MEPCO Bill Name Change: Transfer Guide 2026

To change the name on a MEPCO bill, apply for Change of Name through the ENC portal or your sub-division office with ownership proof, an attested CNIC copy, and the last paid bill showing no arrears. Once your file is complete, MEPCO has ten days to update the record. There is no separate name-change fee — what you pay is a revised security deposit.

Start with the arrears, not the paperwork

Most people begin by collecting documents. That is the wrong order.

NEPRA’s Consumer Service Manual asks for a copy of the last paid bill subject to the condition that no arrears, deferred amount, or installments are pending. That rider is the whole game. If the seller left dues on the meter, your file does not move — no matter how clean your registry is.

So before you hand over money for the property, check the bill against the reference number and read three lines carefully:

• Arrears — unpaid amount carried from earlier months
• Deferred Amount — a balance MEPCO agreed to push forward, which still counts as pending
• Installments — an approved payment plan mid-way through, which also blocks the transfer

A bill can show a small current amount and still carry a deferred balance underneath. Read all three, not the total.

The 12-month billing history printed on every bill is your second check. A sudden spike, a long run of estimated readings, or an unexplained lump usually means a detection bill or an assessment sitting on the account. Ask the seller directly about anything that looks off, and get it settled in writing before the sale closes.

There is one more exposure that catches landlords and shopkeepers. Where several connections stand in one owner’s name and one of them defaults to permanent disconnection, the manual allows MEPCO to shift those dues onto the owner’s other running connections for recovery. If you are buying from someone with multiple meters, a clean bill on your meter alone is not proof of a clean position.

Which of the three situations applies to you

The manual recognises exactly three grounds for a name change. Each one takes a different document to the counter.

You bought the property

Where the consumer sells the premises, applying for the change becomes an obligation on the new owner — not an option. The proof MEPCO wants is title: a registered sale deed, the registry, Fard-e-Malkiat, an intiqal, or the allotment or transfer letter if the property sits inside a housing society.

You inherited it

This is where most guides get it wrong. A NADRA death certificate does not transfer the connection.

The manual is specific: on the death of the consumer, the change takes place where the legal heirs apply according to a succession certificate granted by a court of competent jurisdiction. Start the succession case first. Everything else waits on it.

If there are several heirs, the certificate decides who holds the connection. MEPCO does not arbitrate that between family members.

The property is rented out

A tenant cannot simply move the meter into their own name on the strength of a rent agreement. Tenancy runs through a different route: a No Objection Certificate from the owner, along with the owner’s ownership proof and CNIC.

The owner also signs an undertaking on Rs 50 non-judicial stamp paper accepting responsibility for the tenant’s default amount. In exchange, the manual gives the owner a lever — if the tenant defaults on bills for three consecutive months, the owner can ask MEPCO to disconnect the supply.

Landlords should read that trade honestly. You are underwriting your tenant’s bills in return for a disconnection right. Most owners in Multan and Bahawalpur keep the connection in their own name for exactly this reason.

What MEPCO asks for

Attestation is straightforward — an Oath Commissioner, a Notary Public, or any government officer of Grade 16 or above.

What you will not be asked for

Two requirements that apply elsewhere do not apply here, and knowing this saves both money and weeks.

• No wiring test report. A change of load or a change of tariff both need a test report from the Electric Inspector or an authorised wiring contractor. A change of name does not. If someone at the counter or an outside agent tells you otherwise, the clause listing name-change documents contains no such entry.
• No approved map or civic NOC. The manual states there is no requirement of an approved map, site plan, layout plan, or NOC from the civic agency for a change of name, irrespective of the area — unless a court has restricted connections in that locality. Rural applicants in Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, or Layyah are often pushed toward paperwork they do not owe.

What it actually costs

There is no fixed name-change fee in the regulation. What appears on your Demand Notice is a revised security deposit.

When the name changes for any reason, the deposit is updated at prevailing rates, and the amount already paid by the previous holder is adjusted against it. You pay the difference, not the full figure. For loads above one kilowatt, a fraction of half a kilowatt or more counts as a full kilowatt; anything less is dropped.

On the rate itself: the distribution companies petitioned NEPRA in early 2025 for a steep increase, and the regulator held the decision back pending an audit of the deposits already sitting with the DISCOs. Work from the figure printed on your own Demand Notice rather than any number quoted online.

You get thirty days to pay, with a further thirty-day grace period available on request — but the request has to reach the office at least three days before the original date expires.

Applying, and what happens after

On the ENC portal, choose Change rather than Apply, then select change of name. Fill only the fields tied to that application; the form covers name, tariff, and load together, and the irrelevant sections stay blank.

Uploads are capped at 300 KB per file, which is the most common reason a submission fails on the first attempt. Compress before you start.

Submission returns a Tracking ID. Save it — it is what you use to print the application form, download the Demand Notice, and check status later.

The online step opens the case. It does not close it. Print the form, attach hard copies of everything you uploaded, and take the file to your sub-division office. For a domestic or commercial connection up to 15 kW, the officer who sanctions your case is the SDO or Assistant Manager (Operation) at that sub-division. Knowing whose desk holds your file makes follow-up far easier than calling a general helpline.

After verification, the Demand Notice is issued. Pay it at the designated bank branch named on the notice, then return the paid copy to the office. The record updates after that payment is confirmed.

Ten days — and what to do when it slips

The manual sets the period for change of name at ten days after the applicant completes all requirements. That clock starts when your file is complete, not when you first walked in.

If it runs well past that, escalate in order: the SDO, then the XEN or Deputy Manager (Operation) at divisional level. Carry the Tracking ID, the paid Demand Notice receipt, and the date you submitted the last outstanding document. That third item is what settles arguments about when the ten days began.

Three things people confuse with a name change

• CNIC registration is not a name change. MEPCO links consumer accounts to CNIC numbers through a separate service at mnr.pitc.com.pk. It corrects records and improves service delivery. It does not move ownership of the connection, and completing it does nothing for a property transfer.
• A spelling error is not a change of name. If the consumer name is correct but misspelt — a missing letter, a wrong father’s name — that is a billing record correction handled through the complaint system, not a transfer application with a Demand Notice attached.
• Solar connections need a second application. For a net-metered meter, the change-of-name procedure is the same, but you must separately apply to change the name on the distributed generation licence. Doing only the first leaves the licence in the previous owner’s name and the export credits misaligned.

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