What is fixed charge?
A fixed charge is a monthly amount you pay for the connection, even if you use no electricity. Also called demand charge, customer charge, minimum charge, service charge.
- Plain English
- Official sources
- Bill terms A–Z
Fixed charge on your bill
The fixed charge pays for the network kept ready for you. You pay it even in a month with zero units.
Tariff orders set it per connection, per kW or kVA of load, or per slab of use.
Example: Rs 20 per kW a month with a 3 kW sanctioned load gives Rs 60 a month.
Some orders call it a demand charge or a minimum charge. The meaning comes from your state's tariff order.
If your load is more than you need, ask the discom to reduce the sanctioned load.
Fixed charge in each state
| State or UT | Fixed charge for a home |
|---|---|
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | ₹35 per kW (or part) of billing demand per month; billing demand = max(recorded MD, 85% of contract demand) |
| Andhra Pradesh | ₹10 per kW (or part) per month; 75/kW for load above 75 kW |
| Arunachal Pradesh | No fixed charge in the schedule; post-paid meter rent applies (Schedule II) |
| Assam | ₹70 per kW per month (connected load rounded to nearest kW) |
| Bihar | ₹80 per kW (or part) per month |
| Chandigarh | ₹30 per kW (or part) per month |
| Chhattisgarh | Rs per kW per month, telescopic by sanctioned load: 20 up to 5 kW; 30 for 5-10 kW; 50 above 10 kW |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | ₹10 per kW per month |
| Delhi | Rs per kW per month on sanctioned load, by load: up to 2 kW 20; 2-5 kW 50; 5-15 kW 100; 15-25 kW 200; above 25 kW 250 |
| Goa | ₹25 per kW (or part) per month |
| Gujarat | per connection per month, slab by connected load All units: ₹15; All units: ₹25; All units: ₹45; All units: ₹70 |
| Haryana | nil up to 300 units/month; Rs 50 per kW per month when consumption is in the 301-500 or above-500 slab |
| Himachal Pradesh | ₹85 per month (55 in tribal and difficult areas, irrespective of consumption) |
| Jammu & Kashmir | ₹10 per kW per month; load rounded up to the next 0.5 kW |
| Jharkhand | ₹100 per connection per month |
| Karnataka | ₹150 per kW per month of sanctioned load |
| Kerala | per consumer per month, set by consumption slab and phase (see the category details below) |
| Ladakh | ₹13 per kW per month on contracted load rounded up to the next 0.5 kW |
| Lakshadweep | ₹25 per kW (or part) of billing demand per month |
| Madhya Pradesh | by monthly consumption: up to 50 units Rs 81 urban / 67 rural per connection; 51-150 units Rs 134 / 111 per connection; above 150 units Rs 30 urban / 28 rural per 0.1 kW of 'load' |
| Maharashtra | ₹130 per connection per month (single phase); 435 three phase |
| Manipur | ₹65 per kW of contracted load per month (actual load, not rounded; below 0.5 kW taken as 0.5 kW) |
| Meghalaya | ₹90 per kVA of load per month |
| Mizoram | ₹50 per kW of contracted load per month |
| Nagaland | No fixed charge; monthly minimum charge applies (see the category details below) |
| Odisha | ₹20 Monthly minimum fixed charge 20 for the first kW/kVA (or part) + 20 for each additional kW/kVA |
| Puducherry | ₹35 per kW (or part) per month |
| Punjab | ₹50 per kW per month |
| Rajasthan | per connection per month, by sub-category |
| Sikkim | No fixed charge; monthly minimum charge (see the category details below) |
| Tamil Nadu | None |
| Telangana | ₹10 per kW per month (50/kW per month when consumption exceeds 800 units) |
| Tripura | ₹70 per kW per month (load rounded to nearest kW, minimum 1 kW) |
| Uttar Pradesh | ₹110 per kW per month |
| Uttarakhand | Rs per kW per month on sanctioned load: 75 up to 1 kW; 85 above 1 kW up to 4 kW; 100 above 4 kW |
| West Bengal | ₹30 Rs/kVA per month |
From each state’s current tariff order, for the main home category.
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;” - Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020, G.S.R. 818(E), 31-12-2020 (Gazette copy hosted by MERC), rule 2(1)(i) 'fixed charges'
“has the same meaning as per the provisions of the prevailing Tariff Order issued for the distribution licensee” - CSERC Tariff Schedule for FY 2026-27 (CSPDCL tariff order, 24-06-2026), LV-1 note ii
“Fixed Charges is a monthly minimum charge, whether any energy is consumed during the month or not”
Read on 17 October 2026. Your State regulator’s rules and your discom’s bill have the final word.