Who should be the applicant on a utility connection?

Every application for a new water, electricity or gas connection names someone as the applicant. It looks like a box on a form, but it decides who the network operator takes instructions from, who the agreement is with, and who receives any compensation when things go wrong.

Our advice is simple: the applicant should be whoever makes the decisions on the project. On most developments, that’s you, the developer.

The short version

• The offer and the agreement are with the applicant, and may not be transferable without the network operator’s consent.
• The network operator takes instructions from the applicant, or from someone the applicant has authorised in writing.
• Guaranteed payments for missed service standards go to the customer, not to someone acting for them.
• You can still have a consultant or partner manage the application. A letter of authority lets them act for you while you stay the applicant.

Why the name matters

The agreement is with the applicant. When you accept a network operator’s offer, the contract is between it and the applicant. Standard terms can make the agreement personal to the customer, so it can’t be assigned or transferred without the operator’s written consent. If the wrong party is named, putting it right can take time you don’t have.

The applicant gives the instructions. Accepting the offer, agreeing changes to the design, and paying are all done by the applicant, or by someone the applicant has authorised. Network operators ask for written evidence before they take instructions from a third party.

Payments follow the customer. In electricity, the service standards regulations let someone with apparent authority represent the customer for most purposes, but not for receiving the guaranteed payments. Those belong to the customer.

In water, the rights sit with the owner. The legal right to require a new water main or a new connection belongs to the owner or occupier of the premises, among a few public bodies. On a self-lay scheme, the developer is one of the parties to the standard adoption agreement, alongside the partner and the water company.

Who should it be?

The person or company that:

• owns the land or is developing it;
• approves the spend, and can accept an offer before it expires;
• will be responsible for the homes being connected on time.

That’s almost always the developer, not a consultant, a contractor or a partner working for the developer. A consultant can advise and manage the process, but the decisions, and the agreement, should stay with you.

Letting someone manage it for you

You don’t have to fill in every form yourself. When someone applies on your behalf, electricity network operators ask for your letter of authority.

For example, one network operator asks for:

• your company’s name and address, on your letterhead;
• the name and contact details of the person authorising it;
• a statement that you agree to the application;
• the name, registration number and address of the company acting for you;
• a signature and date.

Each network operator has its own requirements, and some publish a template. Under some operators’ terms, the person you authorise can accept the offer and deal with the operator on your behalf. If they stop acting for you, you must tell the network operator.

The letter of authority gives someone permission to act for you. It doesn’t make them the applicant, and the agreement stays with you.

What to check first

• That your company is named as the applicant on every application, for every utility.
• If the land is owned by someone else, what the network operator needs from the landowner.
• That anyone acting for you has a signed letter of authority, in the form the network operator asks for.
• Who in your company can accept an offer and approve payment before it expires.
• That you’ll tell the network operator if your representative changes.