Connecting Electricity to Your New Property

Moving home is a stressful yet exciting experience. Whether you're moving into a rental property or you're a new homeowner, there'll be a pile of paperwork and boxes to pack at all times. With so many things on your to-do list, there are bound to be a few tasks that slip through the cracks, like remembering to connect the power to your new home. 

Luckily the process of connecting electricity to your new property is a straightforward one. This guide will take you through how to sort out all your homes’ utilities, whether you're renting or buying a new home in Australia. 

Disconnecting Your Old Homes Power Supply 

Once you've found your new home, it's time to start the lengthy process of clearing out your current residence. While most people will stress about forgetting to pack something, one crucial step you should put on the top of your list is disconnecting your electricity. 

Regardless of whether or not you're changing providers, you need to notify them of your disconnection and connection needs for your new home. You should ideally give about a week's notice with your power being disconnected a day after you move out. This will ensure you avoid getting a larger final bill from your old address. 

Your current provider will likely need time to process your final bill for your old address. You can contact your power provider to find out how long this will take. It's also important to remember that if you've been on a contract, you may see an additional early exit fee if you're changing providers or your agreement isn't available in your home's new location. 

Connecting Electricity To Your New Property 

Once you've started inching closer towards your move-in day, you need to organise the electricity connection for your new home. This process will differ depending on your home's current power connection status. 

If You Have An Active Power Supply

If you're moving into a new property that already has a utility connection (electricity wireframes and gas pipelines), all you need to do is call your current or new energy provider to set up your contract and connection date. 

If you're sticking with your current energy provider, they'll most likely organise the connection of your new home when you call to schedule the disconnection of your old home. Regardless of whether you're an existing customer or not, you'll need to provide the following information; 

• Your new address
• the date you want your power to be connected to your new home
• your contact details and form of ID
• Your concession details - you can register your concession details for your new house after you're connected.

Depending on your energy retail provider, your electricity connection may take between one to three working days, with gas connections taking longer. To make sure your home can be connected as soon as possible, make sure there is safe and clear access to your meter. You should also write down the reading on your meter on move-in day to make sure your provider charges you the right amount. 

If You Need A New Power Connection  

If you've built a new house or need to change your home's existing connection, you need to contact the distributor that owns and maintains the powerlines, power poles and natural gas lines that run to your house. If your distributor needs to design and build a new connection, they'll supply a connection offer. This offer will detail the cost and any terms and conditions.

When connecting electricity to your new property, you need to ensure that you've allowed plenty of time, as the time frame will depend on the type and complexity of your connection needs. There is also a range of state-based applications for new electricity and gas connections that will need to be submitted and processed – these will all be available via your energy distributor.

Connecting Electricity To A Rental Property

When connecting electricity to a rental property, your landlord will be responsible for making sure your power and utilities are set up and adequately linked. However, as renters, it's your responsibility to ensure that your utilities are set up in your name, not your landlord's. 

You need to contact your new rental home's energy provider to complete this. Ideally, you'll want to do this before moving in so your meter can be read and you don't have to pay for usage from the old renters. 

What If My New Home Has Solar Panels? 

If your new home has solar panels, you need to ensure that your energy provider is aware of this. You may even want to take this chance to compare energy plans that factor in a competitive feed-in rate as well as offer a good deal on your grid consumption. 

What To Be Aware Of When Moving Interstate? 

Moving interstate is sure to be more stressful and costly when compared to moving to a different suburb. However, if you plan to move interstate, you need to know the difference between your old and new state energy regulation rules. This is because different states and territories uniquely regulate the energy sector. 

NSW, ACT, VIC, SA and southeast QLD enjoy full retail competition as the energy sector is deregulated. This means that the government has opened the market to competition, giving you the choice to find the right energy retailer that meets your needs. 

Other states, such as regional QLD and WA, have rules where the state government regulates energy providers by determining prices. So while consumers can't choose their provider, those in regional homes can benefit from not being charged overly inflated prices. 

NT and TAS fall in between these two areas. While they have full retail competition, your choices in energy providers are limited compared to other deregulated states. 

Because of these varied regulations rules, you may note price differences when moving from a regulated state to a deregulated market or even between deregulated markets. 

Make Moving Easy with HOOD

If you're moving and looking for a better deal from your energy provider or want to find an energy provider that caters to your needs, for example, if you need an urgent electricity connection, then make sure to utilise HOOD to make moving easy. Contact us with your inquiry, and our team will help you as soon as possible.

If you're looking to move, be sure to connect with HOOD.

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