PATNA: Ridiculing the Bihar government’s claim of improvement in the electricity scenario, Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday said that power generation was zero in the state. “Not a single megawatt or unit of electricity is generated by government-owned power plants in Bihar. The entire power supply to Bihar is currently being met by the Centre,” Goyal said.
“The Centre has been providing 2,800 MW electricity to the state on a day-to-day basis. Out of this, 484 MW is not even from Bihar’s allocated share,” he added.
Goyal recalled that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had promised not to come seeking votes for the 2015 Assembly polls if he couldn’t ensure round-the-clock power supply.
“With a poor transmission infrastructure comprising 628 power stations and 98 grid power substations, the state can’t provide electricity to every village,” the Power Minister said.
A major obstacle is the transmission and distribution loss of 46 percent.The Union minister said it was surprising that 46,000 transformers had to be changed over the past five years due to their poor quality.
Goyal launched a village electrification programme in the Diyara area in Patna and Saran districts.