Your TNEB consumer number, explained, and how to pay on Subspace

TNPDCL's own FAQ puts it simply: the consumer number is the service number on the white meter card or on your previous receipts. On the card and receipts it's usually written in groups, and you type it as one string without the dashes. TNPDCL's consumer guide shows a receipt entry of 05-170-004-1454 becoming the consumer number 051700041454: 12 digits, grouped 2-3-3-4.

The first two digits are your region. The remaining groups identify your local office and the connection itself. Older cards sometimes show a short form; TNPDCL's FAQ gives the example of a card reading 5 - 5 - 5, which is entered as 0050055, so pad each group with leading zeros exactly as the portal asks.

Lost the card? The section office replaces a white meter card for ₹5, and the number is also on any old receipt or in the payment history of an app you've paid from.

TNPDCL lists both tools under Billing on tnpdcl.org. Neither needs a login.

• e-Invoice Download (tnebnet.org/awp/einvoice): enter your consumer number, registered mobile number and the bill month as MMYYYY, then download the bill in English or Tamil. E-invoices are available from October 2023 onwards.
• e-receipts for Online Payments (tnebnet.org/awp/ereceipt): enter the consumer number, receipt number and transaction date to download the receipt for an online payment, again in English or Tamil.
• Bill Status (tnebltd.gov.in): service connection number, registered mobile and a captcha show the current bill and recent collection details.

TNPDCL's FAQ notes that you don't need to print an online receipt or get it entered on the meter card, because the payment is recorded in its database. The TNEB Mobile App (Official), published by TNPDCL, also lets you view bills and share e-receipts.

Tamil Nadu bills domestic connections every two months with no fixed charge. Homes using up to 500 units in a cycle get 200 units free; above 500 units only 100 are free and higher slabs apply. That makes the average cost per unit climb steeply with consumption: about ₹1.57 at 300 units, ₹3.14 at 500 and ₹4.80 at 600. Try your own reading in the TNEB bill calculator.

TNPDCL accepts payment online, in person and through Bharat Connect. All of them use the same consumer number.

Open Subspace, go to Electricity and search for Tamil Nadu Power Distribution (TNPDCL / TNEB). Enter the 12-digit consumer number from your card, without dashes. The amount due is fetched from TNPDCL through Bharat Connect; check the name and amount, then pay by UPI. The payment is posted back to TNPDCL and the number stays saved for the next cycle.

Pay before the due date on the bill. TNPDCL's FAQ warns that an unpaid service is liable for disconnection, and if it hasn't been disconnected yet you can still pay online with the belated surcharge.