EV charging in a Bengaluru apartment: the BESCOM route after KERC's 2024 order, from application to meter

If your Bengaluru flat has an allotted parking slot, the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission's order of 30 July 2024 lets you power a charger within your existing sanctioned load, after enhancing that load with BESCOM's approval, or through a new connection under the EV tariff. A BESCOM circular may add a sub-meter, though whether that covers a flat's domestic meter is unsettled. Apply for a new connection at your sub-division with identity proof, proof of ownership or occupancy and a self-certification of wiring safety; for a load enhancement, bring the documents the Sub-Divisional Officer asks for. BESCOM's FAQ says it needs no no-objection certificate for a point in your own slot. None of this is legal or electrical advice.

The seven Karnataka documents, and which one answers which question

Every link above was last verified 16 October 2026; each returned a PDF from a Government of Karnataka host. The order is the signed copy HESCOM publishes. The FAQ carries an August 2023 stamp yet cites a "K.E.R.C Tariff order 2024", so it appears to have been revised without a new date; use it for procedure, not tariff figures. The amendment says other conditions "remain un-altered as mentioned in CYS - 83, CYS - 110 & CYS -134". Its references also list CYS-110 of 22 December 2020, CYS-100 of 7 September 2021 (an "Amendment to CYS-83") and CYS-134 of 9 November 2021. We could not find those three on BESCOM's site and have not read them, so ask your sub-division in writing whether any of them changes the sub-meter terms quoted below.

What KERC's 30 July 2024 order directs, clause by clause

The Commission made the order under "Section 86(1) of the Electricity Act, 2003" and the state's Conditions of Supply (CoS). Its directions are to "The Distribution licensees", none of them named, so they reach every licensee the Commission regulates, including the five ESCOMs (BESCOM, MESCOM, HESCOM, GESCOM and CESC) to which the Chief Electrical Inspector copied his reply. Outside Bengaluru the clauses apply as written; the BESCOM guidelines, FAQ and circulars below are BESCOM's own, and your ESCOM's may differ.

Clause 9A, as the preamble quotes it, covers buildings in metropolitan, development-authority and city-corporation areas where "(a) The requisitioned load is 250 kW or more; or (b) The built-up area of the building is more than 5,000 Square meters", and asks for "not less than two number of charging points". The preamble also records the EV energy charge "at Rs.4.50 per kWh as per the tariff Order 2024", the figure on 30 July 2024; read the current tariff order before using any rate. Whether clause (v) obliges your society to allow your point is unsettled and covered in our reading of what is actually settled; this page takes the procedure from there.

What the Chief Electrical Inspector sent instead of wiring diagrams

Clause (vii)(a) asked for meter-housing, wiring and earthing norms and a standard wiring diagram. The Inspectorate's reply of 14 August 2024 to the Commission's Secretary (last verified 16 October 2026) answers point by point:

• Meter housing "comes under the Escom's Purview" and follows the Central Electricity Authority (Installation and Operation of Meters) Regulations, 2006, so meter questions go to BESCOM.
• Wiring and earthing: it points to Chapter XI of the Central Electricity Authority (Measures relating to Safety and Electric Supply) Regulations, 2023, and encloses as Annexure-1 seventeen "General safety requirements" and five points under "Earth protection system". Anyone setting up a station, it says, "shall be strictly adhered to these norms".
• The wiring diagram was not issued: "Single line diagram may differ from installation to installation depending on the Manufacturer's Specification. Hence it is arduous to implement the specified standard wiring diagram."

So there is no government drawing to attach: the wiring, and its diagram, must be specified and certified by a licensed electrician from the charger maker's specification. That matters because BESCOM's guidelines ask an individual applicant for a "Self-certification from consumer" that "ensures safety of wiring and placement of EV charging point", so you sign for wiring someone else designed. Four Annexure-1 items bear directly on it: each point "supplied individually by a dedicated sub-circuit" whose overcurrent device "shall be part of a switchboard"; socket-outlets "at least 800 millimetre above the finished ground level"; "Only four core cable" for three-phase points; and "The portable socket outlets shall not be permitted". Have your electrician confirm each in writing at the site assessment, and keep it with your charger paperwork.

Choosing between the routes for your own slot

For a flat with an allotted space, clause (v) gives three routes and BESCOM's sub-meter circular a possible fourth.

If your flat is enrolled in the state's Gruha Jyothi free-electricity scheme, Routes 1 and 1A put charging on the same meter as that entitlement; that arithmetic is outside this page. Without an allotted slot, clause (v) sends you to common-area points; see charging without an allotted slot.

Route 1: charging within your flat's existing sanctioned load

BESCOM's FAQ asks, at question 11, whether a certificate is "required from BESCOM for installing Charging Points in Individual Parking lots of Apartment". Its full answer: "The installation of charging points in individual parking lots of apartment is at the discretion of consumers. No N.O.C required from BESCOM in this regard." It speaks for BESCOM only; your association's agreement to a cable route through common property is a separate matter.

Question 12, written for "Domestic charging points for Individual house / self-use", decides whether you need more load: "If the sanctioned load meets the load demand (including charging of EV), then no load enhancement is required." Charging is then billed at your flat's existing tariff under clause (v). The steps:

1. Read the sanctioned load and phase on your bill (what sanctioned load means).
2. Have a licensed electrician compare your evening demand plus the charger against it. In the FAQ's worked examples the charger's full rating is added to the existing sanctioned load.
3. If it fits, neither the FAQ nor the guidelines ask you to file anything with BESCOM, and the meter stays.
4. Run the cable "from the Metering Panel to where the charging stations/points are located complying with the CEA safety standards/Regulations" (clause (v)), on a design specified and certified by a licensed electrician.
5. Write to your committee with the charger, load, cable route and who pays (requesting permission).

Suppose charging adds 120 units a month and your bill's last slab is ₹8 per unit; substitute both from your own bill. Then 120 × 8 = ₹960 a month before taxes and duties. The monthly cost method turns your kilometres into units.

Route 2: a new EV-tariff connection for your allotted slot

Clause (v) continues: "Alternatively, they may choose a new connection under the EV charging tariff category determined by the Commission from time to time and get it sanctioned from the distribution Licensee." BESCOM's guidelines of 7 October 2024 (last verified 16 October 2026) say "The jurisdictional sub division or Sub divisional officer needs to accept the application" for "individual connections for each and every owner", with these documents "whichever and wherever applicable":

• identity proof of the applicant (passport and Aadhaar are given as examples);
• "Proof of applicant's ownership/possession or occupancy over the premises for which connection is being sought";
• "Self-certification from consumer (only, in case of individual connections for each and every owner) which ensures safety of wiring and placement of EV charging point".

Sanction comes from "the jurisdictional BESCOM office ( sanctioning as per DoP)", that is, the officer whose delegated powers cover your load. The premises is your slot, and the guidelines do not say what proves possession of one; an allotment letter or sale deed naming it would be the natural evidence, but ask first. None of the BESCOM documents we read lists a society no-objection certificate.

Circular CYS-83 (last verified 16 October 2026) has a row for "the owner of single domestic installation": a separate EV connection follows the "procedure as being applicable for fresh connection"; supply "has to be arranged under 3-Phase, if requested power is more than 5KW" (CoS clause 3.02); the "Applicant has to install only one EV charging station"; and deposits are "on par with LT3 tariff for LT ... until it is defined by KERC". That deposit line dates from 2020, so ask what applies now.

Route 2 pays only if the lower energy rate outruns the new fixed charge. Take U as monthly charging units, D your domestic top-slab rate, E the EV energy rate, and F the EV fixed charge per kW on a K kW connection. Route 2 is cheaper each month when U × (D − E) exceeds F × K, so the break-even is U = (F × K) ÷ (D − E).

Suppose your bill's last slab is ₹8.50 per unit, and suppose the tariff order in force gave an EV energy rate of ₹5 and a fixed charge of ₹100 per kW, on a 4 kW connection. All four are placeholders: substitute your own bill and the order in force. Then F × K = 100 × 4 = ₹400 a month, D − E = 8.50 − 5 = ₹3.50 a unit, and break-even = 400 ÷ 3.50 = about 114 units a month. Below that, Route 2 costs more every month, before its one-time outlays for a second meter, cable and deposit. If D is below E on your figures, Route 2 never wins on running cost.

Route 3: a BESCOM sub-meter, the 49% limit and the SM1 number

CYS-83's sub-meter section lists its purposes as "Residential/ Commercial/ Industrial / EV charging", and the 2023 amendment's preamble speaks of sub-meters "with main meter of HT/LT in nature" for charging "at residential and commercial complexes". But CYS-83's row for "the owner of single domestic installation" offers only supply "from the applicant's existing meter of domestic installation for proper energy recording" or a separate connection, never a sub-meter, and the KERC order provides sub-meters only for HT/EHT buildings. Ask your sub-division in writing whether it will sanction a sub-meter behind a flat's domestic meter before you plan around one.

CYS-83 applies "until such time KERC incorporates in the 'Conditions of Supply of Electricity of Distribution Licensees in the State of Karnataka'". With the amendment of 2 November 2023 (last verified 16 October 2026), the procedure reads:

• Size: "the total load of sub meter/meters requested shall not be more than 49% of contract demand or sanctioned load of Main meter (For application of Tariff)", and "The requisition load of sub meter/meters should be less than 150kW", raised from 25% and 99 kW.
• Number: "'Existing RR No.SM1' for sub meter 1", so your flat's RR number with SM1 added becomes the charger's account.
• Deposit: "No Additional deposit shall be collected at the initial time of registration for Sub meter".
• Billing: the main meter keeps its fixed charges, and its energy is billed after deducting the sub-meter's units, at the main meter's slabs. On the sub-meter "FC charges are NOT applicable", and energy is billed "as per the applicable tariff in force"; the circular does not name the category, so ask whether it will be the EV tariff. The bill shows both readings with time-of-day readings.

If your sub-division accepts one, run the 49% line on your own numbers. Suppose your flat's sanctioned load is 8 kW; use the figure on your bill. Then 8 × 0.49 = 3.92 kW, so a 3.3 kW point fits and a 7.2 kW point does not. A 7.2 kW point needs 7.2 ÷ 0.49 = 14.7 kW sanctioned, which means enhancing first (3.3 kW or 7.2 kW).

A BESCOM sub-meter, billed by BESCOM under its SM1 number, is not a society's private sub-meter (own meter, sub-meter or common meter).

Routes for the association: common-area connection, single point and HT sub-meters

If the building has space identified under CoS clause 9A (the 250 kW or 5,000 square metre buildings), clause (ii) applies: decide how many connections that space needs and obtain sanction. Every other building's common area falls under clause (iii): obtain sanction, extend the wiring from the metering panel, and house the meters in that panel. Read with its words "in addition to already availed connections", clause (ii)'s "single point connection for the Association" is one connection in the association's name for charging, not a building supplied through one bulk meter; BESCOM's guidelines call it "a single point connection for association at common location". The options:

• points on the existing common-area connection, within its load or after enhancement, at that connection's existing tariff (clause (iv));
• a separate connection in the association's name (clauses (ii) and (iii)); ask which tariff category it will be sanctioned under, since the order names the EV tariff only for a flat owner's new connection and for HT sub-meters;
• a BESCOM sub-meter behind the common-area connection under CYS-83, if the sub-division sanctions one, inside the 49% line and with no fixed charge on it;
• individual connections for owners in the identified common area (clause (ii)).

The guidelines list identity proof and proof of possession or occupancy; the self-certification is listed only for individual connections. Our suggestion, not a BESCOM requirement: carry a resolution naming the authorised signatory and the location of the points. The work from the metering panel must conform to the CEA safety regulations, specified and certified by a licensed electrician.

Suppose the common-area connection has a sanctioned load of 40 kW and the sub-division accepts a sub-meter on it; use your society's bill. Then 40 × 0.49 = 19.6 kW of sub-meter capacity: two 7.2 kW points (14.4 kW) fit, three (21.6 kW) do not, and five 3.3 kW points (16.5 kW) do. For the wider proposal, see proposing a common charging station.

Societies on high-tension supply have clause (vi). BESCOM's FAQ, at question 15, adds that on "HT2(a), HT2(b), HT2(c), HT4 tariffs" the "sub-meter Shall be provided on LT side for the load not exceeding 150 KW".

Load-enhancement thresholds and documents, worked

Five load lines in the BESCOM documents decide what happens when you add a charger. The generic process is in our load enhancement guide; these are the Karnataka figures.

On documents, question 13 says only "The relevant documents as requested by SDO shall be submitted to the concerned SDO along with the application as per the Conditions of Power Supply of K.E.R.C." Ask the Sub-Divisional Officer for the list in writing before you file. Four cases; the last three reuse the FAQ's own example figures, and every input is an assumption to replace with your own bill:

1. Flat at 5 kW single-phase, adding 7.2 kW: 5 + 7.2 = 12.2 kW. Above 5 kW, so supply moves to three-phase under CoS clause 3.02 as CYS-83 quotes it (what that involves); below 18 kW, so no CT-operated meter.
2. Flat at 15 kW, adding 3.3 kW: 15 + 3.3 = 18.3 kW, so a CT-operated meter, exactly the FAQ's example 2. At 14 kW, 14 + 3.3 = 17.3 kW stays below the line.
3. An installation at 22 kW, adding 7.2 kW: 22 + 7.2 = 29.2 kW, inside the 25 to 35 kW band. The FAQ says only that the CoS applies; we have not read the CoS clause in force, so ask which one the sub-division applies.
4. An installation at 32 kW, adding 7.2 kW: 32 + 7.2 = 39.2 kW, past 35 kW. On CYS-83's wording the applicant builds the line or plant at its own cost.

One point is open: the FAQ's examples speak of an installation's load, while built-up area belongs to the building, so ask in writing whether your sub-division adds every connection in the building together when testing the 25 kW and 35 kW lines. Whether a lower-rated charger keeps you under a line is for a licensed electrician to judge, never a reason to under-declare load.

What the draft KERC Supply Regulations 2026 may change

The Draft KERC Electricity Supply Regulations (ESR), 2026 appeared in the Karnataka Gazette, Part III, No. 716, on 14 August 2026, with objections invited within 30 days. A public hearing notice of 25 September 2026 lists six hearings between 7 and 22 October 2026, all in HESCOM and GESCOM districts. On 16 October 2026 the Commission's home page listed the draft and that notice but no notified final text; both links were last verified that day. Every clause below is therefore DRAFT and not in force. If notified, draft clause 1.3 makes them effective on publication, and the preamble lists the Conditions of Supply for repeal.

• Draft clause 9.2 would require, where "the requisitioned load is 250 kW or more; OR the built-up area of the building is more than 5,000 square metres", "a minimum of 4 (four) numbers of electric vehicle charging stations", against "not less than two" charging points under clause 9A today.
• Draft clause 11.5(5) restates the three routes for consumers "in the individual buildings or MS buildings with dedicated parking" and adds a proviso: "the Distribution Licensee may sanction the sub meter(s) on the request of the consumers for EV charging stations", billed at the EV tariff with "no fixed charges". That would move sub-metering from a BESCOM circular into a statewide regulation, though as a "may", not a right.
• Draft clause 9.1(3), for loads of "25 kW or more but less than 35 kW" or 500 to 800 square metres, would have the applicant give space "at free of cost" for a transformer erected "at the cost of the Licensee"; clause 9.1(2) would extend clause 9.1(1), written for new buildings of 35 kW or more or above 800 square metres, to existing buildings once existing plus additional load "reaches or exceeds 35 kW".

If your application is pending when final regulations are notified, ask the sub-division in writing which text it is applying. Until then, quote the order and the circulars, not the draft.

Common questions

Do I need a no-objection certificate from BESCOM for a charger in my apartment parking slot?

No. BESCOM's FAQ, question 11, says installing points in individual parking lots "is at the discretion of consumers" and "No N.O.C required from BESCOM in this regard." That covers BESCOM only; your association's agreement to the cable route through common areas is a separate question.

Does the KERC order apply if my supply is from HESCOM, MESCOM, GESCOM or CESC?

Yes. Its directions are to "The Distribution licensees" without naming any, so they apply in every ESCOM's area, and clause (vii) tells each licensee to issue its own guidelines. BESCOM's guidelines, FAQ and circulars are BESCOM's own; ask your ESCOM for its equivalents.

Will BESCOM give me a standard wiring diagram?

No. The Chief Electrical Inspector's letter of 14 August 2024 said a standard diagram is "arduous to implement" because installations differ, and sent the CEA safety provisions instead; BESCOM's guidelines contain none either. Your licensed electrician draws the diagram for your charger and building.

What is an SM1 number?

The account number BESCOM gives a sub-meter under CYS-83: your existing RR number followed by SM1 for the first sub-meter. The sub-meter is billed under it at "the applicable tariff in force", with no fixed charge. Whether BESCOM will sanction one behind a flat's domestic meter is unsettled, so ask in writing.

Is charging on my flat's own meter billed at the EV tariff?

No. Under clause (v), a point within your existing or enhanced sanctioned load is billed "under the existing installation category tariff", your flat's domestic tariff. The EV tariff applies to a new connection under the EV charging tariff category; a BESCOM sub-meter is billed at "the applicable tariff in force", so ask which category your sub-division will apply.

Can a tenant apply to BESCOM?

The order and guidelines name "occupiers" alongside owners, and accept proof of "ownership/possession or occupancy". Whether a rent agreement is enough is for your sub-division to say; get your landlord's written consent as well, and see our tenant and landlord addendum.