How to change the name on your electricity bill in Karnataka (BESCOM, HESCOM, MESCOM, CESC, GESCOM)

When you need a name transfer

• You bought a house, flat, shop or plot with an existing connection.
• The registered consumer has died and the property has passed to the legal heirs.
• A builder's name is still on the meters of an apartment.
• The property is partitioned or gifted within the family.

Without a transfer, you cannot easily apply for load enhancement, rooftop solar subsidy, a category change or a refund of the security deposit, and disputes over arrears are harder to settle.

Buying a property? Check the connection before you register

The best time to deal with the electricity connection is before the sale deed is registered, while the seller still wants something from you. After registration, unpaid dues and wrong records become your problem.

Put two lines in the sale agreement: the seller pays all electricity dues up to the handover date, and the seller signs the NOC and any ESCOM form needed for the transfer. If one meter serves two portions and you want them separate, plan a separate meter for each portion after the transfer.

If the bills look too high for the house, find out why before you buy. A faulty meter or a leaking circuit is far easier to argue about while the seller is still the consumer; see our guide to high bill complaints.

Documents usually asked for

Requirements can differ slightly between subdivisions. Ask the subdivision or the ESCOM website for the current list before you prepare stamp papers.

When the registered consumer has died

This is the most common case at the counter, and the one with the most paperwork. The ESCOM wants to be sure that the person applying is entitled to the property and that the other heirs do not object.

• Death certificate of the registered consumer.
• Proof of succession. A legal heir or family tree certificate (in Karnataka usually obtained through the tahsildar's office), a registered will, or a court succession document. Ask the subdivision which one they accept for your case.
• NOCs from the other heirs in favour of the person applying, or a registered family settlement or partition deed that gives the property to that person.
• Property record in the new name, if the khata or e-swathu has already been changed. If it has not, ask whether the subdivision will accept the succession papers alone; many will, some want the khata first.

Heirs who live outside Karnataka or abroad can usually sign an NOC before a notary or the embassy and send it. Start collecting these early; one missing signature can hold the file for months.

You do not have to wait for a name transfer to keep paying the bill. Payment in the old name continues normally. What you cannot easily do in the meantime is change the load, apply for solar subsidy or claim the deposit.

If the heirs disagree. The ESCOM does not decide who owns a property. If there is a dispute or a pending partition case, the subdivision will normally leave the connection in the deceased consumer's name until a court order, a registered settlement or NOCs from everyone are produced. Meanwhile, whoever lives in the house should keep paying the bills on time. Unpaid dues attach to the connection and can lead to disconnection, which only makes the eventual transfer harder.

The process

Tenants, builders, farms and shops

Tenants. A tenant normally does not take the connection into their own name. The owner stays the registered consumer, and the tenant registers for Gruha Jyothi with the rental agreement. If the previous occupant's Aadhaar is still linked, it has to be delinked first; our guide to Gruha Jyothi for tenants and when you shift house walks through it.

Apartments. Flats start in the developer's name and move to buyers by name transfer once the sale deeds are registered. The common-area meters for lifts, pumps and corridor lights should go to the association before the developer leaves, because unpaid common bills follow the premises. See electricity for apartments for the handover.

Farm pump sets. For an IP set, the name on the RTC (pahani) and on the RR number should match. A mismatch blocks schemes such as solar pumps and regularisation. Get the RTC mutated first, then apply for the transfer with the new RTC. Our farmers' IP set guide covers the rest.

Shops and offices. The same process applies to a commercial connection. If you are also changing how the premises is used, for example a house turned into a shop, that is a change of tariff category, a separate request. Do not leave a business running on a domestic connection after the transfer.

Joint owners, companies and rebuilt houses

Joint owners. When a property is bought jointly, the connection can be in one owner's name. The ESCOM will usually want an NOC or consent letter from the other owners in favour of the person named. Pick the person who will actually deal with the subdivision, pay the bills and later apply for load changes or solar.

Gift and partition within the family. A registered gift deed or partition deed is the ownership proof. Where a house is split between brothers, each with a floor, the single old connection goes to one of them, and the others apply for their own meters. Agree in the partition deed who keeps the existing connection and its deposit, so nobody fights over it at the counter.

Companies, firms and trusts. If the premises belongs to a company, partnership firm, society or trust, the connection is transferred to the entity, not to a director or partner personally. Expect to give the registration certificate, a board resolution or authorisation letter naming the person who signs, and the entity's PAN. When a business is sold as a going concern, the buyer takes over the account only with these papers.

House demolished and rebuilt. A name transfer only changes the consumer on an existing service. If you are pulling down an old house to build a new one, the old connection is usually dismantled and the deposit settled, and the new building needs a temporary connection during construction and then a permanent one. Transferring the old name first still helps, because the deposit refund and any dues are then dealt with in your name.

In every case, ask the subdivision for its document list in writing before you buy stamp paper. Indemnity bond formats and the stamp value asked for can differ between offices.

After the transfer: what to check

• The next bill. It should show the new name with the same RR number. If the account number changes, update it wherever the bill is paid automatically.
• The deposit. Check that the security deposit after transfer is the same as before, not zero. A zero deposit means a large ASD demand at the next annual review.
• Contact details. Update your mobile number and email in the ESCOM app, so outage messages, bills and OTPs reach you, not the old owner.
• Gruha Jyothi. A new owner who lives in the house registers afresh with their own Aadhaar, after the old consumer's registration is delinked.
• What the transfer unlocks. You can now apply for load enhancement, a meter shift or a phase change, and the bank account for a PM Surya Ghar solar subsidy can match the consumer's name.

If the office sits on it. KERC's standards, as summarised in our ESCOM delay compensation guide, list 7 days from a complete application for a name or title transfer. Get a dated acknowledgement listing your documents. If the transfer is not done and no defect is pointed out in writing, write to the AEE of the subdivision, and use the CGRF route if that fails.

Common problems and how to solve them

Questions

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