Separate electricity meter for a rented portion or each floor in Karnataka: rules and documents

Why one meter per portion is worth it

• Fair bills. Each family pays for what it uses. No sub-meter readings, no arguments.
• Gruha Jyothi. The free-units scheme works on one registration per meter. Two households on one meter can claim only one entitlement between them, and usage above 200 units makes the whole bill payable.
• No resale problem. Collecting electricity money from a tenant through your own sub-meter is, strictly, supplying power to another person. The conditions of supply allow this only in specific cases, such as complexes and associations on a no-profit-no-loss basis.
• Safety and disconnection. If one tenant does not pay, only that portion is disconnected. Each portion also gets its own RCCB and isolator.

It also helps when you sell or refinance. A buyer or bank sees each portion with its own account, its own deposit and a clean payment record, instead of one meter with years of informal sharing behind it.

What the rules allow

The KERC conditions of supply allow separate service mains from a single source in one building, with a common isolation point, and they require metering at the ground floor only. In practice that means:

• One service cable from the pole to a common meter board near the main entrance, at a height the ESCOM can read (the rules say 0.6 m to 1.6 m above ground).
• A bus bar or distribution arrangement on that board, with a separate meter for each portion.
• A separate circuit (sub-main) from each meter to the DB of that portion. Floors must not share circuits.
• Each portion is a separate installation with its own RR / account number, agreement and deposit.

The ESCOM does not refuse a second meter just because the building has one owner. It does check that each portion is a genuinely separate unit (its own entrance and kitchen) and that the whole building's load and built-up area are within the limits below.

Documents: owner and tenant

Owner applying for new meters for each portion (the usual and easiest route):

Tenant applying in their own name: for domestic premises, KERC's conditions of supply say the owner's consent is not necessary where the owner is not the occupant. The tenant gives proof of occupancy (a registered lease deed, latest rent receipt or a valid power of attorney) and signs an indemnity bond to the ESCOM. Many section offices still ask for an owner's NOC. Giving one saves time, so owners who want separate meters should simply provide it.

Already have one meter in the owner's name for a portion and want it in the tenant's name? That is a name transfer, not a new meter. See electricity name transfer.

Meter board layout that passes inspection

• Spread portions across phases. On a three-phase service, put each tenant's single-phase meter on a different phase. That balances the load naturally.
• Don't feed the pump from one tenant's meter. The sump and overhead tank serve everyone. Give them a common meter.
• Earthing: one proper earth system, with the earth conductor taken to each DB.

Splitting an existing single meter

Most of our calls are from owners with an old house on one meter who have added a floor or started renting part of it. Splitting the meter is a new-connection job for each extra portion, plus some rewiring.

1. Survey the wiring. In older houses, circuits from different rooms are mixed: the upstairs bathroom geyser is fed from the ground-floor DB, and the staircase light from upstairs. The contractor has to trace and separate them so each portion's circuits start from its own DB.
2. Check the service cable and the phase. If the house is on a single-phase service, adding a second 3–5 kW meter usually takes the total above 5 kW. The ESCOM will then want a three-phase service from the pole, with each meter on a different phase.
3. Build the common meter board. Move the existing meter onto it with the new meters. Shifting an existing meter needs a "line clear" from the ESCOM before your contractor touches it. Never work on the incoming side live.
4. Apply for each new portion with the documents above and a test report for that portion. The existing account's sanctioned load may be reduced, since part of the load now moves to the new meter.
5. Tell your tenants in writing about the shutdown hours for the changeover, and give them their new account numbers when the meters are fixed.

If the house was built without a plan, or with extra floors beyond the plan, the new meter application can run into the OC rules. Read electricity connection without an OC before you start the rewiring.

Worked example: a ground + 1 house with a tenant upstairs

An owner lives on the ground floor and rents out the first floor. The house has one single-phase meter of 3 kW in the owner's name.

1. Load. The tenant's portion needs about 3 kW. Together that is 6 kW, above the 5 kW single-phase limit, so the service changes to three-phase from the pole, with each meter on a different phase. See single-phase vs three-phase.
2. Rewiring. The contractor separates the first-floor circuits, fits a DB with an RCCB upstairs and runs a sub-main to it from the new meter board. The sump pump and stair light move to a common meter.
3. Applications. A new connection for the first floor, a common meter, and a revised load for the existing account, each with its own test report. The process is the same as for any permanent connection.
4. Shutdown. The changeover to the new meter board needs a line clear from the ESCOM, so agree a date with the tenant and keep it short.
5. Afterwards. The tenant registers for Gruha Jyothi on the new meter, and the rent agreement says how the common meter bill is shared.

Each portion's DB should have its own RCCB and correctly rated MCBs; see MCB, RCCB and RCBO explained.

The common-area meter

The pump, staircase and corridor lights, gate light and any lift serve all portions. Put them on a separate meter in the owner's or association's name. Under the current tariff, LT-1 domestic includes water supply installations and independently serviced lifts for the bona fide use of residential complexes or residences. So a common meter in a residential building is normally billed at the domestic rate, not commercial. Confirm the category when you apply.

Split the common bill in the rent agreement: a fixed monthly amount per portion, or a share by floor area. Write it down. That is where most landlord-tenant disputes start.

Gruha Jyothi with separate meters

• Each meter can carry one Gruha Jyothi registration. A tenant registers for the meter of the portion they live in, using the rental agreement.
• One person cannot register several meters in their own name. In 2026 the state ran a reverification drive after finding cases of several meters under one name. The deadline was extended to 30 September 2026. BESCOM said tenants would continue to get the benefit after verification.
• A new meter has no consumption history, so a default entitlement is used until the household's own average builds up. The bill shows the entitled units.
• The common meter is not a household and does not get Gruha Jyothi.

More detail is in our Gruha Jyothi guide and Gruha Jyothi for new connections and tenants.

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.

• KERC Conditions of Supply of Electricity, clauses 4.02, 4.09, 9 and Annex-8 (GESCOM copy)
• KERC Tariff Order 2025, LT-1 schedule, HRECS copy
• Deccan Herald: Karnataka govt extends Gruha Jyothi reverification deadline to September 30
• Deccan Herald: Gruha Jyothi: tenants needn't worry, Bescom clarifies
• Deccan Herald: Gruha Lakshmi, Gruha Jyothi beneficiaries must resubmit applications

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