ᐅ Disconnection of utilities before demolition – costs/experience?
Created on: 2 Jul 2021 14:19
N
NewHouseAppear
Hello everyone,
We are currently planning to demolish and rebuild an old house, and first, we need to disconnect the utility lines (electricity via overhead pole, plus water and gas). We contacted our utility company, which owns the lines, to inquire about the cost of disconnection. Now we have received a quote and, honestly, we are quite surprised by the amount.
The disconnection is estimated at around €9,500 (about $9,500), broken down roughly as €700 (about $700) for electricity, €5,300 (about $5,300) for gas, and €3,500 (about $3,500) for water. The gas and water costs are split between excavation work and material costs, but the quote doesn’t include detailed information on what exactly will be done. The existing house is located directly at the street, so there is no 20m (65 feet) or similar length of pipe from the main line to the house that would first need to be removed. For the rebuild, we will at least reuse the water line exactly, and since we are installing an air-to-water heat pump, we won’t need gas anymore.
Honestly, we didn’t expect such a high amount. When I search online (at least I don’t find many results), the costs seem to be in the lower four-digit range, but not nearly five digits.
Does anyone have experience with this or any recommendations on how to handle it? It feels like we are completely at the mercy of the utility company’s “pricing power”...
Thank you very much and best regards,
We are currently planning to demolish and rebuild an old house, and first, we need to disconnect the utility lines (electricity via overhead pole, plus water and gas). We contacted our utility company, which owns the lines, to inquire about the cost of disconnection. Now we have received a quote and, honestly, we are quite surprised by the amount.
The disconnection is estimated at around €9,500 (about $9,500), broken down roughly as €700 (about $700) for electricity, €5,300 (about $5,300) for gas, and €3,500 (about $3,500) for water. The gas and water costs are split between excavation work and material costs, but the quote doesn’t include detailed information on what exactly will be done. The existing house is located directly at the street, so there is no 20m (65 feet) or similar length of pipe from the main line to the house that would first need to be removed. For the rebuild, we will at least reuse the water line exactly, and since we are installing an air-to-water heat pump, we won’t need gas anymore.
Honestly, we didn’t expect such a high amount. When I search online (at least I don’t find many results), the costs seem to be in the lower four-digit range, but not nearly five digits.
Does anyone have experience with this or any recommendations on how to handle it? It feels like we are completely at the mercy of the utility company’s “pricing power”...
Thank you very much and best regards,
M
motorradsilke3 Jul 2021 04:20There isn’t just one utility provider, but different ones for gas, electricity, and water. Who did you contact? Or is your builder handling this for you and passing on these costs?
For water, we had a temporary disconnection that cost 72 euros. The water will be reconnected to the old pipe if they can find it. Even the water company doesn’t have a clear plan for that. It will cost around 1000 euros.
We separated the wastewater connection near the house ourselves, and we will reconnect the new house ourselves as well. No utility provider was involved in that at all.
The gas disconnection was free of charge. We won’t need it anymore, so it will be a permanent shut-off. They only required a long notice period, so it’s advisable to arrange this in good time.
Electricity has to be applied for by the electrician; you’re not allowed to do this yourself. Our electricity was not really disconnected because we continued living on the property and needed construction power. The utility provider didn’t charge anything for disconnecting the main connection in the old house or for installing the temporary construction power meter. Unfortunately, our provider requires us to use a temporary construction power meter during the building phase and doesn’t allow us to keep using our old one. We need to reroute the electricity because we previously shared a line with the neighbor, and that connection won’t be allowed anymore. The costs will only be for relocating the line, but we still need to lay 35 meters (115 feet) of cable on the property.
For water, we had a temporary disconnection that cost 72 euros. The water will be reconnected to the old pipe if they can find it. Even the water company doesn’t have a clear plan for that. It will cost around 1000 euros.
We separated the wastewater connection near the house ourselves, and we will reconnect the new house ourselves as well. No utility provider was involved in that at all.
The gas disconnection was free of charge. We won’t need it anymore, so it will be a permanent shut-off. They only required a long notice period, so it’s advisable to arrange this in good time.
Electricity has to be applied for by the electrician; you’re not allowed to do this yourself. Our electricity was not really disconnected because we continued living on the property and needed construction power. The utility provider didn’t charge anything for disconnecting the main connection in the old house or for installing the temporary construction power meter. Unfortunately, our provider requires us to use a temporary construction power meter during the building phase and doesn’t allow us to keep using our old one. We need to reroute the electricity because we previously shared a line with the neighbor, and that connection won’t be allowed anymore. The costs will only be for relocating the line, but we still need to lay 35 meters (115 feet) of cable on the property.
schubert793 Jul 2021 05:51Could it be that your costs already include the prices for the future house connection of your home? Not just the costs for the disconnection?
M
motorradsilke3 Jul 2021 07:08rick2018 schrieb:
But there is a utility provider. Do you have a single utility provider for water, electricity, and gas? In which country or region is that common?
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