Electricity for a new home
Buying a house adds two things to the electricity decision that renting does not: a closing date you cannot move, and a usage profile you have not seen yet.
An existing home versus a new build
An existing home has a meter with a history, and starting service there is an administrative change scheduled for your closing or move-in date. Ask the seller for a recent bill: twelve months of that property's usage is the best possible input for choosing a plan, and it is information you will never have as accurately again.
A brand-new build is different. The meter may not be energised, permanent power may depend on an inspection, and the builder may have had temporary construction service on the property. Those steps sit with the delivery utility and the builder rather than with your retailer, and they are the reason a new-build start can take longer than a move between existing homes.
Choosing a plan without a usage history
If you have no bills for the property, compare at more than one benchmark. A large detached Texas home commonly runs above 1,500 kWh a month in summer and can exceed 2,000, while a smaller or better-insulated house sits nearer 1,000.
Where a plan wins at one benchmark and loses at another, its structure depends on where you land — and for a house you have not lived in, that is an argument for the plan whose cost is least sensitive to usage rather than the one with the best headline.
Term length when you are staying
A house purchase is the one situation where a long fixed term is straightforwardly attractive: you are unlikely to move, and a twenty-four or thirty-six month contract removes two future shopping decisions and the risk of letting one expire unnoticed.
It is still a bet on the market in both directions. Nobody can tell you whether rates will rise or fall over three years, and any site that claims to is guessing with your money.
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