How to connect and disconnect electricity and gas when moving house

Your energy provider (also known as energy retailer) typically handles disconnections when you’re moving home. Before moving out of your current home, you’ll need to call your provider so they can disconnect your old home’s gas and electricity supply after you move out. By doing so, you’ll avoid paying for the energy used at your old place, after you’ve moved.

If you have a combined electricity and gas plan, your provider will also disconnect your gas. If you have a separate gas-only plan with another provider, you’ll need to contact them separately so they can disconnect it when you move.

Your new home may need to be connected to the power supply. While it’s smart to plan ahead, our energy comparison service offers same-day next or next business day electricity connections if you’ve left your connection to the last minute. When organising your connection, simply select the earliest date available for the area you live and we will present any valid options we have available.

Keep in mind, you typically won’t be able to be connected on a weekend or public holiday, and weekday availability may vary between providers. If you also need gas connected, this will typically need to be arranged at least three business days before the move-in date.

It’s also worth noting that you don’t necessarily have to sign up for the same energy provider you used in your old home when you relocate; in fact, they may not even be available in your new area. Moving houses can represent a fresh start, and you might even find that changing to a new energy plan is more suitable for your new house and energy usage.

To help ensure a smooth transition when moving homes, here are a few extras tips for organising your utilities:

• If you live with housemates and the energy bill is in your name, you need to organise who’ll be the new account holder before moving out. To transfer the account over to them, contact your energy provider prior to moving house.
• Ensure there is clear and safe access to the meter (or meters, if you have electricity and gas) at your new house – this is essential when your energy provider is organising the connection to your home.
• On moving day, write down the meter reading for your old and new home. Doing so will show you if your provider is charging you the correct amount for your usage.
• To help stay on top of all the small details, it’s helpful to have a moving house checklist that you can refer back to.

If you plan to move interstate, you should first be aware of how energy rules differ across Australia. This is because the energy sector is uniquely regulated by the states and territories, so you need to understand what energy rules exist in your area.

For example, New South Wales (NSW), Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria (VIC), South Australia (SA) and South East Queensland (QLD) enjoy full retail competition, as the energy sector in these states is deregulated. Deregulation means the government has opened the market to competition, so you’re free to choose your energy provider. Full retail competition effectively puts the power of choice in your hands and gives you free rein to switch and compare energy providers.

However, in regional Queensland and Western Australia (WA), energy regulations are different. Here, the state governments regulate the energy sector by determining the prices, which means customers can’t choose their energy provider (with the exception of Perth, which has deregulated gas). However, as energy can cost more for providers to service regional areas, energy regulation keeps customers in these locations from being charged overly inflated prices.

Full retail competition exists in the Northern Territory (NT) and Tasmania (TAS), but your choices for providers are limited compared to other deregulated states.

Usually, prices will be notably different when moving between a regulated market and a deregulated market, or even between deregulated markets. As a result, your energy costs may change depending on where you decide to live.

Learn more about Australia’s energy regulations.

Some energy providers can sort an electricity connection in a single business day, while others may need two or more business days to connect; gas connections typically take a few days. Electricity and gas can generally only be connected on business days, not on weekends or public holidays.

If you need an urgent connection for gas or electricity, you can compare energy plans with Compare the Market online and we may be able to offer you a fast connection. But you may incur a higher connection fee to expedite a same-day connection service.

Depending on your contract, you may need to pay a connection fee when you connect electricity or gas to your new home. Your provider will include these fees in your first bill at your new property. These fees differ between providers and energy plans, so it’s important that you check your options and compare energy providers to make the most of your budget.

Electricity bills generally arrive quarterly; however, if you have a smart meter or have the option in your plan, you could receive bills monthly. The first electricity bill you’ll receive after moving will be from your previous provider for the energy you used at your previous address.

This bill could take a couple of weeks to arrive after you move and will cover the time from the start of the last quarter to the day you disconnected. It’s a similar case for gas bills where these are issued quarterly – except in Victoria, where gas bills arrive every two months.

The billing period between different addresses is not necessarily the same. When you receive an electricity or gas bill, you’ll be able to see the billing period listed somewhere on the page. After you move into your new home, the first bill could take anywhere from 10 to 100 days to arrive. The billing period is already in place when moving into a new home, so you slot into the existing cycle rather than starting at the beginning of a new billing cycle. Therefore, your first bill is from your move-in date to the end of the existing 90-day cycle.

Should your new address have gas appliances (like stoves, ovens and water heaters), you’ll also need to organise a gas connection when moving. Here’s what to think about when moving to a house with gas appliances:

• If your new home uses LPG cylinders, you’ll need to check what size cylinders are connected and organise a replacement if they’re empty.
• If you’re connected to natural gas and had it at your previous property, consider whether you want to stay with the same provider. They may be able to offer a combined gas and electricity plan, depending on the location of your new home; however, combined plans aren’t necessarily the cheapest option available.

Connecting electricity and gas is essentially the same for both rental properties and new homes. The only difference is that some rental properties may include the cost of electricity and gas in your rent payments; you can find this information in your rental agreement. In that case, you only need to organise a disconnection at your old address, as your landlord will sort out the energy connection at the rental property.

Some rental properties may even have your utilities connected already; in that case, you may still need to contact your electricity retailer to place the contract under your name, or compare and switch providers if you find one that’s more suitable.

Solar panels are a renewable energy source that may save you money on your power bills. This is because, by using solar power to generate electricity, you reduce the amount of power you need from the local grid (where power is wired to your home from power stations). Having solar panels also means you can take advantage of feed-in tariffs, where you get paid by your state or territory’s government for the excess electricity you generate from your solar panels and feed to the grid.

When you tell your energy provider that you’re moving houses, let them know if your new home has solar panels; your provider may be able to put you on a new contract with a feed-in tariff.

If you’re building a new home, you’ll need to organise a new connection from your house to the grid. To do this, the energy distributor in your area will need to be contacted.

Energy distributors manage the poles, pipes, network and grid that transports electricity from a power plant to your home. However, you don’t need to contact them yourself. The builder of the home (either the owner or a construction company) can contact your chosen retailer (or the distributor directly) on your behalf. The retailer will then organise the connection with the distributor for you. You may then need to pay to help cover the cost of extending the grid and connecting your new home, which can take several business days.

Another method is to find an electrical contractor capable of connecting you to the electricity network. Usually, they can even submit a connection application for your new home on your behalf.