What are electricity charges (energy charge)?
The energy charge is the price per unit multiplied by the units you used, slab by slab. Also called unit charge, consumption charge, variable charge.
- Plain English
- Official sources
- Bill terms A–Z
Energy charge on your bill
The energy charge is the main part of most home bills. It depends on the units you used.
The tariff order sets a rate per unit (kWh or kVAh) for each slab.
Example: 150 units at a flat Rs 5 a unit gives an energy charge of Rs 750.
Duty, fuel surcharge and ToD rules are often worked out on the energy charge. So it affects other lines too.
Cut units in the highest slab first. Those units cost the most.
Energy charge in each state
| State or UT | Energy charge a unit for homes |
|---|---|
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | ₹4.20 to ₹12.90 |
| Andhra Pradesh | ₹1.90 to ₹9.75 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | ₹4.40 |
| Assam | ₹4.25 to ₹8.19 |
| Bihar | ₹7.42 |
| Chandigarh | ₹2.95 to ₹5.40 |
| Chhattisgarh | ₹4.40 to ₹8.80 |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | ₹1.85 to ₹3.80 |
| Delhi | ₹3.00 to ₹8.00 |
| Goa | ₹2.10 to ₹6.60 |
| Gujarat | ₹3.05 to ₹5.20 |
| Haryana | ₹2.20 to ₹7.10 |
| Himachal Pradesh | ₹5.44 to ₹5.89 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | ₹2.45 to ₹4.60 |
| Jharkhand | ₹7.40 |
| Karnataka | ₹5.80 |
| Kerala | ₹3.35 to ₹9.20 |
| Ladakh | ₹2.35 to ₹4.50 |
| Lakshadweep | ₹3.55 to ₹13.05 |
| Madhya Pradesh | ₹4.71 to ₹7.24 |
| Maharashtra | ₹3.96 to ₹17.53 |
| Manipur | ₹5.36 to ₹7.10 |
| Meghalaya | ₹5.00 to ₹5.10 |
| Mizoram | ₹4.90 to ₹8.20 |
| Nagaland | ₹5.70 to ₹7.90 |
| Odisha | ₹2.90 to ₹6.10 |
| Puducherry | ₹2.90 to ₹7.90 |
| Punjab | ₹3.85 to ₹7.05 |
| Rajasthan | ₹4.75 to ₹7.50 |
| Sikkim | ₹2.40 to ₹5.40 |
| Tamil Nadu | ₹4.70 to ₹11.55 |
| Telangana | ₹5.10 to ₹10.00 |
| Tripura | ₹5.53 to ₹8.52 |
| Uttar Pradesh | ₹5.50 to ₹6.50 |
| Uttarakhand | ₹3.65 to ₹7.80 |
| West Bengal | ₹5.04 to ₹9.22 |
The rate a home pays after any subsidy that the tariff builds in. Each link opens the unit rate page.
Related terms
Official sources
- Electricity Act, 2003 (as amended; copy hosted by the Tripura High Court), s.45(3)(a)
“a fixed charge in addition to the charge for the actual electricity supplied;” - Tamil Nadu Tax on Consumption or Sale of Electricity Act, 2003 (Bill text with Statement of Objects and Reasons, Government of Tamil Nadu), s.2(7) 'energy charge'
“the amount charged (whether as energy charge or other charge) by a licensee for the supply of electricity to a consumer”
Read on 17 October 2026. Your State regulator’s rules and your discom’s bill have the final word.