Connection quotes have a shelf life

A connection quote is not an open offer. Every quote you get for a new water, electricity or gas connection has an expiry date, and the one from your partner usually runs out much sooner than you’d expect.

Letting a quote lapse rarely ends the project, but it costs time and often money. This guide explains why quotes expire, what happens when they do, and how to plan your decision around them.

The short version

• Partner quotes are short-lived. In our experience they’re often valid for about a month, because the price of pipes, cables and other materials moves quickly.
• Network operator offers last longer, but they still expire, and the date is on the offer.
• When a quote lapses, you usually have to ask again, the price can change, and you may pay some fees a second time.
• Choosing your partner starts the clock on the road works. Permits to dig in the road can only be booked once a partner is appointed, and larger works need months of notice.

Why partner quotes expire so quickly

Your partner, the accredited contractor who builds the new network on your site, prices the job from today’s costs: materials, labour and plant. Material prices can move quickly, so in our experience partners keep quotes short, often around 30 days.

So the best price you’re offered is only the best price for a short time. If you take two months to decide, expect a requote at whatever prices are current then.

Network operator offers

The network operator’s offer covers the work only it can do, and in many cases the whole job. It normally stays valid for longer than a partner’s quote, but the period varies by operator and utility. It’s stated on the offer itself.

To accept, you usually need to sign and pay within that period, either in full or a first instalment. In electricity, the capacity your site needs is usually only secured once you accept and pay, so until then another project can take it.

What happens when a quote lapses

• You ask again. For a partner, that’s a requote at current prices. For a network operator, it can mean a new application.
• The price can change. Materials, labour and the state of the local network all move on.
• Fees can repeat. Some network operators charge for assessing or designing a connection, and a fresh application can mean paying again.
• The programme slips. A new application starts the network operator’s timescales again.

Why choosing your partner early matters for the road works

Most connections involve digging in the road or footway outside your site, if only for the final connection to the existing network. That needs permission from the highway authority, and the organisation carrying out the works applies for it. Until you’ve appointed your partner, nobody can book the road space.

In England, many highway authorities run permit schemes. Minor works need as little as three working days’ notice, and standard works ten. Major works, meaning anything that runs for more than ten working days or needs a traffic order such as a road closure, usually need at least three months’ notice. The highway authority can also refuse the dates you want, or ask for the works to be timed around other people’s.

That’s why a slow decision on your partner costs more than the price difference. Each week you wait pushes back the earliest date the road works can start, and with them the date your homes can be connected.

Planning your decision window

Get everything quoted at the same time. Ask the network operator and partners for prices together, so you can compare them while they’re all still valid.

Line up your approvals before the quotes arrive. If a board, a funder or a client has to sign off, find out how long that takes and what they’ll need to see. Then the decision only waits on the numbers.

Compare like for like. Make sure each quote assumes the same point of connection and includes the same things, so you’re not stuck asking questions while the clock runs.

Know your dates. Write down when each quote expires, and work back from the date you need the homes connected, allowing for permit notice periods.

Check when you pay, not just how much. Network operators usually want paying when you accept, while partners tend to spread payments over the job. See our guide on when you pay for a utility connection.

Decide, then appoint. Once you’ve chosen, confirm with your partner straight away so it can lock in its price and start booking the road space.

What to check first

• The expiry date on every quote, and what happens if it lapses.
• What accepting the network operator’s offer involves: signing, payment and deadlines.
• Who in your organisation has to approve the spend, and how long that takes.
• Whether your works in the road will count as major works, so you can allow for the notice period.