Patna, April 30: The Centre has asked the state to make a detailed presentation to other states during the power ministers' conference in Delhi on May 3 and 4 about the changes Bihar has made in fixing tariff for electricity consumers in the 2017-18 fiscal.

"We are giving final touches to the presentation that would be made by our chairman cum managing director Pratyaya Amrit," said Bihar State Power Holding Company director (administration and HR) R. Lakshmanan, adding that Bihar's work on the power front has impressed New Delhi.

One of the most important changes is that bills generated by distribution companies will separately state the amount of subsidy which the state government is giving to every customer, unlike in the past when tariff used to be calculated after subsidy amount into account.

This, Lakshmanan said, would help the government be better placed in terms of information about its subsidy for different categories of customers and in the long run would help the government in planning subsidy for target groups. Also, he said, it would ensure pressure on the distribution companies to minimise their losses.

The second important change is scrapping the minimum monthly charge a consumer had to pay irrespective of consumption in a given month.

"Now the distribution companies cannot afford to have a laidback approach towards billing and regular connection because they have lost the minimum monthly charge," said an energy department official. "This change would help in a better revenue model which, in the long run, would reduce the subsidy load of the government."

Also, categories of consumers have been brought to 40 from over hundred.

Bihar is going to learn from other states that have done well in bringing down the aggregate technical and commercial losses; the state aims to bring it down to around 35 per cent from the existing 40 per cent. State energy minister Bijendra Yadav has also planned to raise a host of issues during the conference including non-release of backward region grant fund from the Centre meant for the energy sector.