Checked 29 Oct 2026

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TNEB temporary connection: tariff, deposit and how to apply in 2026

A TNEB temporary connection is short-term power for building a house or for an event. It is billed at tariff LT VI: ₹13.25 a unit plus ₹608 a kW a month, and 5% tax on the energy charge. For building, apply like a new connection. Event supply must be given within 48 hours if no new line is needed.

Work out a month's temporary bill

Load, kW (round a part kW up)

Units a month

Days of supply, up to 30 (for the deposit)

Energy charge₹5,300

Fixed charge₹3,040

Electricity tax₹265

A month₹8,605

If TNPDCL cannot give a pre-paid meter for a purely temporary supply of 30 days, the consumption deposit is ₹15,900.

At the LT VI rates, with electricity tax as TNPDCL's bill calculator adds it.

TNERC Tariff Order No. 6 of 2025, 30 Jun 2025, para 3.2.16 and the tariff table; deposit: TN Electricity Distribution Code, as amended to 31 Mar 2024, regulation 39(2)(ii).

By Raviraj Ramavarapu. From TNERC's tariff order, the Distribution Code and the Standards of Performance regulations, and TNPDCL's application portal. Checked 29 Oct 2026.

TNEB temporary connection, in short

Temporary supply is billed at tariff LT VI: ₹13.25 a unit plus ₹608 a kW a month, plus 5% electricity tax on the energy charge, with no free units and no slabs.
Supply for building a house is given like a new connection and billed at the temporary tariff until you convert it to permanent supply after construction.
Supply purely for an event or other short use must be given within 48 hours if no new line or transformer is needed, through a pre-paid meter.
For a house under construction you pay the security deposit of the permanent connection it will become, ₹330 single phase or ₹995 a kW three phase for a home, plus the one-time charges in TNPDCL's demand notice.
Apply on TNPDCL's application portal under Temporary Service Connection with your photo and proof of ownership. If TNPDCL is late, it owes ₹200 a day, up to ₹2,000.

The two kinds of temporary connection

	For construction	Purely temporary
Used for	Building a house, flats, shops or a factory, to become permanent supply later	Events and functions, exhibitions, circuses, festivals, bridge work
Procedure	The normal new connection procedure	The same online application; you pay for any line work, and supply is through a pre-paid meter
Meter	As for a new connection	A pre-paid meter, from TNPDCL or your own
Deposit	The security deposit of the permanent connection	No deposit for consumption with a pre-paid meter; TNPDCL may ask for security for a meter it supplies
Time limit	As for a new connection: preferably 3 days, at most 7, with no line extension; 60 days with a line extension and 90 with a new transformer	48 hours if no new line or transformer is needed; otherwise as for a new connection
Tariff	LT VI: ₹13.25 a unit plus ₹608 a kW a month

The undertaking. Every construction connection comes with an undertaking, whatever the size of the building: you agree to convert the supply to the right permanent category when the work is done, and to pay any charges for the conversion. The portal's documents page does not give a stamp paper value, so ask your section office before you buy stamp paper.

TN Electricity Distribution Code, as amended to 31 Mar 2024, regulation 39(1); TNERC Distribution Standards of Performance Regulations, as amended to 31 Mar 2024, regulations 4 and 6 (timelines also on TNPDCL's TNPDCL application portal, Timelines page); TNERC Tariff Order No. 6 of 2025, 30 Jun 2025, para 3.2.16.1.

TNEB temporary connection tariff and what a month costs

LT VI is TNPDCL's tariff for construction and temporary supply. Every unit is charged at ₹13.25, and the fixed charge is ₹608 for each kW or part of a kW of contracted load (the load you applied for), every month. There are no free units on temporary supply.

Example	Energy	Fixed	Tax	A month
3 kW, 200 units	₹2,650	₹1,824	₹133	₹4,607
5 kW, 400 units	₹5,300	₹3,040	₹265	₹8,605
10 kW, 900 units	₹11,925	₹6,080	₹596	₹18,601

Electricity tax is added at 5% of the energy charge, as TNPDCL's own bill calculator shows; the 3 kW and 5 kW examples were checked against it. Tariff Order 6 of 2025 says the rates are to be revised for inflation from 1 July 2026; when we checked on 29 Oct 2026, no revised rates had been published, so the 2025-26 rates still apply.

If you already have a connection and build an extension of more than 2,000 square feet, the tariff order says the construction must take a separate connection at this tariff.

TNERC Tariff Order No. 6 of 2025, 30 Jun 2025, tariff table (page 17) and para 3.2.16 (page 50); rates still in force: TNPDCL tariff page; tax shown on bills: TNERC Tariff Order No. 6 of 2025, 30 Jun 2025, para 3.2.1(m); TNPDCL bill calculator, Temporary Supply runs of 29 Oct 2026.

Charges and deposit

For construction

You pay the security deposit of the permanent connection it will become (₹330 single phase or ₹995 a kW three phase for a home), plus the one-time charges TNPDCL works out for your site in its demand notice. TNPDCL's own charges calculator does not cover temporary supply. For comparison, a permanent home connection costs ₹5,575 for 1 kW single phase overhead, or ₹20,145 for 5 kW three phase: TNEB new connection charges.

Purely temporary

You pay the cost of any line extension or improvement needed to give the supply. With a pre-paid meter, yours or TNPDCL's, there is no deposit for consumption; TNPDCL may ask for security for the price of a meter it supplies. If no pre-paid meter can be had, the deposit is 2 x load in kW x 0.5 x 8 hours x days x ₹13.25, where days is one billing cycle or the period you need the supply, whichever is shorter: for 5 kW for a 30-day event, ₹15,900.

TN Electricity Distribution Code, as amended to 31 Mar 2024, regulation 39(1) and 39(2); TNERC Order No. 7 of 2025, 30 Jun 2025, Table 24.

How to apply for a TNEB temporary connection

Open TNPDCL's application portal (TNPDCL is the new name of TANGEDCO; the portal address still says tangedco) and choose Apply, then Temporary Service Connection. It starts with your mobile number and a one-time code.
Upload your photo and proof of ownership: a sale deed, partition deed, gift settlement, allotment letter, computer patta, an ownership certificate from the revenue department, a court judgement or a recent property tax receipt.
Not the owner? Upload the owner's consent letter in Form 5, or proof of occupancy with an indemnity bond in Form 6. For joint property, add consent letters from the co-owners.
For a big site (floor area of 900 square metres or more, or a load above 112 kW), add the plan approval showing the space set aside for a transformer.
Pay the charges TNPDCL asks for, then track the application with its number on the portal's Application Status page. How: TNEB application status.

TNPDCL application portal, documents required, documents required for temporary supply, read 29 Oct 2026.

What changed in 2026

A Government Order of 12 February 2026 recommended that TNPDCL move temporary connections online: apply and pay online, then an engineer verifies, inspects and sends the estimate by SMS; after construction, log in with the service number to convert to permanent supply, with an Aadhaar OTP declaration and, where building rules require one, the completion certificate. If you are pulling down an old house to rebuild, one application is to close the old service and open the temporary one, with one combined bill. The order recommends all this to TNPDCL for adoption. When we checked on 29 Oct 2026, the portal's Temporary Service Connection application was open; we could not confirm that every step of the new process is live.

G.O.(Ms) No. 26, Energy Department, 12 Feb 2026 (copy hosted by TNEB Engineers Sangam); TNPDCL application portal, documents required.

If TNPDCL is late

TNPDCL owes you ₹200 for each day of delay beyond the time limit, up to ₹2,000, for a temporary supply as for a new connection. The compensation is to be adjusted against your bills within the next two billing cycles. If it is not, claim it from TNPDCL's designated officer or online. For problems with the application itself, use the portal's Grievance option, or see where to complain.

TNERC Distribution Standards of Performance Regulations, as amended to 31 Mar 2024, regulation 21, Table I item 1(c), and regulation 22.

How to convert a TNEB temporary connection to permanent

For construction, apply to TNPDCL to convert the supply to the right permanent category when the building is done; the conversion follows the regulations, and any charges for it are yours. The 2026 order proposes that you log in with your service number, give an Aadhaar OTP declaration and, where building rules require one, the completion certificate, with any estimate for the conversion added to your first bill after it; we could not confirm this is live on the portal. To raise the load or move the meter at the same time, see TNEB additional load. For a purely temporary supply, the connection is closed at the end of the period.

If you were on a postpaid temporary supply, the balance of your deposit can be adjusted against the deposit for your permanent connection, moved to another of your connections, or paid to your bank account, as you choose. For a transfer to another connection or to your bank, TNPDCL has 7 days from your choice or the disconnection, whichever is later. If it is late, it owes ₹200 a week of delay plus interest, up to ₹2,000.

TN Electricity Distribution Code, as amended to 31 Mar 2024, regulation 39(1); G.O.(Ms) No. 26, Energy Department, 12 Feb 2026 (copy hosted by TNEB Engineers Sangam); TNERC Distribution Standards of Performance Regulations, as amended to 31 Mar 2024, regulation 6(4) and 6(5), Table I item 13; TNERC Tariff Order No. 6 of 2025, 30 Jun 2025, para 3.2.16.4.

Questions people ask

What is the tariff for a TNEB temporary connection?

Tariff LT VI: ₹13.25 a unit plus ₹608 a kW of contracted load a month, plus electricity tax of 5% on the energy charge. These are the 2025-26 rates in TNERC's Tariff Order 6 of 2025, still in force when we checked on 29 Oct 2026.

How do I apply for a temporary EB connection for house construction?

On TNPDCL's application portal, choose Apply, then Temporary Service Connection. You need your photo and proof of ownership of the plot, or the owner's consent in Form 5 if you are not the owner. For construction, TNPDCL follows the normal new connection procedure and bills you at the temporary tariff until you convert it.

How long does TNPDCL take to give a temporary connection?

Supply purely for a temporary purpose, such as an event, must be given within 48 hours if the network needs no augmentation (no new line or transformer). Supply for construction follows the new connection timelines: preferably within 3 days and not more than 7 where no line extension is needed. With a line extension it is 60 days, and 90 with a new transformer. You may see 15 to 30 days quoted for a temporary connection; that figure is not in TNERC's rules. If TNPDCL is late it owes you ₹200 a day, up to ₹2,000.

Do I need a separate temporary connection to build on my house?

For additional construction above 2,000 square feet in the premises of an existing consumer, yes: the tariff order says it must come through a separate service connection billed at the temporary tariff.

What deposit do I pay for a temporary connection?

For construction supply, the same security deposit as the permanent connection it will become: for a home, ₹330 single phase or ₹995 a kW three phase. For supply purely for a temporary purpose, a pre-paid meter is used, yours or TNPDCL's, and no deposit for consumption is needed; TNPDCL may ask for security for the price of a meter it supplies. Only if no pre-paid meter can be had is a consumption deposit taken: 2 x load in kW x 0.5 x 8 hours x days x ₹13.25, where days is one billing cycle or the period you need the supply, whichever is shorter.

When do I get my temporary connection deposit back?

For a postpaid temporary supply, when the period ends you choose: adjust it against the deposit for your permanent connection, move it to another of your connections, or take it to your bank account. For a transfer to another connection or to your bank, TNPDCL has 7 days from your choice or the disconnection, whichever is later. If it is late, it owes ₹200 a week of delay plus interest, up to ₹2,000.

Sources

TNERC Tariff Order No. 6 of 2025, 30 Jun 2025. LT VI tariff, ₹13.25 a unit and ₹608 a kW a month for 2025-26 (page 17); where it applies (para 3.2.16, page 50).
TN Electricity Distribution Code, as amended to 31 Mar 2024. Temporary supply, regulation 39 (pages 57 to 59), as amended with effect from 8 September 2023.
TNERC Distribution Standards of Performance Regulations, as amended to 31 Mar 2024. Temporary supply, regulation 6; time schedules, regulation 4; compensation, regulation 21, Table I.
TNERC Order No. 7 of 2025, 30 Jun 2025. Security deposit, Table 24.
TNPDCL application portal, documents required. Documents required for temporary supply; the Temporary Service Connection application.
G.O.(Ms) No. 26, Energy Department, 12 Feb 2026 (copy hosted by TNEB Engineers Sangam). A simpler online process for temporary connections, from application to conversion to permanent supply, recommended to TNPDCL for adoption.
New connection charges for homes, from TNPDCL's own charges calculator: see TNEB new connection charges.
TNPDCL tariff page. Still lists T.O. 6 of 2025 as the tariff order.
TNPDCL bill calculator, Temporary Supply, monthly, run 29 Oct 2026: 5 kW and 400 units, ₹8,605; 3 kW and 200 units, ₹4,607. Electricity tax shown on bills: TNERC Tariff Order No. 6 of 2025, 30 Jun 2025, para 3.2.1(m).

Sources last checked 29 Oct 2026. Found a mistake? Tell us, and see how we correct it.