Making a suo motu statement in the assembly, she said free power supply to those weavers using upto 500 units for two months would continue as announced earlier.
Powerloom weavers consuming 501 units to 1000 units every two months would need to pay Rs 2 per unit compared to the existing Rs four. The remaining Rs two per unit would be given as subsidy, she said.
For those units consuming 1001 to 1500 units every two months, she said weavers can pay Rs three per unit as compared to Rs four.
Through these measures, she said the subsidy would go up to Rs 212.84 crore from Rs 153.15 crore every year. "The increased subsidy of Rs 59.69 crore will be given to Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd by the Government", she said.
The powerloom weavers were on a strike charging the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission with effecting a 300 per cent hike in power tariffs announced in March.