Patna, Jan. 4: The Nitish Kumar government has avoided the initial trouble in its bid to unbundle the Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) and corporatise the resulting independent entities in line with the Electricity Act of 2003.

Power unions today deferred their strike till January 12 when they would initiate talks with the government on its plan to create six companies out of the state electricity board.

The unions had earlier decided to go on a strike from tomorrow to protest the government?s power reforms.

According to a cabinet decision, the BSEB would be renamed Bihar State Electricity Company, the parent company, with its headquarters in the capital.

The five other companies would be Bihar State Production and Transmission Company, Patna Electricity Supply Company (Patna), South Bihar Electricity Company (Gaya), North Bihar Electricity Company (Muzaffarpur) and Northeast Bihar Electricity Company (Bhagalpur).

The state has already constituted a State Electricity Regulatory Corporation, which is mandated to fix and regulate the tariff. It has also passed an anti-power theft legislation.

Energy minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav today said there was no move to privatise any of the six companies. ?We are moving in keeping with the central law. Service rules of the employees will not be changed. But they will be expected to be more accountable as Bihar is lagging behind several other states in power sector reforms,? the minister said.

?The process will take some time and we will consult the employees before taking a final decision. The employees should understand that the state electricity board is being unbundled and restructured for the sake of the state. The power sector had been totally ignored in the past 15 years and we have a tough task ahead,? he added.

The state has not closed its doors to fresh private sector ventures in the field of power generation. ?Private investment is always welcome. We expect some concrete proposals in this regard during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas meet that begins in Hyderabad on January 7,? the minister said.

Bihar is still a long way from the national objective of creating profit centres with full accountability and privatisation of the distribution system. The existing distribution network is antiquated with heavy incidence of power theft. The rate of return (RoR) on net fixed assets after providing for depreciation and interest charges is negative against a stipulated minimum of 3 per cent.

The government has initiated the reforms process by entering into a joint venture with the National Thermal Power Corporation to restart the Kanti power plant. A similar plan for the other thermal plant at Barauni is also on the cards. The minister said these plants would become fully operational within nine months.

The government also looks serious on exploiting the 2,250-MW hydel power potential in the hills of Kaimur. ?We are considering the 400-MW generation that is possible from the Indrapuri reservoir and talks are on with the other states concerned. The Kosi hydel project needs to revived at a cost of Rs 30 crore. Besides, of the 17 identified mini hydel projects, some may start generation soon,? Yadav said.

The government also has a plan to lay underground cables in Patna. ?The costs of restructuring the power sector are prohibitive. The Patna project itself could cost Rs 500 crore. That is why we need external assistance,? he added.