If your society takes low-tension supply, the transformer that feeds it belongs to your DISCOM, and who pays to upgrade it is decided by your state commission's regulations, not by the DISCOM's letter. The Electricity Act lets a commission authorise recovery of expenses "reasonably incurred" in providing a line or plant, and each state draws that line differently. In Telangana, LT connections covered by a 2026 proviso pay nothing towards the distribution transformer, while an apartment block given a dedicated one pays its full cost. Where supply needs extension of mains or a new sub-station, the national rules cap the wait at ninety days. None of this is legal advice.
What "the transformer is full" actually means
A distribution transformer steps the 11 kV feeder down to the low-tension supply your building's meters take. When the DISCOM says it is full, it means the load on that transformer is at or near the limit it plans to, and your application would take it past. That is a statement about the DISCOM's plant, not about your riser, panels or a flat's wiring, which sit on your side of the meter and are for a licensed electrician.
Section 43(2) makes it "the duty of every distribution licensee to provide, if required, electric plant or electric line for giving electric supply to the premises", and section 44 excuses the duty to supply only where the licensee is "prevented from so doing by cyclone, floods, storms or other occurrences beyond his control". The transformer itself sits inside the "distribution system", which section 2(19) defines as "the system of wires and associated facilities" running to "the point of connection to the installation of the consumers". We read the consolidated Act as archived on 3 October 2026 (web.archive.org copy of cercind.gov.in; last verified 21 October 2026).
So a full transformer is work for the licensee to do and price; whether a particular refusal is lawful is for your Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum to decide. This page picks up where our explainer on building electrical capacity ends, at "ask the DISCOM about spare capacity". If the question is one flat's own limit, start with sanctioned load.
Ask for it in writing: the loading figures to request
A verbal "transformer is full" gives you nothing to check, price or escalate, so ask for a written reply against your application's registration number. In Maharashtra the licensee already owes you part of this: after inspecting the premises it "shall intimate the Applicant of the details of any works that are required to be undertaken" (regulation 6.4 of the Supply Code cited below), and it must "inform an Applicant, upon request, of the reasons, if any, for non-disposal" (regulation 5.7(e)).
| Ask for | Why you need it |
|---|---|
| The transformer's number and rated capacity in kVA | Identifies the plant and fixes the headroom sum's starting point |
| Its recorded peak load, with the date and how it was measured | Separates a measured constraint from one estimated from connected load |
| The loading limit the DISCOM plans to | The ceiling it is comparing your load against; it is the DISCOM's figure to state |
| How your applied load was counted | Whether chargers were taken at full rating or with any allowance for diversity |
| The exact works required | Augmentation, a new transformer, LT extension or 11 kV work each carry different charges and timelines |
| Whether those works are dedicated to your premises | Decides whether full cost can be billed to you, and whether others may connect later |
| Each charge head with its clause or Schedule of Charges line | Lets you check the demand note against the regulation, line by line |
| The completion date and the regulation it relies on | Sets the deadline you can hold the DISCOM to |
Suppose the reply says the transformer is rated 250 kVA, its recorded peak was 214 kVA and the DISCOM plans to stay below 90% of rating; substitute the figures in your own letter.
- Planning ceiling = 250 × 0.90 = 225 kVA
- Headroom = 225 − 214 = 11 kVA
- Three 7.2 kW points, supposing your licensed electrician puts each at 7.5 kVA = 3 × 7.5 = 22.5 kVA, and 22.5 − 11 = 11.5 kVA short
- Three 3.3 kW points, supposing 3.5 kVA each = 3 × 3.5 = 10.5 kVA, inside the 11 kVA
The kW-to-kVA conversion, and whether the chargers will run together at all, is for your licensed electrician to state in writing.
Timelines: the outer limit where mains extension is needed
Section 43(1) gives "one month" for ordinary supply. Its proviso says that where supply "requires extension of distribution mains, or commissioning of new sub-stations", the licensee shall supply "immediately after such extension or commissioning or within such period as may be specified by the Appropriate Commission". The Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020, notified by the Ministry of Power as G.S.R. 818(E) on 31 December 2020 (egazette.gov.in; last verified 21 October 2026), originally repeated that open-ended wording in rule 4(11).
The Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Amendment Rules, 2024, G.S.R. 125(E) of 22 February 2024 (egazette.gov.in; last verified 21 October 2026), substituted rule 4(11) and closed it. The substituted sub-rule runs two tracks. The ordinary one: "The Commission shall specify the maximum time period, after submission of application complete in all respects, not exceeding three days in metropolitan areas, seven days in other municipal areas and fifteen days in rural areas, within which the distribution licensee shall provide new connection or modify an existing connection", with thirty days for rural areas of the hilly States and Union Territories it names. The second proviso is the track a transformer job falls into: "where such supply requires extension of distribution mains, or commissioning of new sub-stations, the distribution licensee shall supply the electricity to such premises immediately after such extension or commissioning within a period not exceeding ninety days." The figure binding your DISCOM is the one your Commission specified inside that ceiling.
Count the days as the rules do: rule 2(1)(g) of the 2020 rules defines "days" to mean "clear working days", and Maharashtra repeats it at regulation 2.2(n). Ninety days is ninety clear working days, not three calendar months.
Does a transformer count? The Act defines a "sub-station" as "a station for transforming or converting electricity for the transmission or distribution thereof" that "includes transformers" (section 2(69)), and rule 2(2) of the 2020 rules gives undefined words their meaning in the Act. A new transformer station fits that definition; replacing a transformer with a larger one is not named in the national text, so read your state code.
The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (Electricity Supply Code and Standards of Performance of Distribution Licensees including Power Quality) Regulations, 2021, dated 24 February 2021 (merc.gov.in; last verified 21 October 2026), printed in regulation 5.8 "Three (3) Months" for a connection "requiring augmentation or extension of Distribution Mains" and "One (1) Year" for one "requiring commissioning of new sub-station forming a part of the distribution system". The First Amendment, No. MERC/Tech/Regulation/2024/0402 dated 5 July 2024 (merc.gov.in; last verified 21 October 2026), substituted that second proviso with two limbs: a connection from the existing network without augmentation in "Three (3) Days", "Seven (7) Days" or "Fifteen (15) Days" by area, and one "requiring augmentation or extension of Distribution Mains or commissioning of new sub-stations forming a part of the distribution system" in "Ninety (90) Days". The separate one-year sub-station deadline is gone, so anyone quoting the 2021 file alone quotes a superseded deadline.
The same amendment inserted regulation 5.9, requiring a separate EV-charging connection "On the request from an applicant (who is existing consumer)" and tying its timeline to that same proviso. That is narrower than the central rule 4(15) below, which also names an Association and a flat owner.
Maharashtra's regulation 6.8 can stop the clock before it starts. It deems an application received only on receipt of the completed application, payment of approved charges, "availability of suitable piece of land or room" where one is required, and all consents. If the DISCOM needs a room in your premises, the ninety days do not begin until it is available.
The Ministry circulated a draft Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Amendment Rules, 2026 for comment on 12 March 2026, comments due by 11 April 2026 (powermin.gov.in; last verified 21 October 2026). It re-enacts sub-rule (11), keeping both the three, seven and fifteen day periods and the ninety-day proviso, and its clause 1(2) proposes that the rules "come into force on 1st October, 2026" — but the circulated copy carries a blank gazette number and date, and we did not find it notified as of 21 October 2026. It remains a draft; the 2024 text binds today. Compensation for delay, and the forums that award it, are set out in our guide to DISCOM delays, the CGRF and the Ombudsman.
Who pays: service-line, development and augmentation charges
Section 46 of the Act is the power behind one-time charges for new lines and plant: "The State Commission may, by regulations, authorise a distribution licensee to charge from a person requiring a supply of electricity in pursuance of section 43 any expenses reasonably incurred in providing any electric line or electrical plant used for the purpose of giving that supply." It is exercised by regulation, reaches only expenses "reasonably incurred", and is tied to "that supply" — which is why the dedicated-or-shared question below decides the bill.
The 2020 rules push states towards fixed, published charges. Rule 4(1)(e) requires every DISCOM to display on its website and office notice boards "all applicable charges to be deposited by the applicant". Rule 4(13) provides: "For electrified areas up to 150 kW or such higher load as the Commission may specify the connection charges for new connection shall be fixed on the basis of the load, category of connection sought and average cost of connection of the distribution licensee so as to avoid site inspection and estimation of demand charges for each and every case individually." Maharashtra's code uses a Commission-approved Schedule of Charges (regulations 4.3.1 and 19), and regulation 19.3 says "Any deviation from the approved Schedule of Charges shall be only with the prior approval of the Commission."
| Line on the estimate | What it pays for | Where to check it |
|---|---|---|
| Service-line charge | The line from the DISCOM's distributing main to your premises | Your state's charge schedule; in Telangana the per-kW tables under clause 7.1 |
| Development charges | A charge the state schedule sets separately from the service line | The state schedule; in Telangana Annexure-I of the principal regulation, and only below the 20 kW line explained below |
| Cost of a dedicated transformer or facility | Plant that serves your premises alone | Telangana clause 8.3; Maharashtra regulation 4.3.3, "all expenses reasonably incurred" where the applicant opts for a dedicated facility |
| Supervision charge | The DISCOM overseeing works your own contractor builds | Maharashtra regulation 4.3.7: the Schedule rate, "not exceeding Fifteen (15) per cent of the cost of labour that would have been employed by the Distribution Licensee" |
| Security deposit | Security for supply and for any line or plant provided | Section 47 of the Act and your state's security regulation |
| Your own installation | Panels, riser, cables and protection beyond the meter | Not a DISCOM charge; your licensed electrician's quote |
Under Maharashtra's regulation 4.3.7, where the licensee lets you build works through a licensed electrical contractor, it "shall not be entitled to recover expenses relating to such portion of works so carried out by the Applicant", only the supervision charge, and the work follows "the specifications prescribed by the Distribution Licensee". Price both routes before signing the demand note.
General reinforcement of the network has no line of its own. The 2024 amendment shows the central government can keep such costs off the applicant when it chooses: for rooftop solar up to 5 kW, or a higher capacity the state commission prescribes, it provides that "the cost of strengthening the distribution infrastructure, including distribution transformer" shall be "included in the revenue requirement of the distribution licensee" (rule 11(8)). The 2020 rules do not mention electric vehicles at all, and the 2024 amendment adds no equivalent for charging load, so for an EV-triggered upgrade your state's cost-recovery regulation is the whole answer.
Telangana's 2026 regulation as a worked example
The Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission (Licensee's Duty for Supply of Electricity on Request) Second Amendment Regulation, 2026, Regulation No. 01 of 2026, was signed on 17 January 2026 (tgerc.telangana.gov.in; last verified 21 October 2026) and published in the Telangana Gazette on 19 January 2026 (gazette copy, tgerc.telangana.gov.in; last verified 21 October 2026), from which it is in force. It amends the principal regulation, No. 4 of 2013, made under sections 43 and 46. A Third Amendment, Regulation No. 07 of 2026 dated 29 September 2026 (tgerc.telangana.gov.in; last verified 21 October 2026), adds charges for 11 kV HT connections and does not alter the clause 7.1 proviso or clause 8.3 quoted below.
The new proviso to clause 7.1 covers "applications for new LT connections/Additional Load under LT categories through overhead lines", other than temporary supply and layout electrification, "within 1 km radius of the electrified network". For those, the licensee collects service-line charges per kW of contracted load from fixed tables we do not reproduce; read your category's line. Beneath the LT-I domestic table sits a note, which the commercial table repeats: "For apartments, commercial complexes and multi storied buildings combined contracted load shall be considered for levying the service line charges." A further proviso settles it for covered connections: the licensee "shall be responsible for supply and erection of Distribution Transformer for all the LT connections covered under above proviso and shall not charge the cost of Distribution Transformer and shall maintain it."
Substituted clause 8.3 handles the other case: the licensee "shall recover full cost of the transformer in case of commercial complexes, apartments and multi-storied buildings where a dedicated transformer is provided while extending new LT service connections which are not covered under Proviso to Clause 7.1. In such cases, the Distribution Licensee is not entitled to collect Development Charges and shall own the transformer and maintain it." Two provisos to clause 8.3 then split covered connections at 20 kW.
| Your case under Regulation No. 01 of 2026 | Transformer cost | Development charges | Service-line charges |
|---|---|---|---|
| Covered by the proviso to 7.1, load up to 20 kW ("combined load up to 20 kW for apartments") | "shall not charge" | "as per Schedule (Annexure-I)" | Per the 7.1 tables |
| Covered by the proviso to 7.1, load above 20 kW (combined, for apartments) | "shall not charge" | "shall not levy" | "only as per Proviso to Clause 7.1" |
| Not covered by the proviso, dedicated transformer provided | "full cost" | "not entitled to collect" | Not stated in clause 8.3; ask |
The text leaves two questions. First, coverage: the proviso names connections "through overhead lines", so a building fed by underground cable should ask in writing whether it is covered, because outside the proviso a dedicated transformer is billed at full cost. Second, which load is tested against 20 kW. Suppose your flat's contracted load is 5 kW and you apply to add 7 kW for a charger, and your block has 48 flats at 5 kW each; substitute your own figures from the bills.
- Your flat after the addition = 5 + 7 = 12 kW, which is at or below 20 kW
- The block's combined contracted load = 48 × 5 + 7 = 247 kW, which is above 20 kW
As an individual connection under the proviso, your 12 kW attracts development charges; on the block's combined load, which the provisos name "for apartments", they "shall not" be levied. The text does not say which applies to one flat's added load in an apartment, so ask which figure the estimate uses, and under which clause.
Who owns the new transformer, and who else may be supplied from it
Paying for a transformer does not make it yours. Telangana's clause 8.3 says the licensee "shall own the transformer and maintain it" even where you have borne its full cost, and adds a protection: "The Distribution Licensee shall not extend power supply to any other consumer from such dedicated transformer other than the consumer(s) who has borne the full cost of the transformer." Full cost buys exclusive use, not title.
Maharashtra takes a different route. Regulation 2.2(p) defines "Dedicated Distribution Facilities (DDF)" as "such facilities, not including a service-line, forming part of the distribution system of the Distribution Licensee which are clearly and solely dedicated to the supply of electricity to a single Consumer or a group of Consumers on the same premises or contiguous premises". The middle clause is the one to notice: a DDF forms part of the licensee's system even where one consumer paid for all of it. Where an applicant opts for one, regulation 4.3.3 lets the licensee recover "all expenses reasonably incurred on such works". Under regulation 4.3.4, on termination or permanent discontinuance the consumer is "entitled to the depreciated value" if the licensee takes the assets over, and keeps them if it does not. A service line differs: regulation 4.3.2 lets the licensee use it "to provide supply to any other Applicant" even after you paid, "except if such supply is detrimental to the supply to the existing Consumer".
Before the society signs, get these on the DISCOM's letterhead:
- whether the transformer is dedicated to your premises or part of the general network;
- who will own it, and who maintains it (Telangana: the licensee; Maharashtra regulation 4.3.6: the licensee "shall maintain the works for the purpose of giving supply");
- whether any other consumer may be connected to it, and on what terms;
- whether the charge would be lower if it were treated as shared network rather than dedicated plant.
If the answer is "general network" but the price is "full cost to you", ask under which clause.
Space for a new transformer inside your premises
A new transformer for your block may need a plot or a room on society land. Maharashtra regulation 6.5 says that where the licensee thinks supply "requires installation of transformers, switch gear, meter and all other apparatus up to the Point of Supply within the Applicant's premises, the Applicant shall make a suitable piece of land or a suitable room within such premises available to the Distribution Licensee, by way of lease". Its first proviso fixes the lease "at Rupee One (₹1) per annum", and its second puts "expenses, if any, towards registration of lease agreement" on the applicant.
Regulation 6.6 says that where land or a room is required "under the Development Control Rules of the local authority" or by a state authority, the terms "shall be as determined under the said Rules or by the said authority", so a space reserved under your building's sanctioned plan may come on other terms. And regulation 6.2 fixes meters "at ground floor" in multi-storied buildings; a consumer who wants them elsewhere does so "with installation of Bus Riser arrangement at its own cost", and the riser "shall be handed over to Distribution Licensee for operation and maintenance purpose".
The space is common property, so leasing it is a decision for the body your bye-laws or deed empower, recorded before signing. Suppose the room would take two bays the society lets at ₹1,500 a month each; take the real figure from your own accounts.
- Rent forgone per year = 2 × 1,500 × 12 = ₹36,000
- Lease income from the DISCOM = ₹1 per annum
That figure belongs in the general-body paper beside the DISCOM's estimate. Location, access, clearances and fire separation for the room are for the DISCOM to specify, and the society's side of the work must be specified and certified by a licensed electrician.
Finding the same clauses for your own state
Your supply code is made under section 50 and any cost-recovery regulation under section 46; a regulation's preamble names the sections it uses, the quickest way to confirm you have the right document.
- Open your state commission's list of final regulations, not the drafts page, and find the supply code and any cost-recovery regulation.
- Search it for "augmentation", "sub-station", "dedicated", "development charges", "transformer", "lease" and "room".
- Find the current schedule of charges or cost-data order the commission approved, and its date.
- Open the commission's list of amendments and read every one after the principal regulation; Maharashtra's three months became ninety days only in an amendment.
- Compare the DISCOM's website, which rule 4(1)(e) requires to show "all applicable charges", against what the commission approved.
If you cannot find a clause, ask the DISCOM in writing to name the provision it is charging under; a charge that cannot be traced to a regulation or approved schedule is one to question before paying.
While you wait: splitting costs, interim charging and escalation
Dividing the regulated charge inside the society is ordinary shared-cost work. Ask whether the upgrade would be needed if no charging point existed, apportion on that test using our cost-isolation worksheet, settle the grey zone with the method in who pays for EV-charger wiring, and write down what later connections repay, as in reimbursing the first funders. The one regulation-specific point to carry in: where Telangana prices a charge on the apartment's combined contracted load, the figure reflects the whole building, not only the residents who triggered it.
While works are pending, the headroom sum above tells you whether smaller points fit. See 3.3 kW versus 7.2 kW charging for what a lower rating costs in time, and load management for keeping simultaneous draw inside a limit. Any interim arrangement must stay within the load the DISCOM has sanctioned and be signed off by your licensed electrician.
If the regulated period passes, write citing your registration number, rule 4(11) and your state clause; compensation, the Forum and the Ombudsman are on our DISCOM-delay page, and the application itself in our load-enhancement walkthrough.
Common questions
Can the DISCOM refuse an EV connection because the transformer is full?
Section 43 makes supply on request a duty, section 43(2) makes providing "electric plant or electric line" part of it, and section 44 excuses the duty only for events "beyond his control". The proviso to section 43(1) gives extra time where extension or a new sub-station is needed, not a right to refuse. Whether a refusal is lawful is for the Forum.
Should the society pay for the transformer, or only the residents with EVs?
The regulation decides what the DISCOM can charge; your society decides how to divide it. On the beneficiary test our cost pages use, an upgrade needed without any charger is a building cost; one that exists only for charging is funded by the residents who connect, with later connections repaying them. Record the split in a general-body resolution before paying.
If we pay the full cost, do we own the transformer?
Not in Telangana: clause 8.3 says the licensee "shall own the transformer and maintain it", and in return may not supply anyone else from it. In Maharashtra, a dedicated facility paid for under regulation 4.3.3 carries a right to its depreciated value if the licensee takes it over at termination. Check your own state's text.
The DISCOM wants a room in our parking. Can we refuse?
In Maharashtra, regulation 6.5 makes providing land or a room the applicant's obligation where the licensee needs one, at a lease of "Rupee One (₹1) per annum". Nothing in it penalises a refusal, but regulation 6.8 does not treat your application as received until the space is available, so the connection will not move. Other states may differ.
Would a separate EV connection avoid the transformer problem?
Not by itself. Rule 4(15), inserted in 2024, requires the licensee, on the request of an association, a flat owner or any other consumer, to provide "a separate connection for supply of electricity for Electric Vehicle charging system", with its timeline under rule 4(11). Maharashtra's regulation 5.9 does the same for "an applicant (who is existing consumer)". Either way it is fed through the same network, so a full transformer constrains it too; what changes is tariff and metering, which our guide to choosing your EV charging connection weighs.