Connecting and transferring

Moving house? Got an issue with your current connection or with transferring companies? Need help with a new connection to electricity, gas or water?

You can choose which company you prefer for electricity and gas. You can’t choose which water company will supply your property – your water company is based on where you live.

When you move into a property, contact both your chosen electricity and/or gas company and the water company at least two business days before you move in.

If you don't set up an electricity or gas account, or if something goes wrong, you might receive 'Dear Occupier' letters or bills. Contact the company on the letter and explain the situation. If you ignore the bills, you might be chased for debt or have your energy disconnected.

When you move out of a property, contact your electricity, gas and water companies at least three business days before you move out. Give them the address you’re moving to so they can send you the final bill. If you’re moving out of shared accommodation and the account is in your name, call your companies and give them the name of the person who will be taking over the account.

Watch our explainer video to learn more.

Electricity and gas

You have the option to transfer to a new electricity and gas company if you find a better deal or if you’re just not happy with your current company. If you are on a fixed-term contract, you may be charged an exit fee. You’ll receive a final bill from your original company and then future bills will be sent by your new company.

LPG customers can also change company. Tell your old company that you are changing so that they can collect their cylinders and the new company can put in its own. If you have a very large cylinder, you might have to pay extra to change over.

Victorian Energy Compare is an independent comparison tool for finding electricity and gas offers. Each electricity and gas company has different prices and incentives. You can save money by finding the best offer for you. If you change your mind, you can cancel within the ten business day cooling-off period.

If you live in rental accommodation, your tenancy agreement may affect your ability to transfer companies. Speak to the owner of the property, their agent or the housing association.

If you live in a building or complex that’s part of an embedded electricity network, it may be difficult to change companies. Visit the About embedded networks page for more information about embedded networks.

Water

You can’t transfer from your water company. It’s based on where you live. Each area in Victoria has its own provider of water. Try this interactive map to find your water company.

If you’re connecting a new property or existing property to the electricity wires or gas pipes in your area, you can contact your chosen electricity or gas retailer (the company that issues your bills) or the distributor (the company that maintains the wires and pipes).

The retailer or distributor may require you to pay some of the costs of a new connection. They must give you a formal connection offer.

Electricity distributors must perform new electricity connections within 10 business days of receiving all necessary paperwork and certificates (usually from your electrician).

Gas distributors must perform new gas connections within 20 business days of receiving all necessary paperwork and certificates (usually from your plumber).

If you’re connecting a new property to the water supply or sewer, contact the water company that services your area for information about new connections and timeframes. Different rules may apply to urban and rural settings. You can find your company at water.vic.gov.au.

Sometimes things can go wrong when you set up or close an account, connect a property to supply or try to transfer energy companies. Common problems include:

• Delay of disconnection, delay of connection, repairs to an existing connection or safety of an existing connection.
• The cost of a new connection or delay in a new connection.
• Disconnection or restriction of supply because of a perceived error, meter access or a defect.
• Terms of a new contract, including the belief that price or the terms of the contract have varied from what a customer agreed to.
• Cooling-off rights, such as a customer cancelling a transfer to a new company within the cooling-off period and the company not going through with the cancellation.
• Delays in transfer of a gas or electricity service to a new company.
• Transfer of gas or electricity in error.
• Problems with transferring to a new company because of debt, the meter at a customer's property or due to poor credit history.
• Transfer of a new company without the customer's consent.

We can help with most complaints about energy or water issues in Victoria, big or small. Our service is free to Victorian customers.

Need general information?

If you don’t have a complaint but just want some general information, we call this an enquiry. We may even be able to refer you to another agency.

You can make an enquiry at any time. Call us on 1800 500 509, send us an email or start a live chat.