Temporary electricity connection for house construction: documents, tariff, smart meter and conversion

What a temporary connection is

Temporary supply is given for a fixed period for construction, events or other short-term needs. It is billed under a temporary tariff that is higher than domestic, and the ESCOM collects an advance or deposit based on the estimated consumption. KERC has directed that new and temporary connections be given with smart meters, which are often prepaid.

What temporary supply costs to run

Temporary supply is billed under the LT-7 category. KERC's tariff order of March 2025 fixes it at ₹10.50 per unit and a fixed charge of ₹200 per kW per month for loads below 67 HP, unchanged for FY2025-26 to FY2027-28. That is nearly twice the domestic energy rate, and tax is added on top.

Your units depend on the stage: slab days with the mixer and vibrator running, curing weeks with the pump on for hours, and finishing weeks with only tools and lights. Two things keep the bill down. Ask only for the load you need, because the fixed charge runs every month of the build. And move to permanent supply as soon as the house qualifies, instead of finishing the interiors on a ₹10.50 meter.

Our post on temporary connections for events explains the LT-7 rules, the prepaid meter and renewals in more detail.

How to apply, step by step

The process is the same in principle as a permanent connection; our new connection guide explains the forms, the inspection and how to follow up on an application number.

Documents and load

Ask for the load you actually need. A larger load means a larger advance and higher fixed charges every month of the build.

Working out the load

List what will actually run on site and read the nameplates. The ratings below are typical ranges, not fixed values:

Add up what runs together at the busiest time, not every item on the list. If any machine is three-phase, or the total goes above 5 kW, you need a three-phase temporary connection. Our post on single-phase vs three-phase explains the 5 kW limit.

Keep your load list with the application. If the engineer at the inspection sees more machines than you declared, he will assess a higher load, and the advance and fixed charge go up with it. If the site later needs a bigger machine, such as a hoist for upper floors, apply to increase the load first rather than running it over the sanctioned limit.

A safe site distribution board

Construction sites cause many electrocutions: wet ground, damaged extension cables and steel rods everywhere. A proper site board is not optional.

• A weatherproof board on a post, above ground and away from water.
• An isolator, a 30 mA RCCB and separate MCBs for the mixer, the pump and the sockets.
• An earth pit for the board. The structure of the new building is not an earth.
• Industrial sockets and armoured or heavy-duty flexible cables, never twisted joints taped over.
• Keep the service cable clear of scaffolding, and keep HT lines well away. See our HT line clearance guide.

Daily habits that keep workers safe

A well-built board is only half the job. The rest is how the site uses it every day:

• Switch off and lock the board at the end of the day and during heavy rain. Keep the key with the site supervisor.
• Press the RCCB test button once a week. If it does not trip, stop using the supply until it is replaced.
• Run cables overhead or along walls, not across the path of wheelbarrows and lorries. A cable crushed under a wheel is a hidden live wire.
• Never let anyone pull a plug out by the cable, or push bare wire ends into a socket.
• Keep the welding return lead clamped to the work, not lying on wet ground.
• Workers should not operate machines barefoot or with wet hands. Rubber footwear costs little.
• Only the electrician opens the board. Masons and helpers should not "fix" a tripped breaker by changing its rating.

An accident inside your site on your own wiring is the owner's and builder's responsibility, not the ESCOM's. Our guide on electrical accidents and compensation explains where that line is drawn. Get the site earth pit tested when the board is installed, and again if the RCCB starts tripping without an obvious cause. The steel of the new structure is not a substitute for an earth pit, and a pit that has dried out over the summer may no longer give a safe path for fault current.

Mistakes that cost money or time

• Prepaid balance running out on slab day. Recharge the meter the day before a pour. A mixer stopping halfway through casting a slab is an expensive problem.
• Letting the period lapse. Apply for renewal before the sanctioned period ends. Using supply after expiry can be treated as unauthorised.
• Supplying the neighbouring site. Running a cable to another plot from your temporary meter is giving supply to another premises. If something goes wrong, it is your connection and your liability.
• Moving in on temporary supply. Families sometimes live in the finished ground floor for months on the LT-7 rate. It is expensive and it can be questioned. Apply for the permanent connection as soon as the documents allow; see permanent connection for a new house.
• Not closing the account. When the permanent meter comes, get the temporary account closed with a final reading the same day, and claim the balance of any advance.
• Ignoring the size of the building. If the finished building will cross 25 kW or 500 sq m built-up, the permanent supply needs a transformer, and that has to be planned while the structure goes up. See apartments and multi-storey buildings.
• A generator tied into the site board without a changeover switch. It can back-feed the ESCOM line. See DG set and generator rules.

Owner or builder: whose name, who pays

When a house is built on contract, the question of who holds the temporary connection causes more arguments at handover than any wiring fault. Settle it before work starts.

• Name on the connection. The application needs ownership papers, so the connection is normally in the plot owner's name, even if the builder runs the site. The owner is then the consumer the ESCOM deals with for bills, renewals and any penalty.
• Who pays the bills. Write in the construction contract whether electricity is part of the builder's rate or paid by the owner. If the builder pays, agree that he hands over paid receipts and the prepaid recharge record every month.
• Who keeps the advance. Any advance or deposit refunded at the end belongs to whoever paid it. Note that in the contract too.
• Who looks after the site board. Name one person, usually the builder's site supervisor, responsible for the board, the RCCB test and locking it each evening.
• At handover. Take a final meter reading together, clear all dues, and make sure the account is closed or converted in the right sequence. Unpaid temporary dues on the premises can hold up the permanent connection.

If you are an owner building for the first time and want the site board, the temporary application and the later permanent connection handled as one job, you can reach us through the enquiry form.

Converting to permanent supply

Read electricity connection without OC if your building may not get an occupancy certificate, and our house construction electrical guide for the wiring stages.

Questions

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