, Bihar is currently leading among states in terms of smart meter installations. So far, 5.8 million meters have been installed in Bihar by both discoms. Of these, SBPDCL has installed about 2.3 million consumer smart meters.
Similarly, it has made significant progress in promoting rooftop solar installations in all districts under its jurisdiction, achieving a total capacity of 30.78 MW as of FY 2024, with approximately 6 MW added during 2023-24.
Operational and financial performance
SBPDCL’s aggregate technical and commercial losses have declined by more than 10 percentage points since FY 2022. Its transmission and distribution losses also decreased, reaching 17.91 per cent in 2023-24 compared to 22.3 per cent in 2022-23, highlighting enhanced efficiency in power delivery. Additionally, collection efficiency improved significantly to 96.94 per cent from 88.4 per cent in 2022-23, reflecting effective revenue recovery mechanisms.
The discom’s average cost of supply-average revenue realised gap has seen a remarkable improvement, reducing from Rs 1.25 in 2020-21 to Re -0.05 in 2023-24, a 103 per cent decrease. In 2023-24, the discom’s total income stood at Rs 177.65 billion. It registered a net profit of Rs 2.52 billion in 2023-24, compared to a profit of Rs 2.47 billion in 2022-23.
Further, all consumers, except for railways and street light connections, receive subsidies from the state government. Out of the 17,572.08 MUs of billed energy, subsidies have been provided for 17,159.84 MUs. During 2023-24, SBPDCL received 100 per cent of its subsidy amount, totalling Rs 73.93 billion, from the state government. Approximately 48.42 per cent of the discom’s total revenue came from government subsidies.
Key programmes and interventions
SBPDCL has been implementing a comprehensive set of initiatives for loss reduction, including technical loss management strategies such as network upgrades, regular health monitoring of assets across voltage levels, installation of high voltage distribution systems and distribution of energy-efficient LED bulbs. Commercial loss management and theft control measures have also been prioritised, including in-house energy audits, replacement of outdated meters with high quality electronic ones and adoption of automatic meter reading systems.
Further, the installation of LT aerial bunched conductors, implementation of a smart street lighting management system and use of specialised seals to prevent unauthorised access to service parts have been undertaken. During 2023-24, a transformer maintenance drive was conducted across all divisions, while the replacement of electromechanical meters with advanced smart electronic meters is under way.
SBPDCL is also implementing the government’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), with a total sanctioned amount of Rs 70.94 billion for Bihar. Under the RDSS, the discom plans to focus on various initiatives such as feeder segregation, feeder bifurcation, high voltage distribution systems (HVDS) and cabling. For feeder segregation, it proposes 10,602.41 ckt km of 11 kV lines at Rs 5.09 million; 19,148 distribution transformers (DTs) at Rs 4.09 million and 8,641 ckt km of LT lines at Rs 2.56 million. Feeder bifurcation schemes include 1,309.15 ckt km of 11 kV lines at Rs 1.2 million; 736 DTs at Rs 0.29 million and 368.31 ckt km of LT lines at Rs 0.26 million.
Under the HVDS component, the discom plans to add 2,595.42 ckt km of 11 kV lines at Rs 2.52 million; 5,965 DTs at Rs 2.74 million and 2,178.28 ckt km of LT lines at Rs 1.65 million. Further, 23,863 ckt km of cabling works will be undertaken at an investment of Rs 14.08 million and 970 ckt km of 11 kV lines will be renovated and modernised at Rs 1.19 million. The overall cost of projects under the RDSS is Rs 35.67 million.
Moreover, urban consumer billing is managed through SAP software, while rural billing is carried out via National Informatics Centre software. SBPDCL has also introduced a user-friendly, web-based mobile app leveraging artificial intelligence (AI)-driven optical character recognition technology. This innovation captures precise meter readings automatically, eliminating manual intervention in spot billing. The data is then processed promptly, and bills are generated and handed to consumers. Additionally, the GPS coordinates of consumers are recorded during the billing process, providing valuable geographical data for future planning and analysis.
Bihar discoms have also implemented an e-wallet system for doorstep collection, introduced in March 2018. This consumer-centric approach has significantly optimised the collection process, especially for domestic consumers. Approximately 11,000 rural revenue franchises and meter readers recharge their e-wallets via online banking, ensuring a seamless flow of funds.
Another notable highlight of the Bihar discoms is the significant role played by women employees. Be it collecting revenue or going to the field for power supply-related tasks, listening to consumer complaints and quickly resolving them, running awareness campaigns for potential consumers, accompanying special task force teams for raids and FIRs, being vigilant and watchful at power substations of discoms, and serving roles such as switchboard operators in different shifts during the day as well as night, women are skilfully accomplishing all these tasks at the discoms. Women officers play a key role in the smart prepaid meter installation drive. They actively collaborate with vendors and agencies, going from door to door to explain the features of smart meters to consumers and promote the SUVIDHA app.
Bihar’s discoms have also collaborated with top banking institutions, ensuring extensive reach even in rural areas. They have introduced multiple payment modes, including online portals, point-of-sale facilities, doorstep e-wallet services, collection centres provided by CSC e-Governance India Limited and various Suvidha Kendra centres operated by different agencies.
Outlook
Improving consumer satisfaction is a primary focus of Bihar’s discoms. Future plans include conducting consumer sentiment analysis to better understand and meet their needs, refining the billing and complaint handling process, and introducing AI chatbots to provide more efficient consumer service.
Further, power purchase costs constitute around 85 per cent of the total expenses for discoms, making it critical to optimise them. There are plans to develop an AI-based framework to review and restructure the existing power purchase portfolio, identifying areas with high costs that can be optimised.
Additionally, the goal is to achieve 100 per cent smart meter installation by 2025-26. This initiative will increase billing accuracy, reduce losses and improve revenue collection. Smart meters provide real-time usage data, giving consumers detailed insights into their consumption and allowing discoms to detect and address issues more quickly. The future implementation of advanced metering infrastructure and data analytics will also play a critical role in ensuring accurate measurement and monitoring of energy use.
With these initiatives, the discom is poised to continue its trajectory of operational excellence, financial sustainability and enhanced service delivery for millions of consumers across South Bihar.
