Households in Chennai that use 500 units or less in a two-month billing cycle now get the first 200 units free. Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay signed the order on 10 May 2026, his first day in office, and it took effect immediately, ANI reported. Homes that cross 500 units keep the older benefit of 100 free units per cycle.
That single threshold now decides a large part of what you pay. Below is how the bimonthly bill is built, why bills jumped for some homes this summer, and how to check a reading and pay.
Why 500 units is the number to watch
Tamil Nadu bills domestic connections once every two months. The meter reader records the reading, and the bill counts units used across the whole cycle, not per month.
| Units in a two-month cycle | Free units |
|---|---|
| Up to 500 | 200 |
| Above 500 | 100 |
The tariff is telescopic. Each block of units is charged at its own rate, and the free units are the cheapest ones at the bottom. When a home goes from, say, 495 units to 510, it loses 100 free units and moves into higher slabs at the same moment, so the bill can rise far more than the extra 15 units would suggest. CAG’s worked examples make the same point: crossing 500 raises the marginal rate at the very time the free allowance shrinks.
The state pays for this. According to ANI, the free-power order adds about Rs 1,730 crore a year to the tariff subsidy, settled with the electricity utility rather than paid to consumers.
The current tariff
Rates are set by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission. The commission’s schedule is higher than what most homes are billed, because the state government has absorbed recent tariff increases for domestic consumers through subsidy. The per-unit charge for each slab is printed on your bill, and the commission publishes the full schedule in its tariff orders. There is no fixed charge for domestic connections.
When the commission raised tariffs by about 3.16% from July 2025, domestic consumers were exempted, Mercom India reported. The commission’s framework allows a yearly inflation-linked revision each July, and a local news report in August said no new schedule had been announced for 2026. The safest guide to your own rates is the slab breakdown printed on your bill or shown when you look it up online.
Checking your reading
This summer many families saw sharp jumps between the May and July cycles. TNPDCL flagged about 3.70 lakh domestic connections with unusual increases and ordered physical rechecks, according to a report in MyOMR on 10 August. An early sample of 15,323 connections turned up discrepancies in 100. Heat, longer air-conditioner use and the 500-unit threshold explained much of the rest.
Before you dispute a bill:
- Subtract the previous reading from the present reading on your bill and compare with the units charged.
- Photograph your meter display, with the date, as soon as you can.
- Compare with the same season last year rather than a cool month.
- In apartments, check whether common areas such as lifts, pumps and the sewage plant are on a separate service connection.
If the numbers still do not add up, take the photo and your bill to the section office (Assistant Engineer) that serves your street. Quote your service connection number, which is printed on every bill and card.
How to pay
You can pay online through the TNPDCL website. The old address at tnebltd.gov.in now points users to tnebltd.org. You will need your service connection number. Most UPI apps also take the bill through the Bharat Bill Payment System: choose Tamil Nadu electricity as the biller and enter the same number. Counters at section offices still accept payment in person.
Pay by the due date printed on the bill. Late payment invites charges and, eventually, disconnection, so if you are disputing a reading, raise it before the due date rather than holding back payment. MyOMR’s advice to check the bill first and then dispute it, while keeping PDF copies of every bill, is sound.
Power cuts and complaints
For a power failure, a fallen line or a sparking pole, call Minnagam, the utility’s round-the-clock consumer service centre, on 94987 94987. The number appears on the TNEB website. With the northeast monsoon under way since 15 October, keep away from waterlogged streets near transformers and junction boxes, and report exposed cables instead of moving them.
Quick answers
How many free units do Chennai homes get?
200 units per two-month cycle if usage is 500 units or less. Above 500, it is 100 units.
Is the billing monthly or bimonthly?
Bimonthly for domestic connections.
What is the complaint number?
Minnagam, 94987 94987, open 24 hours.
Did tariffs go up in 2026?
No new domestic schedule had been announced as of August 2026, according to press reports. Check TNERC for any later order.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- 200 units free electricity scheme in Tamil Nadu: what you need to know (Citizen consumer and civic Action Group)
- Tamil Nadu Electricity Board website (TNEB)
- Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission
- TN CM Vijay signs off on 200 units of free power (ANI, 10 May 2026)
- Tamil Nadu hikes FY 2026 electricity tariffs by 3.16% (Mercom India, July 2025)
- No tariff hike, yet July EB bills shock OMR homes (MyOMR, 10 August 2026)
