How to get your gas or electricity supply connected for the first time
How to get your gas or electricity supply connected for the first time
If you don't have electricity or gas supply, you need to order discharge. This situation usually occurs in newly built houses.
First off, you need to know when to apply for a new connection, which you'll have to do if:
- You move into a new bui that has never had a gas or electricity connection.
- You move into a second-hand property that was connected in the past but has had the supply cut off.
It's really important not to confuse applying for a new connection with switching supplier. New connections are only for when there is no supply already.
Switching supplier just involves moving from one electricity company to another; it's quick and you won’t ever be left without gas or electricity.
- If your gas or electricity is already connected, it makes no sense to apply for a new connection; however, you can change tariff or company free of charge.
- In this section, we explain how to switch suppliers.
If you're already with Endesa and just want to change tariff, check out our Electricity and Gas tariffs, or our Electricity + Gas tariff.
What documentation do you have to provide?
During this process, we'll ask you for the following documentation:
- CUPS number: Here, we explain what the CUPS number is and where to find it.
- Address you want connected for the first time.
- Electricity Installation Certificate: Here, we explain what this is and what is the Electricity Installation Certificate.
- Contract holder, i.e., who's going to sign the contract.
- The supply capacity you want to contract: Here, we set out everything there is to know about electricity supply capacity.
- IBAN code of the bank account you want to use to pay your bills: you can always change this online.
How is a new supply connected?
If your house or business premises does not already have a gas or electricity connection, you'll need to contact your distributor.
The distributor is responsible for connecting your home to the network. You can't choose a distributor because they are assigned by area. You can, however, choose your supplier: the company you have a contract with and which sends you bills.
A map is provided below showing you who your electricity distributor is by area.
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Although there is overlap, especially in border areas, the electricity distribution companies cover the following areas:
- e-distribución: Catalonia, Aragón, Andalusia, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and the province of Badajoz.
- i-DE: Basque Country, Navarre, La Rioja, Castile and León except the province of Segovia and the west of province of León, Madrid except the south of the Autonomous Community, the province of Cáceres, west of the province of Toledo, north of the province of Guadalajara, the Valencian Community and Murcia.
- UFD: Galicia, the west of the province of León, the province of Segovia, the south of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, the province of Ciudad Real, the province of Cuenca, most of the province of Toledo and the south of the province of Guadalajara.
- E-REDES: Asturias.
- Viesgo Distribución: Cantabria and some parts of southern and western Asturias.
A technician from your distributor will visit your home or business premises to connect the supply. In the case of electricity, he/she will install a supply capacity controller, which regulates the contracted capacity.
While your application is being processed, the simplest thing is to directly request the tariff best suited to your needs.
- In the case of electricity, you may prefer a fixed price with no surprises (you'll always pay the same for each kWh consumed) or a tariff offering certain hours of the day when your electricity will be free (enabling you to use the most electricity, i.e. when you turn on your washing machine, oven, etc., at certain times).
- For gas, a fixed price tariff brings full peace of mind.
How much does it cost to get your gas or electricity supply connected?
You'll have to pay a number of charges to get your gas or electricity connected. These are the same all over Spain, whoever your distributor is.
As well as the following charges, you may have to pay others for installing equipment, security deposits and taxes. In all cases, these charges go to the distributor, but are paid in your first bill:
Costs of a new supply connection
There is a cost involved in connecting your electricity supply for the first time (or reactivating it after more than three years without use) (Royal Decree 1995/2000 of 1 December 2000):
- Access charges: paid when a new supply connection is contracted or the existing service capacity is increased.
- Extension charges: paid when the distributor’s infrastructure is used in the case of new connections, to increase the contracted service capacity or if the supply point has not been used for more than three years.
- Grid connection charges: paid when the electricity installation is connected to the grid.
- Inspection charges: paid when an installation is inspected.
- Security deposit: as per Article 79 of Royal Decree 1955/2000, this is a sum that has to be deposited when the contract is signed, and is equal to the theoretical monthly charge for using the contracted supply capacity for a period of fifty hours.
There is a cost involved in connecting your gas supply for the first time (or reactivating it after more than five years without use) (Royal Decree 1434/2002 of 14 December 2002):
- Service access charges: paid to the distributor for installing a new supply point or increasing the capacity of an existing one.
- If a supply contract is cancelled, service access rights will be retained for a period of five years.
- Service connection charges: paid on contracting a piped gas supply or increasing the capacity of an existing one. These charges cover the cost of connecting and inspecting the installation.
- Security deposit: as per Article 79 of Royal Decree 1955/2000, this is a sum that has to be deposited when the contract is signed and is equal to the theoretical monthly charge for using the contracted supply capacity for a period of fifty hours.