No power at home in Karnataka? Where to complain, what to tell them and what not to touch

Step 1: is it only your house?

If only one phase is gone in a three-phase house (some rooms work, others don't), mention "one phase missing" in the complaint. It is usually a fuse or a loose joint on the pole or in the service cut-out, and it is a quick job for the lineman.

Step 2: where to complain

1912 is the common 24x7 helpline for every ESCOM in Karnataka. At times of heavy rain it gets congested. That is why the ESCOMs have added WhatsApp lines, where you can send a photo and your location. The numbers below are the ones we could confirm from ESCOM announcements, ESCOM social media accounts or news reports. Numbers change, so check your ESCOM's website if one does not respond.

The ESCOM apps (BESCOM Mithra, Nanna MESCOM, CESC CSS, GESCOM Snehi) also take complaints and give you a docket number.

What to tell them so they find you fast

Planned shutdowns: check before you call

Many outages are scheduled maintenance: line work, tree trimming, substation work or new connections. ESCOMs announce these in advance on their websites and social media, and local newspapers usually print the BESCOM, CESC and MESCOM shutdown lists for the next day. If a shutdown is listed for your feeder, the supply will come back at the end of the announced window, and a complaint won't make it faster.

For small businesses and clinics: follow your ESCOM's X / Facebook account and the local paper's power cut column. Plan UPS and generator fuel around announced shutdowns.

How long should repairs take?

KERC's Rights of Consumers, Standards of Performance and allied matters Regulations, 2022 (notified 7 October 2022) set guaranteed standards for ESCOMs and compensation when they are missed. For a failed distribution transformer (DTR), the standard reported from the regulation schedule is replacement within 24 hours in cities and towns and 48 hours in rural areas, with at least 95% of failed transformers to be replaced within those limits. The same regulations also cover the time to restore supply after a fuse-off or a line breakdown, reconnection, voltage complaints and billing complaints.

• Compensation for a missed guaranteed standard is adjusted in your bills. The exact amount depends on the item in the schedule. Quote your docket number when you claim it at the subdivision.
• Deccan Herald has reported that hardly any consumer has used these rights. The rules only help if you keep the docket number and claim in writing.
• In rural areas, transformer failures are often caused by overload from unauthorised pump sets. If your village transformer keeps failing, raise it with the AEE as a capacity problem, not just a breakdown. See our farmers' IP set guide.

Low voltage, flickering and burnt appliances

Not every complaint is "no power". Low voltage (lights dim, fans slow, the fridge clicks on and off) and fluctuation are just as important to report. Tell the helpline it is a voltage complaint, not a supply failure, so it goes to the right staff.

• Whole street dim in the evening: usually an overloaded transformer or a long LT line. A one-time fix won't solve it. Ask the AEE in writing for a load study, transformer upgrade or an extra transformer. Residents' associations and layout owners often get faster action. See layout electrification and DTCs.
• Only your house dim or flickering: often a loose neutral at the pole, the service cut-out or your meter board. A loose neutral can push very high voltage into some rooms and burn appliances. Switch off the main and complain at once.
• Appliances burnt during a fault: photograph the damage, note the time and docket number, and give a written complaint to the subdivision. Whether any compensation is paid depends on the cause and the regulations. Keep the records anyway.
• Protect your loads: a properly sized stabiliser for ACs and fridges in areas with poor voltage, and a surge protection device at the DB. These are small costs compared with a compressor or TV board.

Farms, small industries and clinics should log every outage and voltage problem with date, time and docket number. A written log over a few weeks is what moves an ESCOM to upgrade a transformer or a feeder.

When the same fault keeps coming back

A fault that returns every few days is usually a weak joint, an overloaded transformer or a tree on the line. Each complaint gets fixed and closed, and the cause stays. To get it solved:

• Register a fresh complaint every time and note each docket number, date and hours without supply.
• After three or four repeats, write to the AEE of the subdivision listing the dockets and asking for the cause to be fixed, not just the fuse replaced.
• If a guaranteed standard was missed, claim compensation in writing. Our post on ESCOM delays and compensation explains the CGRF and Ombudsman route.
• If your own RCCB or MCB keeps tripping while the neighbours have power, the fault is inside. See MCB, RCCB and RCBO explained, and get an electrician to test the circuits.
• If the meter display goes dark or shows an error, mention it; our meter guide explains the display.
• For long or frequent cuts, plan backup: a correctly sized inverter, or a generator with a changeover switch. See DG set and generator rules.

What you can and cannot do yourself

Back-feeding is a real danger for linemen. A generator or home inverter wired without a proper changeover switch can make the "dead" line live while someone is working on it. If you run a generator, get a licensed contractor to fit a changeover switch.

Rain, storms and fallen lines

• Treat every fallen wire as live. Stay at least 10 metres away and keep others away.
• Don't touch metal gates, fences or poles near a fallen line, or wade through standing water near it.
• If water has entered the meter board or DB, switch off the main from a dry spot if you safely can. If not, call 1912 and wait.
• After the supply returns, turn on loads gradually. Fridge and AC first after a few minutes, not all at once.

More on this in our monsoon electrical safety guide, and for lines passing close to buildings see HT line safety clearance.

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.

• Siasat: BESCOM introduces WhatsApp and social media complaint system
• Daily Jagran: BESCOM district-wise WhatsApp helpline numbers
• MESCOM Customer Care on X: WhatsApp 9483041912
• Deccan Herald: Now make complaints to CESC on WhatsApp
• Star of Mysore: CESC helpline tag
• NewsKarnataka: GESCOM introduces SMS service (Aug 2024)
• Indian States (CSIS): KERC Rights of Consumers & SoP Regulations 2022
• Deccan Herald: No plea in 4 years under rules that protect power consumers' rights
• KERC: Regulations
• BESCOM: Transformer details

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