Moving into first flat. How do I sort out electricity!?

Hibleton88

I am moving into my first flat on the 1st of august. I will be renting however the letting company has been less than helpful about how to go about sorting out electricity supplier. All I know is the property is full electric and hear is provided through a combination of underfloor and wet central heating. They can't tell me who the previous supplier was and I know that the last people in the flat moved out 1 week ago and have cancelled their electric.

I am completely at a loss about what to do. If I move in without sorting out my electricity supplier will I be completely without a supply? How long will it be before I can get a supply? I presume if I go ahead with an online application for supply to the property tonight I will be charged for electricity I am not actually using until I move in.

Just basically don't have a clue what I'm doing and looking for someone's help on what to do.

Thanks in advance, I know my questions must sound stupid :-P

lammy82

Don't worry, the electricity supply will not have been actually switched off. The previous tenant may have switched the electricity off at the main fuseboard but you can just switch it back on if so. It's very unlikely that the property would have been disconnected from the power supply.

When you move in you need to read the meter.

You will receive a letter from the electricity supplier addressed to 'The Occupier' which will tell you how to set up an account to start paying for the electricity. You'll supply the meter reading you took when you moved in.

If you don't receive a letter and are worried then you can find out who the supplier is from here: http://www.energynetworks.org/info/faqs/who-is-my-network-operator.html
Then you can phone them and ask them to open an account for you.

Once it's set up, you can change the supplier to whichever is going to be cheapest for you, assuming the landlord doesn't mind (he probably doesn't). See the 'Cheap Gas & Electricity' page!

matelodave

As advised above read your meter/s first when you get in and write it down (taking a photo would help). You need to check if you are on a dual rate tariff (Economy 7 or similar).
Get onto the supplier who is presently supplying the property and give them the meter readings and the meter serial number, ideally on the day you move in. That way you'll avoid paying for someone else's energy and you will have a record of your meter readings. You should do the same with the water company especially if you've got a water meter.
The present supplier should open an account in your name and put you on their standard tariff so you can then have a look on some of the comparison sites to see if you can get a better deal.


Try to get into a habit of reading your meter regularly and keeping your own records, that way you'll know how much you are using and can make sure that you are paying for what you use.

macman

lammy82 wrote: »

Don't worry, the electricity supply will not have been actually switched off. The previous tenant may have switched the electricity off at the main fuseboard but you can just switch it back on if so. It's very unlikely that the property would have been disconnected from the power supply.

When you move in you need to read the meter.

You will receive a letter from the electricity supplier addressed to 'The Occupier' which will tell you how to set up an account to start paying for the electricity. You'll supply the meter reading you took when you moved in.

If you don't receive a letter and are worried then you can find out who the supplier is from here: http://www.energynetworks.org/info/faqs/who-is-my-network-operator.html
Then you can phone them and ask them to open an account for you.

Once it's set up, you can change the supplier to whichever is going to be cheapest for you, assuming the landlord doesn't mind (he probably doesn't). See the 'Cheap Gas & Electricity' page!

Whether he minds or not, it's the tenant's choice as to which supplier they choose-nothing to do with the LL