How to Read Your BESCOM Electricity Bill

1. Gruha Jyoti — the free-units scheme

Under Gruha Jyoti, registered domestic consumers get their usage free up to an entitlement based on their historical average consumption (capped around 200 units). Use less than your entitlement and the bill prints ₹0; exceed it and you pay for the entire consumption, not just the excess — which is why one heavy month can bring a surprisingly full bill. The Karnataka calculator models the scheme when you opt in.

2. Energy charge — slabs that start at 30 units

Karnataka's LT-1 slab ladder is unusually fine-grained at the bottom: a low first slab for the first 30 units, then steps at 100, 200 and 500 units (slab-wise). Current rates are on the BESCOM tariff page — and because the schedule is state-wide, the same rates apply on MESCOM, CESC, GESCOM and HESCOM.

3. Fixed charge — by phase and load

The fixed charge is banded (single-phase up to 2.5 kW, then higher bands), billed on your sanctioned load every month including zero-usage months. Over-sanctioned? See how to right-size your load.

4. No electricity-duty line — it's already inside

Karnataka publishes duty-inclusive tariffs: the slab rates already contain the state's taxes, so unlike Maharashtra or Delhi there is no separate ED percentage at the bottom of the bill. When comparing states, remember the BESCOM headline rate is closer to the true effective rate than most.

5. Verify the total

1. Check units = (current − previous reading) × MF.
2. Recompute the slab maths on the tariff page, or just enter units + load in the calculator.
3. If Gruha Jyoti applied last month but not this month, the cause is almost always consumption above your entitlement — compare the units, not the rupees.

Frequently asked questions

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