How do I change my electricity and gas when moving house?

Moving house can be a stressful time: packing up all your belongings, arranging removalists, updating contact details. Thankfully, arranging for your energy to be connected in your new home is an easy process that only requires a bit of planning to make sure everything goes smoothly.

Most electricity and gas providers have made it easy to make the switch from one property to the next through a simple phone call. Just don’t forget this step when you’re busy doing everything else for your move!

The worst case scenario is that you get stuck without electricity or gas in your new home, but equally annoying is the possibility that you end up paying two power bills for your old and your new place.

How To Disconnect Electricity And Gas

Your energy provider will be the one who disconnects your electricity and gas, so they are the ones who you will need to get in touch with to arrange the disconnection. Energy providers are used to providing this service and the process is generally straight-forward. To make sure it goes smoothly, give your provider plenty of notice and make sure you tell them the exact date that you plan to move out so they can switch it off at the right time.

How To Connect Electricity And Gas

The good news is, connecting electricity and gas at your new place is just as easy as the process of disconnecting. Again, you’ll need to speak with your energy provider, but this time it’s vital that you provide a week’s notice so that you can ensure power is ready to go the moment you move in. No one likes the idea of unpacking boxes in the dark, searching for some candlesticks!

If you do move in without connecting and find that your new property is still connected, still ensure that you contact a power company to set up your own account. The previous owners may have accidentally paid for some of your stay, but it could be shut off at any moment!

Do I Have To Stay With The Same Provider?

There’s no reason why you need to stay with the same provider for your electricity and gas when you move home – in fact, it can be a great opportunity to reconsider what you’re paying for these services and shop around for a better deal. Most energy companies will charge an electricity connection fee, which can be worth factoring into your budgeting.

What If I’m Renting?

When it comes to choosing energy providers, the process remains the same regardless of whether you own or rent the home you’re moving into or out of. So if you’re moving into a rental for the first time, follow the same connection steps as above.

If you have been living in a share house where the energy contract is in your name, you need to contact the providers and change over the contract to someone who is going to be staying on in the home, or risk leaving your old housemates in the dark!

Help! I Left It Too Late

Moving tomorrow and forgot about the power? Some providers will set up an urgent connection; get on to them as soon as possible and ask for this to be arranged. Be warned though – urgent connections will often incur additional fees. When it comes to having electricity and gas ready to go in a new home, it pays to be organised.