Electrical accident compensation in Karnataka: amounts, documents and how to claim

How big the problem is

BESCOM's own figures, filed with KERC in its tariff proposal and reported by Deccan Herald in 2025, showed 118 deaths in electrical accidents between April and October 2024 across its eight districts, plus 61 animal deaths. Its average from 2015-16 to 2023-24 was about 109.5 deaths a year. The same report said most deaths were in rural areas and that accidents spike in the rainy months, with causes including contact with live wires, snapped conductors and lack of maintenance. The other four ESCOMs see the same pattern in their own areas.

Compensation amounts under the KERC regulations

Compensation for accidents on the ESCOM network is set by the KERC (Rights of Consumers Relating to Supply of Electricity, Standards of Performance and allied matters) Regulations, 2022. As explained by Citizen Matters in January 2024, the amounts are:

Actual medical expenses for hospital treatment are reported to be payable in addition. The IPC references are those in the regulation; the IPC has since been replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, so ask the ESCOM how it now classifies the injury.

Livestock deaths

Cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats die every monsoon from live stay wires, snapped LT conductors lying in fields and leaking poles. For a death on the ESCOM's network, the claim goes to the ESCOM under the regulation above. Two practical points:

• Get a veterinary post-mortem certificate from the government veterinary hospital stating electrocution as the cause. Without it the claim usually stalls.
• Photograph the animal where it lies, the wire or pole involved, and anything showing the line was down before the animal touched it. Do this only after the ESCOM has switched the line off.

The Animal Husbandry department also runs a separate ex gratia scheme (Anugraha) for accidental deaths of uninsured cattle, sheep and goats, whose amounts have been revised in recent budgets. Ask at your veterinary hospital what is paid now and whether it can be claimed alongside the ESCOM compensation. If the animal was insured, the insurer needs the same post-mortem report.

How to claim, step by step

Citizen Matters reported that the regulation also provides a penalty of ₹500 a day for delay. Mention it politely in a follow-up letter if the timeline has passed.

Documents that are usually asked for

The step that delays most claims is the legal heir certificate, so start it at the taluk office in the first week. Also keep the docket number of any earlier 1912 complaint about the same line. It shows the ESCOM knew about the hazard.

Whose responsibility: ESCOM network or your own wiring

The ESCOM compensation scheme is for accidents caused by the ESCOM's own network: HT and LT lines, poles, stay wires, transformers, service mains and meters. An accident inside the premises caused by the owner's own wiring, a faulty pump starter or an appliance is generally the owner's responsibility, which is one more reason to fit an RCCB and get the wiring tested.

The line is not always sharp. In the 2022 order upheld by the High Court in 2025, the single judge said the duty of the transmission and distribution companies to ensure safety extends to equipment in the consumer's premises. In practice, if an ESCOM service wire was sagging into your compound, a meter board was leaking, or the neutral from the ESCOM side was broken and raised the voltage on your earth, the ESCOM is involved. Record the facts and let the Electrical Inspector's inquiry decide.

What not to do at the spot, because it weakens the claim and risks more lives:

• Do not pull a person off a live wire with your hands, or a wet stick. Get the line switched off first, then use dry wood or plastic.
• Do not cut or remove the wire, pole earth or stay yourself before the ESCOM and police see it.
• Do not bury or move a dead animal before the veterinary post-mortem.
• Do not sign a "no claim" or settlement letter at the site, even if someone offers cash. Ask for the regulation amount in writing.

When the regulation amount is not the end

The regulation amount is the minimum the ESCOM must pay without a fight. Families can still go to court. In February 2025 a division bench of the Karnataka High Court dismissed appeals by KPTCL and BESCOM against a 2022 order awarding a total of ₹1.28 crore in three electrocution cases, saying the liability of an electricity company for safety of its lines is absolute. In March 2025 GESCOM agreed, in a settlement before the Dharwad bench, to pay ₹40 lakh to a nine-year-old boy who lost his hand, while saying it would not be a precedent.

Separately, the State government has announced ₹5 lakh ex gratia to families in specific electrocution incidents, such as the Hope Farm case in Bengaluru in November 2023. If you are considering court, speak to a lawyer early, because the documents above are the same ones a court will want.

If the claim is delayed or rejected

• Follow up in writing. Write to the subdivision and the circle office, quoting the date of your claim and the acknowledgement. Ask what is pending and from whom.
• Ask for the Inspectorate's report. The 30-day timeline runs from the Electrical Inspectorate's report. If you are told it is not ready, ask the jurisdictional Inspectorate office for its status. An application under the Right to Information Act can get you a copy of the report and the ESCOM's file notes.
• Use the docket trail. Earlier 1912 complaints about the same line are strong evidence. If you did not note the number, the ESCOM's complaint records can be requested. Our complaint guide explains how to register and record a docket.
• Grievance forum. Each ESCOM has a Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum that applies the KERC consumer rights regulations, with the Ombudsman above it. See ESCOM delays and your rights for how to approach them.
• Free legal help. Families who cannot afford a lawyer can approach the District Legal Services Authority at the district court.

Lightning deaths are not ESCOM accidents; the ex gratia for them comes through the tahsildar. See lightning protection and alerts. Pump-set accidents on a farm's own starter and cables are usually the owner's responsibility; our farm IP set guide covers safe pump wiring.

Prevention: what home owners and farmers can do

• Call 1912 about sagging lines, leaning poles, sparking jumpers and live stay wires. Note the docket number.
• Keep children and cattle away from stay wires, transformer yards and fallen conductors, especially after storms.
• Never hook wires to the line or extend a pump supply with bare joints. BESCOM officials told DH that many rural deaths involve unauthorised connections.
• Keep a 30 mA RCCB and good earthing in your own installation. See MCB, RCCB and RCBO explained.
• Do not build or plant close to HT lines. See our HT line clearance guide and monsoon safety checklist.

Questions

Sources

Rules and figures in this article were checked against these sources on 30 Sep 2026. Schemes and tariffs change, so confirm with the official office before you act.

• Explainer: How to claim compensation in Bescom-related electrical accidents (Citizen Matters, Jan 2024)
• Shocking statistics: 118 deaths in 6 months due to electrical mishaps under Bescom (Deccan Herald)
• Karnataka High Court dismisses KPTCL, Bescom appeals (Deccan Herald, Feb 2025)
• Electricity mishap: Gescom agrees to pay Rs 40L ex gratia (Deccan Herald, Mar 2025)
• Minister announces compensation, Hope Farm electrocution (Deccan Herald, Nov 2023)
• KERC Regulations page
• Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services - Schemes & Benefits

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