Half Bijli Bill Yojana (Chhattisgarh Half Electricity Bill Scheme)

What is the Half Bijli Bill Yojana?

Half Bijli Bill Yojana is the Chhattisgarh state electricity subsidy that halves the domestic power bill of ordinary households. The Energy Department of the Government of Chhattisgarh funds it, and Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited; CSPDCL, the state discom, applies it on every domestic bill it raises. Locally the scheme is called the bijli bill half yojana or simply the half electricity bill scheme.

The scheme was introduced on 1 March 2019 as one of the first decisions of the then-new state government. Its design is unusually simple for an Indian welfare scheme: there is no beneficiary list to get onto, no form to fill and no sanction letter. If your connection is a metered domestic connection and your monthly consumption falls inside the notified slab, CSPDCL knocks 50 per cent off the energy charge at the moment the bill is generated. The state government then reimburses CSPDCL for the revenue it gave up.

Why the scheme exists

• Chhattisgarh has roughly 45 lakh domestic electricity consumers, and the large majority are low-consumption households.
• About 31 lakh of those households: near 70 per cent; draw under 100 units a month, so a slab-based rebate reaches the poor without any means test.
• A rebate applied on the bill avoids the two things that break most subsidies: application paperwork and a bank transfer that can fail.

How many units does the half electricity bill cover?

This is the one figure that has changed over the life of the scheme, so it is worth being precise about what is confirmed and what is not.

• 2019: the scheme launched with the 50 per cent rebate available on domestic consumption up to 400 units a month.
• Middle years: the ceiling was operated at 200 units a month, with the rebate covering both the energy charge and the fixed monthly charge for qualifying households.
• 2025 revision: the state government revised the scheme to concentrate the 50 per cent relief on consumption up to 100 units a month. CSPDCL officials cited in press reporting placed the reason plainly to 31 lakh of 45 lakh domestic consumers already fall below 100 units, and the state wanted to push higher-consumption households toward rooftop solar instead.

Because the slab has moved more than once, treat the number printed on your own current bill as the authoritative one. The bill shows the units consumed, the energy charge, and the subsidy deduction as a separate line. If you want the official position rather than a news report, cspdcl.co.in publishes the tariff order and the applicable rebate.

Alongside the rebate, roughly 15 lakh Below Poverty Line households in Chhattisgarh continue to receive up to 30 units of electricity free every month. That entitlement is separate from the half-bill rebate and is linked to BPL status rather than to consumption.

Who is eligible for the Half Bijli Bill Yojana?

You qualify if:

• You are a resident of Chhattisgarh with a metered domestic connection in the CSPDCL supply area.
• Your monthly household consumption falls within the notified slab for the 50 per cent rebate.
• Your account is regular; bills paid, no long-standing arrears, no disconnection order in force.
• The connection is registered in a household name and used for household purposes.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• Your connection is commercial, industrial or institutional. Shops, offices, godowns, workshops and hotels are outside the scheme.
• Your connection is an agricultural pump connection; agricultural supply in Chhattisgarh is covered by its own separate free-power scheme, not by this one.
• Your household consumption for the month is above the notified slab. In that case the rebate is either restricted to the slab portion or not applied, depending on the version of the scheme in force.
• The account is in default or under disconnection. Regular payment is a condition of the benefit; clearing the arrears restores it.
• You have no CSPDCL connection in your own name, a tenant billed by a landlord on a private sub-meter gets whatever the landlord passes on, and cannot claim the rebate directly.

There is no income ceiling, no caste criterion and no age criterion. Half Bijli Bill Yojana is targeted purely by consumption, which is why it reaches so many households without any verification machinery.

How to apply for the Half Bijli Bill Yojana

Half Bijli Bill Yojana has no application process for an existing domestic consumer — the rebate is automatic. The steps below are what you actually do, either to start receiving it or to fix it when it is missing.

1. Confirm you have a domestic connection. Look at the tariff category printed on your electricity bill. It must read as a domestic or household category. If it reads commercial, the rebate will never appear.
2. If you have no connection yet, apply for a new domestic connection. Go to cspdcl.co.in or your nearest CSPDCL distribution centre, submit the new connection application with proof of identity, proof of address for the premises, and ownership or tenancy proof, and pay the notified connection charges.
3. Keep consumption inside the notified slab and pay every bill on time. No other action is needed, the 50 per cent deduction is computed at meter reading and printed on the bill.
4. Check the bill each month for the subsidy line. Use the Mor Bijli app or cspdcl.co.in with your consumer number to view the bill online.
5. If the rebate is missing, raise it. Call 1912 or visit the distribution centre with the bill and ask for the tariff category and the subsidy application to be checked.

How to check your bill and the rebate online

1. Open cspdcl.co.in or install the official Mor Bijli app from Google Play.
2. Enter your consumer number, which is printed at the top of every electricity bill.
3. Open the current bill and read the charges breakdown, units consumed, energy charge, fixed charge, and the subsidy or rebate deduction.
4. Compare against the previous month's bill to see whether the rebate line has changed.

Mor Bijli also accepts online payment, so a household can pay the reduced bill in the same session. Payment is also accepted at CSPDCL distribution centre counters and at authorised collection points.

Why the rebate does not show up on some bills

• Wrong tariff category. The connection is recorded as non-domestic. This is the most common cause and is corrected by a category-change request at the distribution centre.
• Consumption above the slab. A month with heavy air-conditioner or pump use can push a household past the ceiling.
• Estimated or average billing. If the meter was not read, the bill may be raised on an average basis and the rebate computed differently. Ask for a spot reading.
• Arrears on the account. Outstanding dues or a disconnection notice can suspend the benefit until the account is regularised.
• Faulty or stopped meter. A defective meter produces an unreliable consumption figure. Report it in writing and ask for a meter test.

Rooftop solar and the direction the scheme is moving

The 2025 revision was paired with a push on rooftop solar under PM Surya Ghar. State communication set out indicative numbers: a 1 kW rooftop system generating around 120 units a month at a consumer contribution of about Rs 15,000 after roughly Rs 45,000 of combined central and state subsidy, and a 2 kW system generating around 240 units for about Rs 30,000 after roughly Rs 90,000 of subsidy, with total support reaching about Rs 1.08 lakh at larger sizes. The stated policy intent is to move higher-consumption households from a half bill toward a zero bill. These solar figures come from the PM Surya Ghar framework, not from Half Bijli Bill Yojana itself, and are applied for separately.

Where to complain about your electricity bill

• CSPDCL toll-free number: 1912, billing, no-supply and meter complaints.
• Distribution centre counter: written complaints, tariff category changes, meter testing requests.
• Mor Bijli app: bill view, payment and complaint registration.
• cspdcl.co.in, online complaint registration and tariff information.

Half Bijli Bill Yojana costs nothing to receive. No CSPDCL employee or agent can charge a fee to "add your name" to the scheme, because there is no list to be added to, the rebate follows the meter.