Checked 22 Oct 2026
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TNEB tariff 2026: what you pay per unit
If your home uses 500 units or less in two months, your first 200 units are free, units 201 to 400 cost ₹4.70 and 401 to 500 cost ₹6.30. Go above 500 and only 100 units are free, with rates rising to ₹11.55. Homes pay no fixed charge. These rates have applied since 10 May 2026.
Your last unit costs₹6.30
Average per unit₹2.79
At 450 units your bill is ₹1,255. You are in the ₹6.30 slab (units 401 to 500), and 50 units from the 500-unit line.
In short
- Since 10 May 2026, a Tamil Nadu home using 500 units or less in two months pays nothing for its first 200 units, ₹4.70 for units 201 to 400 and ₹6.30 for units 401 to 500.
- For a home at or under 500 units, the rates for units 201 to 500 have not changed since July 2024: TNERC raised its rates in 2025, and the state covered the rise for homes for 2025-26.
- Homes pay no fixed charge in Tamil Nadu. For shops, TNERC's rates are ₹6.65 or ₹10.45 a unit plus a fixed charge from ₹110 per kW a month; shops at 500 units or less in two months pay ₹6.45 or ₹10.15 after the state subsidy.
- As of 22 Oct 2026, no TNERC order has changed home rates for 2026-27.
TNEB domestic tariff 2026
For domestic (LT-IA) connections, per unit, for units used in a two-month bill. TNERC sets the full rate; the state pays part of it; you pay the rest. Which table applies depends on your total for the two months.
| Units in two months | TNERC rate | State pays | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 200 | ₹4.95 | ₹4.95 | Free |
| 201 to 400 | ₹4.95 | ₹0.25 | ₹4.70 |
| 401 to 500 | ₹6.65 | ₹0.35 | ₹6.30 |
| Units in two months | TNERC rate | State pays | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 100 | ₹4.95 | ₹4.95 | Free |
| 101 to 400 | ₹4.95 | ₹0.25 | ₹4.70 |
| 401 to 500 | ₹6.65 | ₹0.35 | ₹6.30 |
| 501 to 600 | ₹8.80 | ₹0.40 | ₹8.40 |
| 601 to 800 | ₹9.95 | ₹0.50 | ₹9.45 |
| 801 to 1,000 | ₹11.05 | ₹0.55 | ₹10.50 |
| Above 1,000 | ₹12.15 | ₹0.60 | ₹11.55 |
Full rates: TNERC Tariff Order No. 6 of 2025, TNPDCL copy, page 14. What you pay: TNERC Order No. 4 of 2026, 27 Apr 2026, pages 7 to 9, and TNERC Order No. 5 of 2026, 26 May 2026. Fixed charge for homes: nil, page 34 of the 2025 order.
Each block of units has its own price, so a bill is the sum of its blocks. The TNEB bill calculator adds them up for your units, and why your bill jumps above 500 units explains the line.
TNEB tariff changes since 2022
Every change to what Tamil Nadu homes pay, with the order behind it. "You paid" shows what a home at or under 500 units paid for units 101 to 200, 201 to 400 and 401 to 500, in that order (units 1 to 100 have been free throughout).
| From | What changed | You paid |
|---|---|---|
| 200 units free for homes at or under 500 units (G.O.(Ms) No. 50). | Free / ₹4.70 / ₹6.30 | |
| TNERC raised rates 3.16%; the state told TNERC: "No tariff hike to the Domestic consumers". | ₹2.35 / ₹4.70 / ₹6.30 | |
| TNERC raised rates 4.83%; homes paid part of the rise. | ₹2.35 / ₹4.70 / ₹6.30 | |
| TNERC raised rates 2.18% for inflation; the state absorbed it for homes. news report | ₹2.25 / ₹4.50 / ₹6.00 | |
| New tariff order (TNERC T.O. 7 of 2022). The first 100 units stayed free for every home. news report | ₹2.25 / ₹4.50 / ₹6.00 |
TNERC Order No. 10 of 2022 (miscellaneous charges), 9 Sep 2022; TNERC Suo-motu Tariff Order No. 6 of 2024, 15 Jul 2024, pages 2, 12 to 14; TNERC Tariff Order No. 6 of 2025, TNPDCL copy, pages 11 to 14; TNERC Order No. 4 of 2026, 27 Apr 2026, page 8; TNERC Order No. 5 of 2026, 26 May 2026. Rows marked "news report" rely on The News Minute, 10 Sep 2022 and DT Next, 1 Jul 2023; we could not open the 2022 tariff order itself.
Has the TNEB unit rate doubled?
No. A reel shared widely in July 2026 compared the "rate per unit" before and after the 200 free units and claimed it had doubled. The rates for units 201 to 400 and 401 to 500 are the same ₹4.70 and ₹6.30 as in 2024. What changed is that units 101 to 200 went from ₹2.35 to free.
The doubling comes from dividing the bill by the units you pay for. Take 206 units. Before 10 May 2026: ₹263.20 for 106 paid units, about ₹2.48 each. Now: ₹28.20 for 6 paid units, ₹4.70 each. The "rate per paid unit" nearly doubled because the cheap units became free, while the bill fell by ₹235.
Will TNEB rates go up?
Home rates change only when TNERC issues an order. Tariff Order 6 of 2025 allowed for an inflation adjustment from 1 July 2026; as of 22 Oct 2026 none has been published, and TNPDCL's own tariff page still lists the 2025 order (TNPDCL tariff page).
In October 2026 TNPDCL bought emergency power for 12 to 31 October at up to ₹37.00 a unit, far above what homes pay. The Week reported that bills may not rise immediately, but that the cost has to be met somehow: subsidy, borrowing, savings or a future tariff revision (The Week, 15 Oct 2026). We check the TNERC order list every month and update this page the day anything changes.
TNEB commercial tariff (shops and offices)
Shops, offices and other commercial users on low tension are billed under LT-V, now called "Miscellaneous / General purpose". The rates in Tariff Order 6 of 2025:
| LT-V commercial | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to 100 units in two months (50 a month) | ₹6.65 a unit |
| Above 100 units in two months | ₹10.45 for every unit |
| Fixed charge, load up to 50 kW | ₹110 per kW a month |
| Fixed charge, 50 to 112 kW | ₹332 per kW a month |
| Fixed charge, above 112 kW | ₹608 per kW a month |
Above 100 units, the higher rate applies to all units, not just the extra ones. Peak hours (6 to 10 am and 6 to 10 pm) cost 25% more and night use (10 pm to 5 am) 5% less; until a time-of-day meter is fitted, the 25% may be charged on a fifth of your units. Up to 500 units in two months, the state pays ₹0.20 or ₹0.30 of each unit, so the shop pays ₹6.45 or ₹10.15; TNPDCL's own calculator applies this. Work out a shop bill with every line: TNEB commercial bill calculator.
TNERC Tariff Order No. 6 of 2025, TNPDCL copy, pages 12, 17, 32 and 48.
Apartment common areas
Lifts, common lights, pumps and other shared supply in apartments are billed under LT-ID at ₹8.80 a unit plus ₹110 per kW a month. If more than a quarter of the built-up area is non-residential, the common supply is billed as commercial instead. Small buildings (three floors or fewer, no lift, ten flats or fewer) are on LT-IE: the same rates in the order, but marked partly subsidised, so the bill may show less (TNERC Tariff Order No. 6 of 2025, TNPDCL copy, pages 38 and 39).
What people are saying, and what the orders say
The free units are only in the ads; the rate has doubled.
A claim shared widely on Instagram in July 2026. The rates for units above 200 are unchanged since 2024; the "doubling" is the 206-unit arithmetic above, where the bill actually fell. One commenter under that reel made the same correction.
We will all pay ₹37 a unit now.
That was the top price the board paid for some emergency power in October, for under three weeks. Home rates are set by TNERC orders, and none has changed them. The real question is who pays for the gap later, which is why the next tariff order matters.
There is a fixed charge on every home bill.
Several websites list one. The 2024 and 2025 tariff orders both put the fixed charge for homes at nil.
Only 100 units are free.
Still repeated, including by Google's AI summary in Tamil. True only if your two-month total is above 500 units; at or under 500, it is 200.
Composites of posts and comments on Instagram, YouTube and other sites in 2026, summarised in our words. We have not named anyone.
Questions people ask
What is the current TNEB tariff for homes?
For a two-month bill of 500 units or less: units 1 to 200 free, 201 to 400 at ₹4.70, 401 to 500 at ₹6.30. Above 500 units: 1 to 100 free, 101 to 400 at ₹4.70, 401 to 500 at ₹6.30, 501 to 600 at ₹8.40, 601 to 800 at ₹9.45, 801 to 1,000 at ₹10.50 and above 1,000 at ₹11.55. No fixed charge. These have applied since 10 May 2026.
What is the cost of 200 units of electricity in Tamil Nadu?
₹0 for a home: the first 200 units in a two-month bill are free, as long as the bill stays at 500 units or less. Before 10 May 2026 the same 200 units cost ₹235.
Where is the TNEB tariff PDF?
The full rates are in TNERC Tariff Order 6 of 2025 (TNERC Tariff Order No. 6 of 2025, TNPDCL copy); what homes pay after the state subsidy is in TNERC Order No. 4 of 2026, 27 Apr 2026, and the 200 free units in TNERC Order No. 5 of 2026, 26 May 2026.
When will the TNEB tariff change next?
Tariff Order 6 of 2025 provides for an inflation adjustment from 1 July 2026; as of 22 Oct 2026 no order for it has been published, and TNPDCL's tariff page still lists the 2025 order. The current tariff period ends with 2026-27, so a new tariff from April 2027 is due. Any change for homes needs a new TNERC order, and we update this page the day one appears.
Do homes in Tamil Nadu pay a fixed charge?
No. The domestic fixed charge is nil in Tariff Order 6 of 2025 (page 34) and in the 2024 order, and none of the orders we could open since 2023 has one. Shops and apartment common areas do pay one.
How much is a TNEB bill for a shop?
Under the LT-V commercial tariff, the TNERC rate for the first 100 units in two months is ₹6.65 each; above that, every unit costs ₹10.45, plus a fixed charge of ₹110 per kW a month for loads up to 50 kW (Tariff Order 6 of 2025). Up to 500 units in two months the state subsidy brings these to ₹6.45 and ₹10.15. The TNEB commercial bill calculator adds the peak extra and electricity tax.
Sources
- TNERC Tariff Order No. 6 of 2025, TNPDCL copy. 3.16% rise from 1 Jul 2025 (pages 11 and 13); state letter: no hike for homes (page 12); rates (page 14); LT-V and LT-ID (pages 17, 38, 48).
- TNERC Order No. 4 of 2026, 27 Apr 2026. Tariff subsidy for 2026-27, with the rate each household pays (pages 7 to 9).
- TNERC Order No. 5 of 2026, 26 May 2026. Subsidy that pays for the 200 free units of homes at or under 500 units, under G.O.(Ms) No. 50 dated 10 May 2026.
- TNERC Suo-motu Tariff Order No. 6 of 2024, 15 Jul 2024. 2.18% rise from 1 Jul 2023 and 4.83% from 1 Jul 2024; FY 2023-24 and 2024-25 rates (page 14).
- TNERC Order No. 10 of 2022 (miscellaneous charges), 9 Sep 2022. Companion order to T.O. 7 of 2022, in force from 10 Sep 2022.
- TNPDCL tariff page, checked 22 Oct 2026.
- News reports: DT Next, 10 Sep 2022, DT Next, 1 Jul 2023, The Week, 15 Oct 2026.
Every figure is worked out by one tested engine; see how we check rates. Found a mistake? Tell us and see how we correct it.