- Who receives a utility connection application?
- The network operator for the utility at your postcode: the distribution network operator for electricity, the gas transporter for gas and the wholesaler for water. That covers a new connection, a capacity change, a move of the supply position, a diversion and a permanent disconnection. Jobs on the meter itself (removal, a meter-only move, de-energising and re-energising for works, and on water any job on an existing supply point) go to your supplier or water retailer, because the supplier owns the meter. The tool checks the party first, then names the form.
- How do I find which operator serves my postcode?
- Enter the site postcode in the tool. If the site already has a meter, pick the address and the operator is read from the meter identifier: the distributor id at the start of an electricity MPAN, the transporter recorded against a gas MPRN, or the wholesaler behind a water SPID, which is exact. On a bare site the operator comes from the postcode alone and is labelled likely, because a postcode cannot tell whether a development is served by an independent network, an independent gas transporter or a new appointment for water instead of the regional operator.
- How long does the operator have to send a quotation?
- Electricity: the Electricity (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2015 set 5 working days for a single low-voltage single-phase connection, 15 for a small low-voltage project, 25 for other low-voltage connections, 35 for high voltage and 65 for extra-high voltage, from a complete application. Gas: the Gas (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2005 set 4 working days for a standard quotation at or below 275 kWh per hour, 11 for a non-standard quotation at that size and 21 above it. Water: neither instrument sets a quotation period, so the wholesaler's own published levels of service apply. Which period applies is the operator's determination.
- What does a connection application need?
- A site location plan showing the boundary and the proposed supply position, the load (a schedule of plant in kW or kVA for electricity, the peak hourly load for gas, the flow and pipe size for water), the meter identifier and a recent bill where a supply already exists, proof of title or landowner consent on a bare site or a diversion, a letter of authority where someone applies on the business's behalf, and the programme dates. The result card in the tool lists exactly which of these your job needs.
- What is the difference between a service alteration and a diversion?
- A service alteration moves your own supply position: the incoming cable, pipe or cut-out goes to a new place on the premises. A diversion moves the network's own assets, such as a cable or main crossing the land, so that you can build. They are different teams and different forms at every operator, and moving only the meter with no cable or pipe change is a third case that belongs to your supplier. The tool separates the three so the application lands with the right team.
- Does one application cover electricity, gas and water?
- No. Each utility has its own operator, its own forms and its own rules on who receives the job, so a site that needs more than one connection makes one application per utility. Run the tool once per utility; the answers for the site are kept in this browser tab, and each utility has its own page with the routing table, statutory rows and questions for that network: electricity, gas and water.
- When does the statutory clock start?
- On receipt of a complete application. An application missing the site plan, the load or the authority to act is not complete, and the quotation period does not run until the operator has what it needs. That is why the tool lists the documents for the job before you apply. The operator decides which standard applies to a given job; the tool shows every quotation row for the utility and highlights the one its reading of your answers points to.
- Is the application service free?
- Yes. We complete the operator's application on the operator's own form and submit it with your authority at no fee. We are paid on the supply contract too, disclosed. On the ongoing gas and electricity contract we earn a commission built into the unit rate (stated in pence per kWh) or an agreed fee, your choice. Every margin is separated so you can see exactly what the service costs.
- Does this tool cover Scotland, Wales and independent networks?
- The fourteen electricity licence areas include Scotland and Wales, as do the thirteen gas local distribution zones, and the water wholesalers listed include Scottish Water, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water and Hafren Dyfrdwy. A site on an independent distribution network operator (an MPAN distributor id of 24 or above), an independent gas transporter or a new appointment for water applies to that operator instead, which a postcode cannot detect. Where the site already has a meter the tool reads the operator from the meter identifier; on a bare site it asks whether the development has its own network before trusting the postcode.
