Moving house is one of the few times almost everyone touches their electricity account, and it is also the single best moment to stop overpaying. You are already filling in forms; ten extra minutes of comparison locks in the right plan instead of dragging the old one to the new address by default.
The short version
- Two weeks out: compare plans for the new address, not just your old retailer.
- At least a few business days out: sign up and book the move-in date (and the move-out at the old place).
- Moving day: check the power is on, note the meter reading if you can, and keep access to the meter clear.
- After: watch for the final bill from the old address and check the first bill at the new one.
The rest of this guide unpacks each step.
Book it before you move, not after
Retailers connect the new address and close off the old one, but they need notice. A few business days is the usual ask, and booking a week or more ahead is safer around weekends and public holidays. Leave it to the last minute and you may face an urgent connection fee, or a night with the fridge off.
Two things decide how smooth this is:
- Whether the power is still on at the new place. Many properties are left energised between tenants, so the lights work the moment you flick the switch and the retailer simply starts billing from your move-in date. If the property has been disconnected, someone has to physically or remotely reconnect it, which is where notice matters most.
- What kind of meter it has. A smart meter can usually be reconnected remotely, often same day. An older meter may need a site visit.
A connection or reconnection fee from the distributor commonly lands on your first bill either way. It is not a retailer profit line, but the amount varies, so it is worth a glance when you sign up.
Do not just port the old plan across
When you tell your current retailer you are moving, their default offer is to move your plan with you. Convenient, but the new address changes the maths: a different network area means different supply charges and usage rates, and sometimes a different controlled load setup. The plan that was mid-pack at the old place can be poor at the new one.
A move is effectively a free shot at the whole market: no exit-fee questions, no overlap, just a fresh start on whichever plan is cheapest for the new address. Grab a recent bill for your usage figures (our bill reading guide shows where they live), then run the numbers with our free calculator. Pick your State, and in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT you can import real plans for the new postcode from government data.
If you are moving into a unit, check whether the building is an embedded network (one master connection billed by the body corporate's provider). In that case your retailer choice can be limited, and the building manager is the person to ask.
At the old place
- Book the disconnection or final read for the day after you leave, so the last box out the door does not happen in the dark.
- Take a photo of the meter on the way out. If the final bill's reading ever looks wrong, you have evidence.
- Pay the final bill and make sure any concession you hold is registered against the new account, since concessions do not always follow you automatically.
At the new place
Check the first bill carefully. Confirm the billing start date matches your move-in, the rates match what you signed up for, and any controlled load at the property is set up correctly; if the new place has electric storage hot water on its own circuit, our controlled load guide explains what that line means. If something looks off, the read type on the bill (actual versus estimated) is the first thing to check.
Then set a reminder to compare again in a year. Plans drift; our switching guide covers the routine version of what you just did the moving-day way.