Who Is My Electricity Supplier? Find Your Electricity Easily!

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Man looking for his electricity supplier

Just moved into a property and wondering who your electricity supplier is? Knowing who your electricity supplier is the first step to setting up your bills or for making a switch. In our guide, we explain how you can quickly find out who your electricity supplier is and how to easily switch if you prefer someone else!

Who Is My Electricity Supplier?

house

When you move into a new property, you’re unlikely to know who your electricity supplier is until you’ve got the keys. Some landlords or real estate agents might mention who supplies the property (especially if you’re renting), but generally if you have just bought your new home, you probably won’t know.

If you’ve been living in your home for a while and don't know who your electricity supplier is, you might want to consider switching suppliers to get the best deal for your needs.

Check Out Our Moving Home Utilities Guide!

How Do I Find My Electricity Meter?

The first step when you move into your new home is to find out where your electricity meter is. Electricity meters generally come in two main types: they can either be a credit meter, where you pay by direct debit, or they can be a prepayment meter, where you will use an electric key.

What does my electricity meter look like? Usually, electricity meters are white boxes with a screen showing the meter reading. It will have two cables going into it from the bottom. If you have a prepayment meter there will be a slot for your electric key along with a blue button.

Your electricity meter could be in a number of places so if you’ve just moved in you might have to go on a hunt for it. Sometimes if you have a gas connection, you might find it next to the gas meter but most of the popular places are:

  • Your entrance or porch
  • Inside a cupboard
  • Under the stairs
  • On the outside wall

As soon as you get the keys to the property, you should take a meter reading so ensure you get billed accurately for your first bill. Although the previous occupants should have taken one when they leave, there is every case they might not have, so you should take your own.

You might also want to make a note of your Meter Serial Number (MSN) on the box so your supplier can easily identify if the meter you find is assigned to your property.

Have gas at the property? The majority of British homes have a gas connection for cooking and central heating. Normally, your gas supplier will be the same as your electricity one, but this isn’t always the case and some people find it cheaper to have it with two different suppliers.

Check out our Find My Gas Supplier guide!

How Do I Find Out Who My Electricity Supplier Is?

electricity meter

After you move into a new property, as well as not knowing who your electricity supplier is, you won’t know which tariff you are on or what your consumption might be. If you’ve moved from a larger property to a smaller one, your consumption is likely to be lower, and you’ll be better off looking for a new tariff to suit your situation.

If your estate agent or landlord doesn’t know who your electricity supplier is, there are a number of ways you can figure it out:

  1. Check an old electricity bill
    Have a look around to see if there are any old electricity bills around. You might get lucky and find one in your postbox downstairs if you live in a block of flats!
  2. Check the electricity key
    If you have the electric key to the property, you might see the name or logo of the supplier on there that could indicate the company. However, you don’t need the key of the supplier to use the prepayment meter so this could be unreliable, but it could give you a good starting point.
  3. Get in touch with your DNO
    You can also find out who your electricity supplier is by getting in touch with your Distribution Network Operator (DNO). Your DNO is the company that runs the electricity infrastructure in your area and is region based.
  4. Call us at Selectra!
    The quickest way is to call us here at Selectra. We can find out who supplies your new home and help you get set up with your electricity, gas and broadband in one phone call!

Who Is My DNO?

Like finding your water supplier, Distribution Network Operators (DNO) are based on your postcode and you can’t choose who you want. There are 7 Distribution Network Operators across the UK who each manage the infrastructure for a given region. The fastest way to find out who your DNO is is to use a postcode checker.

Here is a table with all the DNOs in the UK and their phone numbers:

Region Distribution Network Operator Telephone number
North Scotland SSE Power Distribution 0800 048 3516
Central and Southern Scotland SP Energy Networks 0330 101 0444
North East England Northern Powergrid 0845 070 7172
North West England Electricity North West 0800 048 1820
Yorkshire Northern Powergrid 0800 011 3332
Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales & North Shropshire SP Energy Networks 0330 101 0444
East Midlands, West Midlands, South Wales & South West England Western Power Distribution 0800 096 3080
Eastern England UK Power Networks 0800 029 4285
Southern England SSE Power Distribution 0845 601 2989
London UK Power Networks 0800 029 4285
South East England UK Power Networks 0800 029 4285
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Electricity 03457 643 643
map of electricity distribution network

When you call your DNO, you will just need to tell them your postcode and they will be able to identify your electricity supplier for you. You should also request your Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN) from them so you can have it just in case.

What is an MPAN? Your Meter Point Administration Number helps electricity providers identify where your supply enters your property. It’s a little bit like an address with each property having their own unique MPAN. You can find your MPAN on an electricity bill but not on your electricity meter.

To learn more, check out our MPAN guide!

electricity calculator

Who Is My Electricity Supplier for My Business?

If you have just begun renting or have purchased a new business property, you will need to sort your business electricity. Finding out who supplies your electricity for your business is the same process as for domestic electricity, the only difference is the tariffs can vary much more since most business energy tariffs are bespoke.

Find out more about Business Energy

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