Free Electricity Scheme for Weavers, Andhra Pradesh

What is the Free Electricity Scheme for Weavers?

Free Electricity Scheme for Weavers is a power subsidy scheme of the Government of Andhra Pradesh that gives registered weaving families a fixed block of free electricity every month. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced the scheme as a manifesto commitment, and it took effect on 1 April 2026.

The allowance is set by loom type. A handloom unit gets 200 free units a month. A power loom unit gets 500 free units a month, reflecting the much higher motor load a power loom draws. Around 1,04,488 weaving families across Andhra Pradesh fall inside the scheme, and the state estimates a household saving of Rs 8,000 to Rs 21,000 a year depending on loom type and actual consumption.

The scheme is delivered by the Department of Handlooms and Textiles, headquartered at Mangalagiri in Guntur district, working with the state's electricity distribution companies, APSPDCL, APEPDCL and APCPDCL. The department supplies the list of registered weavers and their consumer numbers; the DISCOM applies the free-unit block when generating the monthly bill.

How the benefit reaches the weaver

• No money is credited to a bank account. The subsidy shows up as free units on the electricity bill against the weaver's service connection number.
• The allowance is monthly, not annual. Unused units in one month are not published as carrying forward to the next.
• Consumption above the allowance is billed at the normal tariff. The free block is a slab, not a full waiver.

Who is eligible for the weavers free electricity scheme?

You can get the benefit if:

• You are a permanent resident of Andhra Pradesh.
• You operate an active handloom or power loom unit.
• Your weaving unit is registered with the Department of Handlooms and Textiles.
• The loom runs on an electricity connection whose consumer number is on record with the department.

You are not eligible if:

• You do not run a working loom. A person who once held a weaver card but has stopped weaving is outside the scheme.
• Your loom is unregistered. Registration with the Handlooms and Textiles Department is the gate through which the DISCOM identifies you.
• You are not a permanent resident of Andhra Pradesh.
• The connection you want the free units on is a purely domestic connection with no loom attached to it.

Weavers working through a handloom weavers cooperative society are covered on the same terms as independent weavers, but the society's records and the department's records must agree on who holds which connection.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the weavers free electricity scheme

Most weavers do not file a fresh application. The benefit is applied automatically from department records. Use these steps when the free units do not appear on your bill, or when you have never been registered.

1. Check your electricity bill first. Look for a free-units or subsidy line showing 200 or 500 units. If it is there, nothing further is needed.
2. Confirm your weaver registration with the Department of Handlooms and Textiles, through the Assistant Director of Handlooms and Textiles in your district or the regional office at Rajahmundry, Ongole or Tirupati. If your loom is unregistered, register it, this is the step that unlocks everything else.
3. Match the consumer number. Take your latest electricity bill to the department office and have the service connection number on the bill recorded against your weaver identity card. A mismatch here is the single most common reason free units do not appear.
4. Submit the document set; weaver identity card or registration certificate, Aadhaar, ration card and the latest electricity bill — and collect an acknowledgement.
5. Raise a complaint with the DISCOM if the department record is correct but the bill still shows no free units. Use the electricity helpline 1912, or visit the section office of APSPDCL, APEPDCL or APCPDCL that serves your area, quoting your consumer number.
6. Recheck the next month's bill. Corrections generally take effect from the next billing cycle rather than being applied retrospectively on the spot.

A Meeseva centre can help with the paperwork and with scanning documents if you do not want to visit the district office directly.

How do you check whether the free units have been applied?

• Read the tariff section of your monthly bill. The free-unit block appears as a subsidy or free-supply entry against your consumer number.
• Use your DISCOM's online bill view at the portal of APSPDCL, APEPDCL or APCPDCL by entering your service connection number.
• Call 1912, the state electricity helpline, and quote your consumer number.

If your bill has always been below the allowance, for example a handloom weaver consuming 150 units against a 200-unit allowance. The bill amount for energy charges should fall to nil. Fixed charges and any arrears are separate and are not waived by the scheme.

Why do free units not show up on a weaver's bill?

• The loom is not registered with the Department of Handlooms and Textiles.
• The consumer number on record is wrong, often because the family shifted the loom to a different premises or a different connection.
• The connection is in another family member's name and Aadhaar matching fails.
• The unit is classified as domestic rather than a weaving unit in the DISCOM tariff category.
• The loom has been recorded as inactive during a departmental survey.

Each of these is fixed at the department end first and at the DISCOM end second. Going straight to the electricity office when the real problem is a missing weaver registration wastes a trip.

Where do you raise a grievance?

• Electricity helpline: 1912
• Commissioner of Handlooms and Textiles: 08645-232466, office at the IHC Corporate Building, Mangalagiri, Guntur district
• Regional Handlooms and Textiles offices: Rajahmundry, Ongole and Tirupati
• DISCOM portals: apcpdcl.in and the corresponding APSPDCL and APEPDCL sites for online complaint registration

There is no fee for registering a loom or for having the free-unit block applied to your connection. Amounts and the free-unit blocks should be reconfirmed with the department, since the scheme is new and the implementation route through the DISCOMs was still settling when it began in April 2026.