Setting Up Energy Supply when Moving Home

We all know that moving home can be a stressful time - but with a bit of planning, sorting out your energy supply needn’t be an additional worry.

Here’s our guide to setting up your energy, and making sure you're powering your new home as efficiently as possible.

Before you move…

Inform your current supplier

No later than 48 hours before you move out, you should contact your current energy supplier to let them know you’re moving and give them the address of your new home. It’s also worth checking whether you need to pay exit fees when you close your account, as this could be the case if you are on a fixed-term contract. If so, ask your supplier if you can transfer your account to your new home to avoid any extra fees.

Take your final meter readings

On the day of the move don’t forget to take your final meter readings, as your supplier will need these to calculate your last energy bill. It’s a good idea to keep photographs of your readings, just in case there are any questions later down the line.

If you have a Direct Debit, don’t cancel it just yet as your supplier will still need to collect your final payment, or to refund you any credit that is remaining on your account. You should be sent a final bill within 6 weeks of your account being closed.

As soon as possible after moving in…

Submit meter readings for your new home

If possible, try to take meter readings on the day that you move into your new home so that your new supplier can provide you with an accurate bill. Ideally, you should submit these readings within 48 hours of moving in.

If you’re not sure who is currently supplying your new home, you can find out online here.

If your new home has a prepayment meter

If you are on a prepayment meter, contact the existing supplier as soon as you move in. They will make sure you don’t end up paying extra on debts owed by the previous occupiers.

Your supplier will also give you a new prepayment key or card so you can put money on the prepayment meter, and send you information about how the meter works.

After the move…

Once you’ve settled in after the move, it’s time to make sure that your home is set up to run as cost-effectively and energy-efficiently as possible.

Make sure you’re on the best tariff

At the moment, the situation with energy prices means you’re less likely than usual to be able to save money by switching. However, it’s still worth double-checking to make sure you’re on the best energy deal, as you don’t have to stay with your new property’s existing supplier if you don’t want to. If you do decide to switch supplier, the switch usually takes about 21 days to go through, and your new supplier will get in touch once that has taken place. You don’t need to worry though, you won’t lose power while this is happening.

If you are a renter, the fact that you don’t own the property you live in does not affect your right to switch. USwitch has this useful guide to switching energy supplier as a tenant.

Check whether your new home has a smart meter

If your new property has a smart meter, you should check whether it is in ‘smart mode,’ as this means it will automatically send readings to your supplier, so that you don’t have to take and manually submit readings yourself.

Check out this Citizens Advice guide to finding out what type of smart meter you have in your home, and if it’s working in smart mode.

Make sure your thermostat is set up to run efficiently

Don’t forget to check that your thermostat and other heating controls are set up to run as efficiently as possible. Make sure that the date and time settings on your thermostat are correct, so that any timed programmes are running at the intended time. Also check the temperature, which should be set to between 18°C and 21°C.

If you have valves on your radiators, adjust them to make sure that you’re not heating any rooms unnecessarily; radiator valves are useful as they mean that if you’re not using a room, you can either turn the radiator off completely, or maintain a minimum temperature, so as not to waste energy.

For further tips on how to set up your heating efficiently, visit the Energy Saving Trust.

If you’re a So Energy customer and you’re moving house, or you’ve just moved into a property supplied by us, visit our FAQs page here for further detail on how to keep us as your supplier.