How to set up utilities in the USA

Ask the landlord or previous occupant which companies serve the address — it is the fastest route. Otherwise, your city or county website lists the water, sewer and trash arrangements, and the state public utility commission lists the electric and gas utilities by territory.

Start service online or by phone a week before move-in, giving the service start date. Most utilities can switch service remotely the same day; older gas meters sometimes need a technician visit for a pilot light.

You will be asked for identity and usually a Social Security number for the credit check. An SSN is generally not legally required — utilities will typically accept an ITIN or run a no-SSN process with a deposit instead. Asking 'what are my options without an SSN' works better than leaving the field blank.

In most of the country, electricity and gas are provided by one regulated utility with rates approved by the state public utility commission — there is nothing to shop for. In energy-choice states, the wires company stays the same but you choose the supplier of the energy itself: Texas has the fullest retail choice, and parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and New England have partial choice.

In choice states, compare on the public commission's own comparison site — Power to Choose in Texas, PA Power Switch in Pennsylvania — not on commercial sites, and read the contract term and the post-introductory rate. Teaser rates that double after three months are the standard trap.

Water, sewer and trash are usually municipal, sometimes bundled into rent or an HOA fee. Ask what the rent actually includes — 'utilities included' rarely includes all of them.

Utilities check credit and charge a deposit — commonly one to two times an average monthly bill — where the file is thin or poor. State rules generally require the deposit to be refunded, with interest in some states, after around twelve months of on-time payment.

Ask about alternatives before paying. Many utilities accept a letter of credit from a previous utility — including a foreign one — documenting on-time payment history. Some accept a co-signer or guarantor. Some waive deposits for enrollment in automatic payment.

A letter of credit from your previous utility is free to obtain before you move and is the most underused document in this whole area.

If you must pay, get the terms in writing: the amount, the refund conditions and the interest rate if your state requires one. Deposits have a way of being forgotten by everyone except the person who paid them.

Budget billing — averaging your annual usage into equal monthly payments — is offered by most energy utilities and is worth taking in climates with extreme seasons, since a first Texas summer or Minnesota winter bill is otherwise a shock.

Internet is the one genuinely competitive utility, though competition varies block by block. Most addresses have one cable provider and one fiber or DSL provider; a growing number have fiber overbuilders, and 5G home internet from the mobile carriers is now a real option at many addresses.

Check the FCC National Broadband Map for every provider claiming to serve your address, then verify on each provider's own site — the map overstates in places.

The pricing pattern is universal: a 12-month promotional rate, then a substantial increase. Diarize the promotion's end date and call to renegotiate or switch; loyalty is priced against you. Watch for equipment rental fees ($10–15 a month for a modem you could buy outright in a year) and data caps, which some cable providers still impose.

The FCC's broadband labels — standardized fact sheets showing the full price after promotion, fees and speeds — are now required at point of sale and make comparison genuinely easier. Read the label, not the banner.

Mobile phone service is prepaid or postpaid; prepaid requires no credit check and the major networks' prepaid brands (and resellers like Mint, Visible and Metro) run on the same towers at much lower prices. Postpaid family plans price better per line but require a credit check.

Shutoff for nonpayment is regulated by state public utility commissions, and protections are real: most cold-climate states have winter shutoff moratoria for heating utilities, many have summer heat protections, and nearly all have medical certificate protections where disconnection would endanger a household member. Notice periods and payment plan rights apply nearly everywhere.

Call before the due date, not after the shutoff notice. Utilities are required in most states to offer deferred payment arrangements, and the terms available to someone who calls early are consistently better.

LIHEAP — the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program — pays energy bills and crisis assistance for eligible households, is federally funded and state-run, and is chronically under-claimed. Its companion weatherization program pays for insulation and efficiency upgrades outright.

Lifeline provides a monthly discount on phone or internet service for households on qualifying programs such as SNAP or Medicaid.

Water utilities increasingly run their own hardship funds, and 211 — dial it like 911 — connects you to local utility assistance, rent help and crisis programs across most of the country.

Utility imposter scams are a constant: callers threatening immediate disconnection unless you pay by gift card or wire. Utilities do not take gift cards, and disconnection never happens on one phone call's notice. Hang up and call the number on your bill.