Charges for new electricity connection in Tamil Nadu nearly doubled in 3 years

CHENNAI: With the miscellaneous charges collected by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) being increased for the third year in a row by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC), the consumers applying for the new electricity connection are now forced to pay nearly double the charges, compared to the ones three years ago.

Though the TNERC has hiked the miscellaneous charges by 4.83 per cent, the cumulative of the charges hiked since 2022 has resulted in the doubling of the total amount.

If a consumer applies for a single or three-phase domestic service connection, he/she has to spend nearly two times as charges and deposits under the revised miscellaneous charges.

Under the new miscellaneous charges, a consumer seeking a three-phase domestic connection for five kW demand would end up spending as much as Rs 35,570 as against Rs 19,050 in 2021, said R Badrinarayanan, a government-approved licence contractor in Tiruvallur.

“The rise in charges is creating a huge burden on the consumers applying for the new service connection. Apart from paying the steeply ever-increasing charges, consumers have to pay bribes from the Assistant Engineer at the local office to the wireman to get a new connection,” he said.

For LT domestic consumers, TNERC has approved service connection charges of Rs 1,070 for single-phase connection and Rs 1,610 for three phases. Before the 2022 tariff hike, it stood at Rs 500 for single-phase and Rs 750 for three-phase.

Development charges for LT consumers for overhead infrastructure have been hiked to Rs 3,000 per service connection for a single phase from Rs 1,400 per service connection. For a three-phase connection, it has been increased to Rs 2,145 per kilowatt from Rs 1,000 per kW.

Similarly, development charges for underground cable are increased from Rs 5,000 per service connection for single-phase LT consumers to Rs 7,500 per connection. For three phases, it has been increased to Rs 5,355 per kW, from Rs 2,500 per kW service connection.

The security deposit for the single phase has been increased to Rs 320 per connection from Rs 200 per connection while for the three-phase, it has been hiked to Rs 965 per kW from Rs 600/kW.

The registration-cum-processing charges for LT consumers, except hut, are increased to Rs 215 per service connection from Rs 100.

Consumer activist T Sadagopan lamented that there was no clarity in the process of getting a new connection. He demanded that the utility should put on display the breakup of charges collected from the consumers for the new connection and the time frame for effecting the new connection.