Gas and Electricity Checklist for New Homes

When you move into a new home, sorting out your gas and electricity suppliers and bills may be far down on your list of priorities, however, it’s important to do this sooner rather than later to avoid paying a hefty energy bill at the end of the first quarter. That’s why we’ve put together this handy gas and electricity checklist to keep you organised.

Locate Your Gas and Electricity Meters

To begin with, you’ll need to find out where your energy meters are. Usually, they can be found in your kitchen, hall or in an outdoor meter box, so you might need to spend a few minutes searching around your home and checking inside cupboards.

If you have just moved into a home on a new housing estate, the builders or developers should be able to show you where everything is in regards to your gas and electricity.

Once you have located your meters, take a photo or make a note of the meter readings. By doing this and using it as proof, you can avoid having to pay for the previous cooupant’s energy usage on your first energy bill.

Find the Trip Switch

In the event of a faulty appliance causing the circuit breaker to trip, you’ll need to know where the trip switch is so you can turn it back on and identify the faulty appliance that is to blame.

The trip switch is in, or next to, the fuse box, which should be within 3 metres of the electricity meter.

Find out Who You Gas and Electricity Suppliers Are

To find out who supplies the gas to your home, you can use the national database of gas suppliers online, called Find My Supplier, where you simply need to enter your address to get the results. Alternatively, you could ask the previous occupants who the gas supplier is during the moving process.

In order to find out who supplies your electricity, you can contact any energy supplier or your energy network distributor and ask them to find out for you and let you know.

Get in Touch with the Energy Suppliers

Make sure to contact your gas and electricity supplies as soon as possible to let them know you have moved into the property. This is also a good opportunity to give them the meter reading you took when you first moved in so you don’t have to worry about being overcharged.

It’s also important to find out what kind of tariff you are on, as you may automatically be put on a standard tariff, which is usually the most expensive, so do some research and shop around to find the best deal. Don’t wait for the first bill to arrive before switching your energy supplier of tariff as this may not arrive until the end of the first quarter, by which time the charges will have already started to pile on.

The responsibility for paying for your home’s energy lies with you and claiming you didn’t know who the supplier was in an attempt to avoid a bill never works out, so it’s always best to be prepared and plan ahead so you aren’t left with any nasty surprises.

Find Your MPAN and MPRN

There are two types of meter number: the Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN) for electricity and the Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN) for gas.

The MPAN is unique to your home. It is also sometimes called a supply number- though it’s important not to get this confused with your customer reference number as these are two separate things. Your MPAN has 21 digits and can be found on your energy bill.

The MPRN is unique to your gas supply and is typically between 6 and 10 digits. To find this, take a look at your gas bill as it should be printed on there.

Save Money on Your Gas and Electricity Bills

Moving homes is one of the most expensive purchases any of us will make in a lifetime, so keeping costs down where possible is absolutely essential, especially when it comes to your gas and electricity bills, where the cost for energy is skyrocketing. Why not check out our top energy saving tips for more advice on how to cut your bills.

For more of the latest gas, electricity and water updates and advice, check out our other handy guides for more information!