Bihar has installed around 92 lakh prepaid smart meters, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of all prepaid smart meters deployed across India, state Energy Secretary Ajay Yadav said on Friday.
Speaking at the 7th CII International Energy Conference & Exhibition (IECE 2026) in New Delhi, Yadav highlighted the state’s progress in modernising its electricity distribution network and improving the financial performance of power utilities.
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According to Yadav, Bihar’s contribution extends beyond prepaid meters. The state accounts for around 30 per cent of the country’s total smart-meter installations, when both prepaid and postpaid meters are taken into account.
Major improvement in power distribution
The Energy Secretary said Bihar’s power distribution performance has improved considerably over the past five years.
Billing efficiency, which stood at 75.14 per cent in FY20, increased to 88.46 per cent in FY26. Collection efficiency also rose sharply, from 86 per cent to 100 per cent during the same period.
Another significant improvement has been recorded in aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses. These losses, which stood at 35.12 per cent in FY20, have fallen to 11.54 per cent in FY26.
The improvement indicates that a larger share of the electricity supplied by distribution companies is now being billed and collected, while losses arising from technical issues, inefficiencies and commercial factors have reduced.
Yadav also said the ACS-ARR gap has turned positive, indicating an improvement in the financial position of the state’s power distribution sector.
Smart meters and electricity theft
According to the Energy Secretary, the rapid deployment of prepaid smart meters has played an important role in the reforms.
The meters provide utilities with real-time information about electricity consumption and payments, allowing them to monitor usage more effectively.
Yadav said prepaid smart metering has helped reduce electricity theft and virtually eliminate arrears. The system has also improved billing efficiency and strengthened consumer confidence in the electricity distribution system.
Unlike conventional billing systems, prepaid meters require consumers to recharge their electricity accounts in advance. This can give consumers greater visibility over their electricity usage while helping distribution companies improve revenue collection.
Nearly 10 billion data points generated
The large-scale deployment of smart meters has also created a vast pool of electricity consumption data.
Bihar has generated nearly 10 billion data points through its smart-meter network, according to Yadav. The data is being used for demand forecasting and operational decision-making.
Such information can help power utilities understand consumption patterns, identify unusual usage and plan electricity supply more efficiently.
The state has also introduced Time-of-Day (ToD) tariffs, which are designed to encourage consumers to shift electricity consumption away from periods of peak demand.
Bihar’s power reform push
The figures presented at the conference underline the scale of Bihar’s ongoing electricity distribution reforms.
From reducing AT&C losses to improving billing and collection efficiency, the state has attempted to use digital technology to address some of the longstanding challenges faced by power distribution companies.
With 92 lakh prepaid smart meters already installed, Bihar has become one of the biggest contributors to India’s smart-metering programme. The state’s experience is likely to remain closely watched as India expands the use of digital metering and data-driven power distribution.
