connect electricity when moving house Moving Home Utilities

 

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Moving home is a real mixed bag of emotions; excitement, especially if you’ve found your dream home, but also stress, because there’s so much to get organised! Canstar Blue knows that connecting utilities to your new address can be frustrating, especially if you’re unsure as to the best energy options in your new location. 

That’s why we aim to make moving as easy as possible, with our utilities connection service powered by SmartMe. Our service can help you pick a new plan with your existing provider or let you look for a better deal with a new provider. Unsure if a utilities connection service is right for you? Read on to find out more about how it works. Uncertain what you need to do if you choose to manage your own utilities connections? Our FAQs and utilities transfer checklist has all your moving questions answered.

 

Three easy steps to connecting utilities

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1. Enter your new address

Enter your new address and answer a few questions about your energy preferences

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2. Compare plans

We’ll show you a range of deals and offers for electricity and gas available at your new address

switch3. Connect in minutes

Pick your plans, confirm your details and we’ll get your services switched -it’s fast, free and easy!

 

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Compare a range of utilities providers

What’s a utilities connection service?

If your moving house to-do list looks scarily large or you just want to take one thing off your mind, a utilities connection service can connect utilities to your new home with less hassle. Canstar Blue, powered by SmartMe, offers a free, online utilities connection service to Aussies households, letting you do away with countless application forms!

To get started, type in the address of your new property. From here, you’ll be able to see what kind of utilities services, for, e.g. electricity or natural gas, are available at the property and choose a provider and plan for each. You’ll also be able to pick a preferred connection date from the providers’ available dates, with some offering connections within one day.

You’ll be asked to provide some identification and to confirm your details are correct, then our service will kickstart the switching process for you. You may receive a phone call from your chosen providers to arrange some of the details of your connection but the hard work is done!

 

It’s important to note that while we do as much as we can, there are some things you still need to do yourself. 

  1. If you want to move your existing utilities plan or plans to your new address, you’ll need to contact your provider directly to do so.
  2. You’d need to disconnect the utilities services at your old property by contacting your provider directly.

 

What to consider when moving home and connecting utilities

Moving home with an energy plan

Getting electricity and natural gas set up at your new place is a fairly simple process if you’re on the ball when it comes to contacting your providers. (It’s even simpler with a utilities connection service but we digress!) You’ll need to organise connection and disconnection dates in quick succession to ensure you have energy at both properties only when you need it or you may risk footing the cost of two bills. 

Providers generally need one to three business days’ notice, and sometimes more, to organise your connection so it’s best to leave a little leeway rather than expecting to be switched on instantly. 

It’s particularly important to organise connection sooner rather than later if your new property has been vacant for a while and needs to be reconnected to the grid – this can take a few additional days to organise. That’s because your provider will have to organise for one of your energy distributor’s technicians to attend the property to reconnect the power or gas.

Remember that we mentioned being on the ball when it comes to getting electricity and gas set up? Organisation is key! To ensure your home energy move is smooth sailing, it might help to consider the following:

  • Are you staying with your current provider or switching providers? This will influence how you organise your connections/disconnections and may require you to contact multiple providers in the process. 
  • When will you need your power or gas connected? Providers generally need at least one to three business days’ notice to organise a connection, so be sure to plan in advance. 
  • Are you moving on a weekday or weekend? While it’s not impossible to get power connected on a weekend, it is usually only done as an urgent connection type, which may incur an additional fee. So it’s worth planning ahead. You can’t organise new connections on a weekend date on our utilities connection service for that reason – we don’t want you to pay more than you have to.
  • Does the power or gas need to be reconnected/disconnected to the grid/mains as well? In some states, this may require you to be personally present at the property when the distributor’s technician shows up. It may also come at a small additional cost and take a few more days than a typical move-in connection. 
  • Are you moving interstate? Some states have multiple distribution networks through which electricity and gas is supplied. This could impact the plans and providers available to you and may require you to switch energy providers. A few states and territories also have energy plans regulated by the government that may limit your choice of providers. 

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Questions to ask about your new property

What energy connections are there in the property?

It is important to know what types of energy connections you’ll need to have set up in your new property upon arrival, to avoid any nasty shocks during move-in. 

Some things to ask your property manager or sales agent about your new home include the type of hot water system, whether it has a gas or electric cooktop and if there is a natural gas connection for any heating devices. Having this information will help you to determine whether you simply need an electricity connection or if you’ll need to add a natural gas plan or LPG supply to the mix. 

Does the property have solar power? 

If the house has solar panels, it’ll be helpful to know a) what this powers and b) whether you are eligible for a solar feed-in tariff on your energy plan. 

If you’re a renter, your landlord may opt to receive the solar feed-in tariff instead of the tenant, so it’s important to understand what the circumstances are and what you may be eligible for.

What’s the heating and cooling situation? 

Does the house have a ducted air-con or reverse-cycle? Is there a built-in natural gas heater? What about ceiling fans? 

The appliances available to you for heating or cooling will dictate a large portion of your energy bills, particularly if you are living in an area with scorching summers or freezing winters. It might also help to ask about any other features within the home that help to keep the property’s temperature regulated and energy efficient, such as insulation, tinted windows, blinds and shutters.

 

Should you switch providers when moving home?

Moving is the perfect opportunity to make changes to your utilities services. But there are some things you should consider before ditching your current providers. We’ve listed the big pros and cons below to help you decide what’s best for you. 

 

Advantages of switching energy providers

  • You may be eligible for an introductory deal or discount as a new customer.
  • It’s a good opportunity to shop around for a cheaper energy plan or one with more features.
  • You might be able to bundle your energy plan with other utilities services, such as internet or LPG, and save.

Disadvantages of switching energy providers

  • You’ll need to remember to call your old provider and close your account once moved,
  • Depending on your current plan’s contract terms, ending it early may incur additional fees – always read your contract!
  • Introductory switching deals and offers might be concealing higher rates once benefit period is over,

 

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Essential Moving Home Utilities Checklist

The best way to stay organised while moving properties is to keep a list of all the important changes you need to make, such as switching over any home utilities. To help you with this process, we’ve listed below some of the key things you’ll need to keep track of.

  1. Pick a provider for your new home. This can be the same provider as your previous address or an entirely new one if you are up for a change or moving to an area your current provider doesn’t service. 
  2. Set up a connection date with your provider. Depending on where you’re moving to, this may require additional connection fees or infrastructure upgrades that could take a longer time than a normal connection, so it’s important to do this as soon as possible to avoid needing an urgent connection. 
  3. Set up a disconnection date for your old address. If you’re moving with the same provider, this can be organised during the new connection set-up. If you’re changing providers, however, you’ll need to let your old provider know either over the phone or via its website that you want to disconnect your service – otherwise, you could end up paying for services at both addresses. 
  4. Check that your new address doesn’t have other utilities that you need to accommodate, such as a gas stovetop or gas hot water system. This may require you to add a natural gas plan or LPG subscription to your electricity plan that you may not have required recently.
  5. Check that you have compatible devices for the connections at your new place. If you are bringing your own modem to your new internet plan, you’ll need to ensure you have a compatible device. If you plan on having a landline, Foxtel or other TV or internet device, you’ll also need to make sure this can be connected appropriately in the home. 

Meet our utilities experts

Tara-Donnelly-small

Tara Donnelly

Utilities Editor

Kelseigh Wrigley

Kelseigh Wrigley

Energy Specialist

Kelseigh Wrigley

Emma Bradstock

Senior Telco Specialist

Mitch Watson

Mitch Watson

Group Manager, Research & Insights

Joshua Sale

Joshua Sale

Ratings Manager

Kelseigh Wrigley

Natalie Hudepohl

Energy Data Analyst

FAQs about moving your home utilities

The easiest way to cancel your utilities when you move is by calling your respective utilities providers, whether it be electricity, gas or internet, and asking them to disconnect your service. Alternatively, some retailers may allow you to do so via their website or through a mobile app. It may take a day or two to process your request so it’s best to organise these cancellations as soon as possible.  While a utilities connection service can help you get connected in minutes, organising disconnections has to be done by you – another reason not to delay!

Energy providers generally need at least three days’ notice to organise connection, although some may be able to do so within a day and others may require a week. ‘Days’ typically means business days so factor in weekends when calculating how soon you need a connection established.

Several utilities providers offer customers bundled home internet and energy plans. You may even be eligible for a discount by bundling energy and internet with a single provider, but you should be sure to compare plans both together and separately to ensure you’re getting the best deal – you may find two separate plans from different providers are cheaper or better for your home and usage needs. Bundled plans aren’t available on our utilities connection service.