Set up the gas, water & power on day one
Find out who supplies the gas, electricity and water at your new address, get a new gas connection installed and sort the TV licence — every utility task explained in plain English.
£200
Average saving by switching at move-in
5 days
Standard energy switch time
£174.50
Annual colour TV licence (2026)
11
UK water & sewerage companies
On move-in day, your new home is connected to its existing utility accounts on a deemed contract — a tariff you never chose and one that is almost always the most expensive the supplier offers. The fix is simple, takes five minutes and saves the average household £200 a year.
This hub gathers every utility-setup guide on Selectra UK: how to find out who supplies the gas, electricity and water at your new address, how to apply for a new gas connection, and what to do about the TV licence.
Four themes inside the utilities hub
What do you need to sort?
Pick the theme that matches the task in front of you — every theme links to its guides.
Find your supplier
Gas, electricity & water
Three lookup guides to find out who supplies the gas, electricity and water at your new address — even before you have the keys.
Open the themeNew connections
New-build & rural
How to apply for a brand-new gas connection on a new-build or rural property — costs, timing and which company to call.
Open the themeTV licence
BBC, iPlayer, Netflix
Who needs a TV licence in 2026, how to change the address on yours, the student concession and how to cancel if you have stopped watching live TV.
Open the themeCompare & switch
Save on day one
Switching the day you move in is free, takes five working days and saves the average household around £200 a year. Compare tariffs at your new postcode.
Open the comparatorThe full library
All 7 utility-setup guides
Filter by topic to surface only the guides relevant to your move-in to-do list.
Who is my electricity supplier?
Find your provider
Read the guideWho supplies my gas?
Meter Number helpline
Read the guideWho is my water supplier?
Region-by-region
Read the guideGet a new gas connection
New-build & rural
Read the guideTV licence explained
Do you need one?
Read the guideChange address on TV licence
Moving with the licence
Read the guideCancel your TV licence
Stopped watching live TV
Read the guideMove-in day, by utility
Four things to do the day you get the keys
Each one takes 5–10 minutes, and skipping any of them costs you money.
Read all the meters
Take a photo of the gas, electricity and water meter readings on move-in day.
Find your suppliers
Two free helplines tell you who currently supplies the property.
Open the account
Call the existing supplier with your meter reads to open a new account.
Compare & switch
Five-day switch, no exit fees on the deemed contract — saves £200 a year on average.
Save these to your phone
Three free UK utility emergency numbers
Free from any UK landline or mobile, these numbers route you straight to your local network operator — not your supplier. Save them before move-in day.
Power cut
105
Reach your local DNO 24/7
Gas leak
0800 111 999
National Gas Emergency
Water burst
0345
Call your local water company
Move-in utilities FAQ
The Selectra expert answers your questions
For electricity, call your regional distribution network operator — the number is listed by region in our who is my electricity supplier guide. For gas, dial the Meter Number Helpline on 0870 608 1524. Both calls are free and the operator will tell you which retailer the previous occupant used.
No. You inherit the deemed-contract tariff on move-in day, but you can switch from day one with no exit fee. Most switches complete in five working days under the Energy Switch Guarantee. Compare deals at your new postcode in our energy comparator.
England and Wales are divided into 11 regional water and sewerage companies — and unlike gas and electricity, you cannot switch water supplier as a domestic customer. Use our who is my water supplier guide to find the company for your postcode and open an account.
For a standard new-build connection within 23 metres of the main, the cost is typically £500–£2,500. Longer runs, isolated rural properties or extra meter work push the bill higher. The gas transporter (Cadent, Northern Gas Networks, SGN or Wales & West) quotes the job directly — full walk-through in our new gas connection guide.
No — a TV licence is only required to watch or record live TV on any channel or to use BBC iPlayer. Pure on-demand Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, ITVX (catch-up only) and YouTube do not require one. Our TV licence guide covers every edge case including the student concession.
Yes — the licence stays with the household and follows the licence holder. Just update the address on the TV Licensing online portal — it takes two minutes and there is no extra fee. If you have moved abroad or stopped watching live TV altogether, see our how to cancel guide.
Cheapest time to switch is move-in day
Compare gas and electricity at your new postcode
Three minutes, no exit fees, five-day switch — and you walk away from the deemed-contract tariff before the first bill ever arrives.