One of the first signatures of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa, on assuming office for the second consecutive term, was to grant 100 units of free electricity to all households. The poll promise of the AIADMK supremo will cost the state exchequer Rs.1607 crore, reads a press release by the government.
The cost of every set of unit consumed is split into concessional charges, energy charges and fixed charges. However, this charge is susceptible to change with regard to the number of units used by the household.
If a household consumes 120 units of electricity for 60 days, the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) will charge the household for 20 units, deducting 100 units of free electricity.
As per the new scheme, the households will be charges as follows:
| Bi-Monthly Consumption | Units Charged For | Charge per Unit (Rs) | Energy Charges (Rs) | Fixed Charges (Rs) | Total Charges Payable (Rs) |
| 120 | 20 | 20*1.5 | 30 | 20 | 50 |
| 160 | 60 | 60*1.5 | 90 | 20 | 110 |
| 200 | 100 | 100*1.5 | 150 | 20 | 170 |
| 300 | 200 | 100* 2 100*3 | 500 | 30 | 530 |
| 500 | 400 | 100*2 300*3 | 1100 | 30 | 1130 |
| 800 | 700 | 100*3.5 300*4.6 300*6.6 | 3710 | 50 | 3760 |
A report by The Hindu states that 78.55 lakh consumers will pay no electricity charge due to the new scheme and 55.36 lakh people would fall under the under-200 units per household slab. The report also specifies that over 7.3 lakh consumers using 500 units of electricity would save an average of Rs.350 bi-monthly.
TANGEDCO also has a new feature that allows you to calculate your tariff as per the new scheme.