Harriet Vane Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I have a really stupid question related to moving, and need to take care of it today. How do I go about getting gas, electric, and water? I haven't done this for 12 years. I am tempted to just sign up with the same companies my landlord used in this house but wonder if a Responsible Person would get quotes and compare prices. We are moving in less than a week. I know it's last minute--that's honestly not my fault. My landlord graciously extended an earlier move date to us just this past Saturday, so we are scrambling to make this work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 (edited) To my knowledge, there isn't a choice on utilities, you use the ones that have access to your home--they own the rights since they laid the pipes and lines. I could be wrong, but I have never heard of 'shopping' for any utility other than phone (and that is just since the 80's). If the utilities are in your name currently, and the new house has the same company, you should be able to transfer the address without having do new down payments and wait for refunds. Edited August 16, 2011 by Lara in Colo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 (edited) Around here, the 3 you listed are not competitive. There is no choice in who you use. Our current trash service is by choice. Last trash service was set for us and paid with the water bill. Phone, Internet, cable are ones where there is choice and can be widely different. Look in the phone book for your city utilities. When we signed up for the public water system, they gave us a list of service providers for the main things. Edited August 16, 2011 by snickelfritz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QumaCote Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Any place that I have ever lived, there is only one gas company, one water company, one electric company, and one garbage company. There used to only be one telephone option and one cable option, but those have expanded in recent years. Most likely the utility companies the landlord uses are the only ones that service your area. You just call them and set up the service in your name. You can sometimes get "good payment history" letters from your current utility companies which can help in establishing new accounts with the new utility companies. Good luck with the move! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I have a choice for heating oil companies but electric and water have only one choice. Just call city hall of the town you are moving to and ask for the number for the local power company and to be transferred to the water department. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Like everyone else said, we have one choice for all of those things around here. So just call the companies that the landlord has listed and ask them to transfer it to your name. Depending on your area, you might have options for the supplier. PA just deregulated electricity a few months ago, leading to competition for the suppliers, so we switched to one that had a better long-term rate guarantee. The bill still comes through the original company though, so we had to go through their website to find the other options for supply. ETA: In PA, you'd probably call the local township department if you didn't know who the utility companies were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 (edited) Same here, for all three states I have lived in...no choices...you get who you get. But landlord can not transfer them to your name. You have to contact the companies, and they run credit checks, yes, that is right. Based on your credit, you may or many not have to pay deposits to get service activated. So find that out soon, so you can budget. also, most of that information is right online, no need to make calls. Just do a search with your town name, and utilities, or something of that nature. It all shows up. I have moved many many times in the last 12 years, no need to call the city. Edited August 16, 2011 by Samiam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mynyel Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I have a really stupid question related to moving, and need to take care of it today. How do I go about getting gas, electric, and water? I haven't done this for 12 years. I am tempted to just sign up with the same companies my landlord used in this house but wonder if a Responsible Person would get quotes and compare prices. We are moving in less than a week. I know it's last minute--that's honestly not my fault. My landlord graciously extended an earlier move date to us just this past Saturday, so we are scrambling to make this work. There isn't a choice on gas, electric or water. I have lived in 4 states and never had a choice. Humph maybe bills would be lower if I could! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 There isn't a choice on gas, electric or water. I have lived in 4 states and never had a choice. Humph maybe bills would be lower if I could! :) :iagree: Even if you do have a choice I'm guessing you could change it later. The only thing we've ever had a choice about was the phone. We went with what the previous owners had because it was easier (no new installation). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I am going through this right now (supposed to close on Monday! ack!) and we didn't have a choice for electric. I don't need to mess with water because we're on a private well. We do have a choice for oil and propane. The current owners provided us (via realtors) with a list of their current utility providers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraciWA Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 Your realator could give you that information. Or you could go to the website for the town you are moving to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 When we lived in Georgia, you had a choice for phone, cable, gas and garbage. Water and electric were run by the municipality, so no choice. In TN, we choose phone, cable, and garbage. Gas, water, and electricity, no choices... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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