New electricity supply connection cost guide

If you’re moving into a new building or building a house from scratch, you may well need to get a new electricity supply connected. But if you haven’t done it before, it can be hard to know what to expect.

Ready to find out all you need to know? Read on, and remember to use our free search feature to find a qualified electrician near you.

New electricity supply costs

If you’re looking to get a new electricity supply connected, there are three main areas you’ll need to consider:

• DNO (local distribution network operator): You’ll need to contact your local DNO to get a power service cable installed to your property. Prices differ between DNOs, so the cost will depend on where your property is located.
• Electricity supplier: Contact an electricity supplier or energy broker about your new electricity meter connection. The installation of an electricity meter is usually free, but you’ll need to make sure that you’re happy with the provider’s tariffs.
• Qualified electrician: You’ll need to contact a qualified electrician to connect your new electricity supply.

Cost of new electricity supply variables

As we’ve already touched upon, costs can vary depending on where you live and which DNO is your local one. But there are also a number of other variables to take into account. These include:

• How far you are from the nearest power pole
• Whether a new transformer needs to be installed
• How the power will reach your house
• Your electricity company’s policies
• The cost of trench digging, wires and poles

Cost of installing a new electricity supply

The average price of a new electricity supply connection is £1,790. However, costs can be much higher or lower depending on your specific circumstances.

For example, imagine a new bungalow on an unmade lane, on the outskirts of a village.

Let’s say that the supply is overhead and the pole is within the plot. The owner of the property could dig their own trenches to save money, meaning the supply simply needs to be brought down the pole and routed in the trenches. All in all, this could cost as little as £450.

In contrast, imagine a large site in a rural location. Let’s assume that the distribution company needs to carry out a 60m road dig. This could bring the total cost up to £10,140.

As you can see, there’s a lot of variation in the work required.

How to save on the cost of installing a new electricity supply

The easiest way to save on the cost of installing a new electricity supply is to get the distributor to break their quote down into ‘contestable’ and ‘non-contestable’ work. Contestable work is work that you can outsource to other tradespeople.

It’s always worth getting quotes from a number of contractors for the contestable parts of the work, this is so that you can compare their prices to the prices provided by your supplier. That way, you can make sure that you’re getting the best price possible.

New electric connection cost key takeaways

• Contact your local DNO to get a power cable installed to your property.
• Make sure to get a range of quotes for contestable work.
• Get a qualified electrician to connect your new electricity supply.