Everyday Guides
Make two provider-specific files, check which request applies and keep the records you will need for the next enquiry.
Before you arrange the move into a new home, make two small files: one for electricity and one for water. Keep them separate even where they contain copies of the same property or identity documents. The providers have different applications, checks and records.
Use this Guide to organise the documents, submission records and questions for each provider. Confirm the requirements and connection position for your own property before relying on a moving date.
1. Write down the situation at the property
Start with the full address, lot number, directions and a contact number you can answer. Note whether there has ever been a supply, whether a meter is present and whether you are the owner, tenant or an authorised representative. Record any existing account reference you can legitimately obtain.
Use that description when asking which service to request. A first connection, an additional connection and reconnection of an existing supply can require different treatment. GPL’s official services page is a useful starting point; GWI’s forms index separates a connection application from information correction and fault reporting.
2. Prepare the electricity file
Read GPL’s residential application guidance against your actual case. Have your identification and relevant property evidence ready. Its housing-development guidance names particular alternatives to a title or transport; ask GPL which document it accepts for your circumstances. Tenants should confirm the necessary owner involvement and accepted evidence rather than assume their rental paperwork is sufficient.
Check the inspection position with your licensed electrical contractor. The Government Electrical Inspectorate explains the contractor, inspection and certificate route. Keep the relevant certificate or request reference, and agree who will make the premises accessible for the inspection. Do not treat a scheduled inspection as a passed one.
GPL’s residential page describes processing at a branch and also links an online service-request page. Follow the official route and confirm which remaining actions require a visit, signature, payment or site access. Do not assume that finding an online form means every stage is completed online.
Ask for the charge applicable to your request and keep its assessment and receipt. Do not use a business deposit figure or a neighbour’s installation cost as your household’s quotation.
3. Prepare the water file
Open the connection form from GWI’s official index. Its web application contains sections for the request type, applicant, owner and authorised person, with supporting-document uploads. Check the live requirements before uploading personal records. Prepare your ID/passport and TIN evidence, and establish which property or tenancy documents GWI needs for your case.
If the property already has an account or connection, ask how that affects the request. A form allowing an additional connection for a tenant does not by itself explain every seller-to-buyer or account-holder transfer. Ask GWI which account-change procedure and evidence apply before relying on the former holder’s paperwork.
The downloadable application linked by GWI contains site-readiness and installation conditions as well as separate survey and installation records. Ask which assessment, site preparation and payment apply. Keep the answer with your file rather than trying to calculate a universal charge from somebody else’s connection.
4. Keep a simple submission record
For each provider, note the date, channel used, reference number, documents sent and payments made. Save a copy of what you submitted and any acknowledgement. Record appointments and the person or department giving an instruction. Where a document is missing, record the exact request and who is arranging it.
For the next enquiry, you should be able to say: these documents were submitted on this date; this is the reference; this was the last instruction; please confirm the outstanding action. Keep sensitive account and identity records private—do not post them in a public comment seeking assistance.
5. Confirm the connection position before moving
Ask each provider whether an assessment or installation appointment is still outstanding, what access is needed and how a change will be communicated. Electricity and water may not reach the same stage together. A requested date on a form is not, by itself, an agreed completion date.
If an issue remains unresolved after you have raised it with the utility, the PUC’s consumer guidance explains the escalation route; check its current instructions before submitting a complaint. Its complaint form asks for the earlier utility contact and supporting information. Your submission record helps explain what happened and what response you are seeking.
The aim is to finish with two clear files and two clear next steps—not simply two sets of photocopies. For the meaning of the different milestones, read the companion Explainer on applications, inspections, approval and connection.
Official sources checked on 9 November 2026. Confirm current official instructions before acting; individual circumstances and service requirements can differ.
