NEW DELHI: As the run up to the Bihar polls heats up, chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday morning announced a major relief for residents: free electricity for up to 125 units. While unveiling the scheme, Kumar praised his government’s long-standing commitment to affordability, stating that starting August 1, all domestic consumers will be exempt from paying charges for the first 125 units of electricity.“We have decided that from 1 August 2025, that is, from the July bill onwards, all domestic consumers in the state will not have to pay any charges for up to 125 units of electricity,” Nitish said in a post on X.“This will benefit a total of 1 crore 67 lakh families in the state,” the statement added.He also revealed plans to significantly expand the state’s renewable energy capacity: “Under the Kutir Jyoti scheme, for extremely poor families, the state government will bear the entire cost of installing solar power plants, and for the rest, the government will provide appropriate support. This means domestic consumers will no longer have to bear any cost for electricity up to 125 units, and at the same time, it is estimated that within the next three years, up to 10,000 megawatts of solar energy will be available in the state,” Kumar said.A day earlier, Nitish had urged swift teacher recruitment in government schools, directing officials to begin the TRE 4 process. He reaffirmed the 35% women’s quota applies exclusively to female candidates who are residents of Bihar.Nitish’s string of announcements comes ahead of the Bihar polls due in late 2025. Earlier, Nitish’s former deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had also unveiled a series of welfare promises, including upto 200 units of free electricty. The RJD has also pledged a monthly cash transfer of Rs 2,500 to women under the proposed Mai Behan Maan scheme, along with 200 units of free electricity and subsidised gas cylinders at Rs 500.