Last updated: 16 October 2026 · Reading time: 7 minutes
Moving house means closing energy accounts at one address and opening them at another, and a missed step can leave you paying for power you no longer use or arriving to a home with nothing switched on. This guide explains how to connect electricity and gas when you move, how long it can take, what changes in a newly built home and what the fixed supply charges are. It gives no prices, because they differ by retailer, network and year.
This guide is general information only and does not consider your personal circumstances. Check the regulator pages linked below for current details.
How do you connect electricity when you move house?
Contact an electricity retailer before you move. Energy Made Easy, run by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER), says your retailer can tell you whether you can keep your current plan or must cancel and sign up again. The AER adds that even if the new property is still connected, you must contact a retailer to set up your account.
- Tell your retailer early. Energy Made Easy says to tell your retailer early that you are moving.
- Ask whether your plan can move with you. If it can, tell your retailer so they can arrange meter readings at your old and new address before you move in.
- If it cannot, sign up again. Energy Made Easy says you can search for plans at your new address on its site.
- Give your new address. The final bill for the old address is sent there.
Sources: Energy Made Easy, Your energy supply when moving house or business (last updated 25 October 2023), and AER, Energy services, both checked 16 October 2026.
Do you need to connect gas separately?
Energy Made Easy refers to a "gas and/or electricity retailer", so you may deal with one company or two. The pages used for this guide do not say whether a single retailer covers both. Ask the retailer you plan to use whether it supplies gas and electricity at your new address.
The same moving steps apply to gas. Energy Made Easy's moving page covers both gas and electricity, so the same meter reading and final bill steps apply to gas. If your new home uses gas, write down the gas meter reading at the old and new address as well as the electricity one.
Source: Energy Made Easy, Your energy supply when moving house or business (last updated 25 October 2023), checked 16 October 2026.
How long does it take to connect electricity?
It depends on the property. In Victoria, the Essential Services Commission (ESC) says power will usually be reconnected within one business day of you asking a retailer to connect it. The AER says to give your retailer at least 3 days notice of a move. A newly built home can take a few months.
| Situation | What the regulator says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Moving between existing homes | Give at least 3 days notice. You may need to give longer, so ask your retailer. | AER, Energy services |
| Victorian property needing power reconnected | Usually reconnected within one business day of asking a retailer to connect it. | ESC Victoria |
| Newly built home | It can take a few months to get gas and electricity switched on. | Energy Made Easy |
Sources: AER, Energy services; Essential Services Commission, Getting electricity connected when moving into a property; and Energy Made Easy, Your energy supply when moving house or business (last updated 25 October 2023), all checked 16 October 2026.
What if you move into a newly built home?
Gas and electricity might not be available at a newly built property yet. Energy Made Easy says you need to contact a gas and/or electricity retailer to arrange a new connection, sign up with a retailer first and do it early. You might need new meters, and switching on can take a few months.
- Sign up early. Energy Made Easy says to do it early to save time later.
- Expect possible new meters. The retailer will tell you if you need them.
- Allow for a long lead time. Energy Made Easy says it can take a few months.
- Know your "local area retailer". The AER says that for a new connection, such as a new home, the local area retailer is the default authorised retailer that must provide you with an energy contract. Who it is depends on your location and which distribution network supplies you.
The AER says Victorian consumers should go to the Essential Services Commission for information and advice. The ESC suggests starting with your retailer or the retailer you plan to sign up with, and says your distributor can tell you which retailer must give you the Victorian Default Offer.
Sources: Energy Made Easy, Your energy supply when moving house or business (last updated 25 October 2023); AER, Energy services; and Essential Services Commission, Getting electricity connected when moving into a property, all checked 16 October 2026.
What are electricity connection fees and supply charges?
The Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria (EWOV) says service to property charges are what an energy company can charge for supplying energy to your address. They are fixed and apply however much energy you use. The pages used here set out no separate one off connection fee, so ask your retailer which charges apply. This guide gives no figures.
| What EWOV says | What it means |
|---|---|
| Charges are fixed | You pay them no matter how much electricity or gas you use, even if you are away. |
| They can apply when a meter is present | This includes a meter that is not in use, for example in a new development where a meter is installed but the house is not built. |
| No active account | The company that has billing rights at the property can bill the charge. |
| Other names on your bill | Fixed charge, daily service charge, daily supply charge or network charge. |
Source: Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria, Service to property charges (last updated 30 March 2023), checked 16 October 2026.
The EWOV page covers these ongoing fixed charges. The AER also says you may have to pay an early termination fee if your old contract is for a fixed term and cannot be transferred to your new address.
What happens if you move in without setting up an account?
A connected property may still have supply, but without an account of your own you may be billed unexpectedly. The AER says you still need to contact a retailer even if the property is connected. EWOV says the company with billing rights at the property can bill the fixed charges. You may also end up on a standing offer.
Moving in without choosing a plan is one way people end up on a standing offer, which is covered in our guide to the default market offer and Victorian Default Offer. That guide cites the AER and ESC pages that explain standing offers and how to check which contract you are on.
What should you do at the old address and the new address?
At the old address, tell your retailer early, give your new address for the final bill and write down your meter readings. At the new address, write down the readings as soon as you move in and compare them with your first bill. Energy Made Easy says skipping the first step may mean paying for energy used after you left.
| Step | Old address | New address |
|---|---|---|
| Tell your retailer | Tell them early. Give at least 3 days notice, or longer if your retailer asks. | Contact a retailer to set up your contract and account, even if the property is still connected. |
| Meter readings | Write down readings before you move and check them against your final bill. | Write down readings as soon as you move in and compare them with your first bill. |
| Bills | Give your new address so the final bill reaches you. | Check the first bill against your readings. |
| Contract | A fixed term contract that cannot be transferred may carry an early termination fee. | Search for plans available at your new address on Energy Made Easy, or Victorian Energy Compare in Victoria. |
| Share house | If the account is in your name, arrange for another occupant to take it over. | Not applicable |
Sources: Energy Made Easy, Your energy supply when moving house or business (last updated 25 October 2023), and AER, Energy services, both checked 16 October 2026. Energy Made Easy also says that if you paid a security deposit to enter a plan, make sure your retailer pays it back if you cancel.
How do you compare electricity and gas plans for your new address?
Use an official comparison site to see plans available at the new address. Energy Made Easy, the AER's free comparison service, covers New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. In Victoria, the ESC points to Victorian Energy Compare, which lists Victorian retailers. Check each plan's conditions before you sign.
- Energy Made Easy for New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT.
- Victorian Energy Compare for Victoria.
- The AER says you have 10 business days from the date you sign a new contract to cancel without fees, so read the terms before you agree.
Our Insurance Hub has an energy section where you can open a guide to the basics, then compare electricity and gas plans through our partner.
Sources: AER, Energy services, and Essential Services Commission, Getting electricity connected when moving into a property, both checked 16 October 2026.
What about states with different rules?
The AER's first time connection guidance covers the states and territories that have adopted the National Energy Retail Law and sends Victorians to the ESC. Western Australia and the Northern Territory are not on that list, and arrangements there can differ. Check your state or territory government or energy regulator for how connections work where you live.
Source: AER, Energy services, checked 16 October 2026.
This guide has not checked those schemes in detail, so it does not describe them. If you are moving to one of those places, look up your own state or territory's rules before you rely on anything here.
How does connecting energy fit into moving house?
Energy accounts are one of several things that change when you take over a home. Timing around the keys is covered in our guide to when to connect utilities around settlement day, and our settlement day guide lists the checks before you collect the keys.
Once you are in, our guide to the yearly cost of owning a home shows where energy sits in a household budget.
This article is general information only and does not consider your personal circumstances. It describes how energy connection works when you move as published by the Australian Energy Regulator, Energy Made Easy, the Essential Services Commission and the Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria on the dates shown. It contains no prices, savings estimates or advice to switch. Rules, timeframes and charges differ by state, network and retailer, so verify current details with the regulators and ombudsman linked above or your retailer. NestPath is not an energy retailer, broker or financial adviser.
