As many as 19,303 household electricity consumers under the jurisdiction of Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (MESCOM) have voluntarily opted out of Karnataka’s Gruha Jyothi free-power benefit and chosen to pay their monthly electricity bills, according to information reported during the ongoing beneficiary-record review.
The review covers 16.32 lakh Gruha Jyothi beneficiaries in the MESCOM service area. Records of 14.62 lakh households have been checked so far, while verification of vacant homes, locked residences and houses whose occupants are living abroad remains pending.
The Gruha Jyothi scheme has provided free electricity for domestic use in Karnataka since July 2023, after the Congress-led state government introduced it as one of its five guarantee programmes. The state-wide re-verification exercise began on July 1, with MESCOM meter readers and linemen visiting homes to check consumer records and collect the required information.
Consumers can voluntarily surrender the benefit during the verification process. MESCOM officials said about 2% of domestic electricity consumers in its jurisdiction had indicated that they wanted to leave the scheme and pay their own bills.
The verification is being carried out through a Gruha Jyothi re-survey mobile application and declaration forms. When staff find a locked house, they leave an information notice at the property and send a message to the owner’s registered mobile number, asking them to contact the MESCOM office. A second message is sent if there is no response within two days. If the consumer does not respond after three messages, the household may be treated as having declined the benefit, according to information provided by MESCOM staff.
More than 7,000 people have reportedly contacted MESCOM offices and completed the required documentation after receiving mobile messages. Officials said department staff would visit such homes to confirm that the applicants were residents before completing the record verification.
Consumers whose records have not yet been checked have been asked to contact MESCOM. The verification period has been extended until the end of September.
MESCOM sources said a significant share of those voluntarily giving up the benefit were people living abroad. Some had originally applied through the Seva Sindhu portal but were unable or unwilling to provide documents during the re-verification process. Owners of unoccupied homes were also reported to have opted out because such properties attract only a minimum electricity bill, reducing the practical value of the free-power benefit.
