Patna: The Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC) hosted the 19th meeting of the Forum of Regulators for Eastern and North-Eastern States (FORENS) in the state capital on Saturday.
The participants in the event included chairpersons and members of regulators from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Manipur, Mizoram and Sikkim.
The event was also attended by Pankaj Kumar Pal, secretary, energy and Nilesh Ramchandra Deore, managing director of North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (NBPDCL).
Amir Subhani, chairperson of BERC, emphasised collaboration, strategic planning, and regulatory innovation to address power sector challenges at the meeting. Key focus areas included promoting open access, renewable energy, and a resource adequacy framework for energy security in Eastern and North-Eastern states. Aligning state efforts with national priorities was highlighted as crucial for sustainable progress, he said.
Pal highlighted the state’s power sector reforms, achieving 3% transmission losses, 55.71 lakh smart meter installations, and a 160% rise in per capita consumption of electricity (FY12–FY23).
Pal also mentioned that financially, state’s both distribution companies reversed financial losses to Rs 1,411 crore profit in (FY 2024). He laid emphasis on achievements in the aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses reduction, electricity access to every household, long-term power procurement planning, and smart meter adoption, which are the driving forces behind sustainable growth and energy security in the state.