Moving In: Set Up New Electricity & Gas Service with NYSEG in New York

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This page details the process you will need to follow to set up electricity and gas when you move into a home in NYSEG service area.

Calling NYSEG to Set up Electricity & Gas Service

Your home may be in NYSEG gas or electricity territory, or both. The process for activating gas and electricity is the same.

In order to activate electricity and gas in your new home, you will need to call New York State Electric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG) customer service at 1-800-642-4272, from 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM (Monday - Friday).

Your service may take up to 5 business days to activate. If the last tenant moved out a while ago and your electricity and/or gas line has been turned off, NYSEG will need enough time to schedule an appointment with an energy technician to go to your home and turn the line on, and this must happen within 5 business days of your call.

If the line has not yet been deactivated, NYSEG will still need to schedule a meter reading with a technician, and this depends on availability. If you are transferring your service from another home with NYSEG service, you may be able to activate service the same day by calling NYSEG and giving your new home's meter reading.

There is no way to expedite the process.

Information Needed to Activate your Service

During your initial call with NYSEG, you will need to supply the company with the following information:

  • Your full name
  • Your Social Security number, or your passport number if you do not have one
  • New address
  • Expected move in date
  • Phone Number
  • Email Address

Choosing an Alternative Energy Supply Company (ESC0)

New York State Electric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG) will always be in charge of the delivery of your electricity, or the maintenance of all transmission and distribution equipment, as well as the delivery of electricity to your home. However, since energy market liberalization occurred in New York state, nearly all electricity customers have the right to choose an alternative Energy Supply Company (ESC0), which takes charge of the supply of your electricity.

Some examples of ESCOs in the NYSEG service area include Maximum Power and Gas, Independence Energy Group, Hudson Energy Services, Direct Energy, and many more.

NYSEG, your traditional local utility, is your default option for both supply and delivery. With deregulation, you have a wide array of alternative ESCOs to choose from for your supply services - each of which must offer competitive prices to win your business. Supply charges for energy include the cost of energy consumed, and all of the services associated with customer service and retail sales. This is where you can save on your electricity and gas bills.

Getting your Electricity & Gas with an ESCO

Even if you pick an alternative ESCO for your electricity or gas supply, NYSEG will still deliver the energy to your home. You will receive a bill from NYSEG covering your delivery charges. If you do not choose on a rate plan, NYSEG will assign you automatically to a variable rate plan. On these types of plans the price for electricity per kilowatt-hour fluctuates along with the market rate, and a typical NYSEG electricity bill includes the price per kilowatt-hour of electricity averaged over the entire month. Gas bills function the same way but are measured in therms.

Your new alternative ESCO will take charge of supply, so you will receive a second bill from your ESCO which covers supply charges.

After choosing an alternative ESCO offer, your new ESCO will take care of all the details for you, including switching your supply service over. There will be no interruption in service if you switch to an ESCO. In order to make the change, you will need your new NYSEG account number , so be sure that you activate your NYSEG account before choosing an ESCO.

More Information on NYSEG

Visit our NYSEG company page to learn more about your local utility.