84% rise electricity connection for Durga Puja pandals in Patna in 5 years

Patna’s Durga Puja pandal power connections rose 84% in five years to 671, while PESU revenue climbed 82% to ₹27.8 lakh.

Patna has seen an 84% surge in temporary electricity connections for Durga Puja pandals over the past five years, rising from 365 in 2021 to 671 this year. According to data from the Patna Electricity Supply Undertaking (PESU), revenue from these connections has climbed 82% to reach ₹27.80 lakh. The growth highlights the increasing power demand during the festival’s peak period between Saptami and Navami, the concluding days of the 10-day Dussehra festival.

Idol of Goddess Durga during Navratri festival at Boring road crossing in Patna, on Saturday. (Santosh Kumar/HT)

The sharpest proportional increase was recorded in the Patna City electricity division, where the number of pandals rose more than six-fold, from 12 in 2021 to 73 this year. Danapur recorded the second-largest increase in absolute numbers, with connections rising from 24 to 98 over the same period, the data reveals.

The figures reflect the expanding scale of Durga Puja celebrations across the state capital. Temporary metered connections help pandal organisers meet their electricity requirements during the festivities, particularly the four days from Saptami to Dashami, when footfall and power demand peak.

PESU’s West circle, comprising seven divisions: New Capital, Ashiana, Danapur, Khagaul, Dak Bungalow, Patliputra and Gardanibagh, recorded a sharper rise in temporary connections and revenue than its East counterpart, which includes Rajendra Nagar, Kankarbagh-1 and 2, Bankipur, Gulzarbagh and Patna City.

Revenue in the West circle climbed from ₹9.21 lakh to ₹17.39 lakh over the five-year period, an increase of about 89%. The East circle’s collections rose from ₹6.08 lakh to ₹10.40 lakh, up around 71%.

The West circle collected ₹17.39 lakh this year, compared with ₹16.11 lakh in 2025. The East circle’s revenue also rose from ₹9.61 lakh last year to ₹10.40 lakh in 2026. Together, the two circles generated ₹27.80 lakh this year, against ₹25.73 lakh in 2025 and ₹15.28 lakh in 2021.

Patna City’s temporary connections rose from 12 in 2021 to 50 in 2022 – the year after the coronavirus pandemic – and peaked at 82 in 2023. The count subsequently eased to 75 in 2024, 74 in 2025 and 73 this year.

Danapur’s numbers more than quadrupled, from 24 in 2021 to 98 in 2026, including a jump to 70 in 2022. Gardanibagh recorded an increase from 29 to 67 over the five years, adding six pandals over the previous year.

The number of pandals nearly doubled in several other divisions during the last five years. Ashiana’s count rose from 16 to 31, Dak Bungalow’s from 20 to 43, and Patliputra’s from 22 to 44. Khagaul recorded a more modest increase, from 48 in 2021 to 53 this year, with fluctuations in the intervening years.

Tariff revision affected collections

PESU revenue from temporary connections rose from ₹15.28 lakh in 2021 to ₹21.44 lakh in 2022 and ₹26.66 lakh in 2023. It increased further to ₹27.62 lakh in 2024, before declining to ₹25.73 lakh in 2025 and recovering to ₹27.80 lakh this year.

Dilip Kumar Singh, chief engineer-cum-general manager of PESU, attributed revenue declines in some divisions between 2023 and 2025 to a revision in the tariff for temporary connections.

“Temporary connections were earlier charged at 1.5 times the normal rate. Following a tariff revision in 2024, the applicable rate was reduced to 1.25 times the normal rate,” Singh said.

The revision helps explain why collections fell in some divisions despite an increase in connections. In Gardanibagh, for instance, the number of pandals rose from 57 in 2023 to 58 in 2024, while revenue fell from ₹3.36 lakh to ₹2.38 lakh. Dak Bungalow’s connections increased from 40 to 42, but collections declined from ₹3.48 lakh to ₹3.27 lakh.

The tariff change did not lead to a fall in PESU’s overall revenue in 2024, which rose from ₹26.66 lakh in 2023 to ₹27.62 lakh.

A temporary connection for the three days from Saptami to Navami costs ₹1,878 for a 1-kW (kilo-watt) load, ₹11,481 for 10 kW, ₹20,762 for 20 kW, ₹30,042 for 30 kW, ₹39,323 for 40 kW, ₹48,604 for 50 kW and ₹95,008 for 100 kW.