CHENNAI — Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Joseph Vijay signed a government order on May 10, 2026, granting 200 units of free electricity every two months to eligible domestic consumers in the state. The order took effect the same day.

Under the scheme, domestic consumers with bimonthly electricity consumption of up to 500 units will receive 200 units free of charge every two months. Consumers whose bimonthly consumption exceeds 500 units will continue under the existing tariff structure, which includes a benefit of 100 units of free electricity bimonthly.

The state government will bear an additional tariff subsidy of Rs.1,730 crore per annum to fund the program. The initial expenditure will be met through an advance from the Contingency Fund pending legislative approval, and the outlay will be included in the Revised Budget Estimate for 2026-27 as a "New Service."

The government order designated the Chief Electrical Inspector as the authority responsible for estimating, reconciling, and controlling the new heads of account associated with the subsidy. The sanctioned subsidy amount will be processed as a contra credit to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board deposits. Specific commitments under section 108 of the Electricity Act, 2003, are being issued separately to formalise the requirement.

The free electricity benefit applies to eligible domestic consumers effective from May 10, 2026, according to the state government. Consumers in the higher consumption bracket, those using more than 500 units per billing cycle, will not receive the expanded benefit but will retain the existing provision of 100 free units bimonthly under the current tariff structure. The state government has classified the program expenditure as a new budgetary service for the 2026-27 fiscal year.