How to set up electricity in your new home or apartment

You do if your home has its own meter, and you don’t if the building pays for power:

• Your unit has its own meter. This is usual for houses and many apartments, and Maryland’s Office of People’s Counsel says “the resident must set up an account with the utility company.”^⁠[1]
• The building has one master meter. It measures the whole property, and “the property owner or manager gets the bill.”^⁠[1]
• Your unit is submetered. The owner meters each unit and bills you for your share, so you pay the owner, not the utility.

To find out, check your lease or ask your landlord. Our guide to master, direct and submetered apartments explains who you pay in each case.

In most places, one utility serves your address, and you don’t get to pick it:

• Ask your landlord, property manager or seller. They know who serves the home, and so do many move-in packets.
• Search by ZIP code. OpenEI’s Utility Rate Database finds utilities by ZIP code, using the federal list of US utilities.^⁠[7] In Texas, the state’s Power to Choose site shows who serves your ZIP code,^⁠[4] and Pennsylvania’s PAPowerSwitch does the same.^⁠[6]
• Check with the city. Public power utilities are owned by the communities they serve. They reach more than 55 million Americans, in cities like Austin, Nashville, Los Angeles and Seattle.^⁠[8] Member-owned electric co-ops serve another 42 million people.^⁠[9]

Outside Texas, you don’t have to pick anything to get the lights on. In the 13 states plus Washington, D.C., with energy choice for homes, you can buy the electricity itself from a supplier later, or never.^⁠[2,5] In Texas’s competitive areas, you “must either choose a competitive supplier or be assigned one.”^⁠[3]

Our guide to how the electricity grid works explains supply and delivery.

Have these ready before you call or apply online:

• Address with unit number

  Use the exact unit number on your lease, because it’s how the utility finds your meter.

• Start date

  This is usually the day you get your keys.

• ID

  Utilities usually ask for your Social Security number and a driver’s license or state ID.

• Lease or closing papers

  Not every utility asks for them, but some accept them to confirm who you are.

• Landlord’s contact details

  Some utilities, like ComEd, ask for the property owner or manager’s contact details.^⁠[10]

• A way to pay

  Keep a card handy in case there’s a deposit or a setup fee.

Many utilities accept other ID, though some ask for a deposit or an extra form instead. Your Social Security number (SSN) helps them confirm who you are and decide on a deposit.^⁠[12]

Set it up one to two weeks before you move in, once you have a signed lease and your exact unit number. Many utilities can move faster, and some let you book weeks ahead:

You might if you’re new to the utility, and the rules depend on your state:

The average US home electric bill was $144 a month in 2024,^⁠[22] so a two-month deposit would be close to $300.

1. Ask your current provider for a letter of credit

   This note from your current utility or electricity provider shows you paid on time, and Reliant accepts one in place of a deposit.^⁠[14] Virginia’s Rappahannock Electric Cooperative waives the deposit if yours shows two or fewer late payments in 12 months.^⁠[21]

2. Check whether you qualify for a waiver

   In Texas, providers can’t require one from people 65 or older who aren’t behind on a bill, or from certified victims of family violence.^⁠[19] In New York, utilities can’t require one from people on public assistance or SSI, or, with limited exceptions, from anyone they know is 62 or older.^⁠[16]

3. Ask about a guarantor

   Some providers accept a letter of guarantee from someone who already has an account in good standing, instead of cash.^⁠[14,19]

4. Ask about autopay or installments

   Rappahannock lists autopay as one way to skip the deposit, and usually lets you pay one in three or more monthly installments.^⁠[21] Illinois utilities can spread a deposit over your first three bills.^⁠[17]

5. Transfer instead of starting fresh

   PG&E may keep your existing deposit on the new account.^⁠[15] In Texas, a transfer within a regulated utility’s area means “no additional deposit may be required.”^⁠[20]

If you do pay one, set a reminder for 12 months out. Most rules require a refund or credit after a year of on-time payments.^{⁠[16,17,18,19]}

Transfer it if you’re staying with the same utility, and start a new account if you’re not:

• Same utility, new address. Ask to move your service. Duke Energy has a “Move Service to New Address” option,^⁠[37] and PG&E suggests stopping and starting on the same day “to avoid a service disruption.”^⁠[23]
• A different utility. Start service at the new place, then stop the old one for the day after you hand back the keys.
• Someone else’s account. Accounts can’t be handed from one person to another. At PG&E, the current holder stops service and you start your own.^⁠[23]

If your home uses gas, you often do, because gas can be a separate account or even a separate company.

• Some companies do both. PG&E and Con Edison sell gas and electricity, so one request can cover both.^⁠[23,30]
• Many cities split them. In Chicago, Peoples Gas delivers gas, separate from your electric account.^⁠[32] In Atlanta, Atlanta Gas Light owns the pipes, but you sign up with a certified gas marketer.^⁠[33]
• Gas turn-ons often need a visit to check for safety and relight pilot lights. Washington Gas needs an adult 18 or older home for the whole appointment window.^⁠[34] It also wants your electricity on first if your gas appliances use electronic ignition.^⁠[35] SoCalGas charges a one-time $25 service fee.^⁠[36]

Set up electricity first, then book the gas visit for a day you’ll be home.

One of two things usually happens, depending on your landlord’s deal with the utility.

Many landlords have an agreement that puts the account in their name between residents, so the power stays on. Utilities call it different things:

• ComEd calls it a Landlord Agreement.^⁠[27]
• DTE Energy calls it Automatic Transfer of Service.^⁠[28]
• SDG&E calls it a Continuity of Service Agreement.^⁠[29]

That isn’t free power, because your landlord pays for what you use, and your lease may let them bill you later. DTE says service stays in the landlord’s name “until the tenant requests service.”^⁠[28] Once you sign up, Con Edison moves the account to you automatically.^⁠[13]

Without a landlord agreement, the utility may cut the power when the last resident stops service.

Outside its program, Con Edison turns off electricity and gas when a tenant closes the account, and gas needs a safety inspection to come back on.^⁠[30] ComEd keeps units without a landlord agreement off “until a customer has placed their name on service.”^⁠[27]

Here’s the whole job in order. After your first bill, our guide to getting the most out of your electricity account shows where to look for savings.

We can do this whole setup for you, from finding your utility to opening the account in your name. It’s free, and you keep the same local utility. We’ll email you when it’s done and send your account details before your move-in date.

Here is what happens next

1. 1We set up your utility account with ComEd (1–2 days).
2. 2We’ll send you a confirmation email when everything is done.
3. 3We’ll send your utility account details before your move-in date.