If you're one of the crores of households benefiting from free electricity under Karnataka's Gruha Jyothi scheme, you've likely heard about the door-to-door verification drive that kicked off on July 1, 2026. This exercise, carried out through a new mobile app referred to as Gruha Jyothi 2.0, is meant to re-confirm beneficiary records nearly three years after the scheme first launched.

Here is what the scheme covers, why this verification is happening, and what you need to keep ready.

What Is the Gruha Jyothi Scheme?

Gruha Jyothi is a Karnataka state government initiative launched on August 1, 2023, offering free electricity of up to 200 units per month to eligible domestic households. It merges three earlier schemes, Kuteera Jyothi, Amrutha Jyothi, and Bhagya Jyothi, into a single benefit. Eligible free units are calculated based on a household's average electricity consumption between April 2022 and March 2023. The Karnataka Cabinet later revised this so that consumers using under 90 units get an additional 10 free units, replacing an earlier 10 percent increment rule.

The scheme has grown to cover more than 1.7 crore registered consumers across the state, with the government having spent around ₹28,000 crore on it through the 2025-26 financial year and allocating a further ₹10,578 crore for 2026-27.

Why the Verification Drive Now?

Roughly two years after the scheme's rollout, Karnataka's Energy Department began a statewide re-verification exercise from July 1, 2026, covering beneficiaries under BESCOM, MESCOM, HESCOM, GESCOM, and CESC. The goal is to confirm that benefits are reaching genuine, eligible domestic consumers and to weed out irregularities such as commercial connections or duplicate accounts registered against a single household.

Meter readers from the respective ESCOMs visit homes in person to carry out this check, since verification can only be completed through an on-site visit.

What Is Gruha Jyothi 2.0?

Gruha Jyothi 2.0 is the mobile application released by Karnataka's Energy Department specifically to support this verification drive. ESCOM field staff use the app during their doorstep visits to record and verify beneficiary details. Since its rollout, the app has reportedly run into a number of technical glitches, which beneficiaries and field staff should be prepared for during the verification process.

Documents to Keep Ready

When the meter reader visits, beneficiaries are expected to have the following on hand:

• Aadhaar card (used only for verification purposes)
• A passport-size photograph
• Voter ID card
• PAN card
• Ration card
• Caste certificate, where applicable
• Tenancy or rental agreement, if the applicant is a tenant

Will Tenants Lose Their Benefits?

Tenants had raised concerns that bills still carrying a previous occupant's Aadhaar details might make them ineligible during this exercise. BESCOM has clarified that tenants will continue receiving Gruha Jyothi benefits, and that a valid rental agreement along with identity documents is sufficient to establish eligibility even if the account isn't yet updated to the current occupant's name.

Eligibility at a Glance

• The applicant must be a resident of Karnataka.
• Only domestic (non-commercial) electricity connections qualify.
• A household can claim the benefit on only one electricity meter.
• Tenants are eligible even if the electricity connection is in the property owner's name.
• The Aadhaar card must be linked to the electricity account or consumer ID.

What Happens If You Move Homes?

If you shift to a new rented or owned house, you need to de-link your existing connection from the scheme before applying afresh for the new property. This can be done through the Gruha Jyothi de-link application on the Seva Sindhu portal using Aadhaar-based OTP verification. De-linking usually reflects instantly, though updated zero-bill status on the new connection can take up to 30 days to show in the next billing cycle.