Multi-utility connections
Every utility on your site, run as one project
Electricity, water, sewer and fibre, plus gas where your design still needs it. We apply to each operator, price multi-utility providers against going to each one separately, plan shared trenching and keep every connection on one programme.
What is a multi-utility connection?
A new site usually needs four or five separate connections. Each one has its own operator, application form, fees, survey and programme. Electricity comes from the local network operator or an independent network. Water and sewers sit with the water company. Fibre comes from Openreach or another broadband network. Gas, if you still need it, has its own network company.
"Multi-utility" means running those connections together rather than one at a time. There is no formal definition. In the market it usually means one of two things: a multi-utility provider, which designs and builds the contestable parts of several utilities under one contract, or a single team that manages every application and lines the operators up on one programme.
We do the second. We don't dig or lay cables ourselves. That leaves us free to compare a multi-utility provider with going to each operator separately, and to recommend whichever suits your site.
Electricity
DNO, IDNO or ICP, with the load worked out first.
Water
Water company or self-lay provider for mains and services.
Sewer
Section 106 connections, Section 104 adoption and build-overs.
Fibre
Site registration, ducting and the Part R evidence.
What changes when one team runs every connection
The work on site is the same. What changes is who keeps track of it, and whether the utilities are planned around each other or bump into each other.
Each utility handled on its own
- Four or five applications, each asking for the same plans in a different format.
- Separate surveys and site visits, booked by different people.
- Trenches opened more than once because nobody planned a shared route.
- Offers that expire at different times, and payments due on different dates.
- Nobody watching the whole programme, so one late utility holds up completion.
Every utility on one programme
- One set of site information, sent to each operator in the form it wants.
- One programme showing every application, offer, payment and date.
- Shared trench routes agreed early, where the operators allow it.
- Acceptances timed so offers are still valid when you are ready.
- One person to call, who knows where every connection stands.
Multi-utility provider or each operator separately?
Neither route is always cheaper or quicker. It depends on the size of the site, how far it is from each network and how much of the work is open to competition.
| What you are weighing up | Going to each operator separately | One multi-utility provider |
|---|---|---|
| Contracts | A separate offer, contract and payment schedule with each network operator and the water company. | One contract for the contestable work across several utilities. The provider works as an accredited ICP, gas provider or self-lay provider, or alongside independent networks. |
| Final connections | Each operator does its own design, works and connection. | The incumbent operators still do the non-contestable work, such as the final connection to their networks. |
| Trenching | Each operator plans its own dig. Sharing a trench needs someone to coordinate them. | Usually designed as a shared trench from the start. |
| Price | Easy to see what each utility costs. Often the simplest choice for a single home. | Can be competitive on developments, especially where independent networks adopt the assets. Check what is included for each utility. |
| Programme | Several timescales to track, set by different companies. | One programme for the contestable work, still tied to each operator's dates for the final connections. |
| When it suits | Single homes, small sites close to existing networks, or where only one or two utilities are needed. | Housing developments, phased schemes and commercial sites that need several new mains and services. |
We ask for both where it makes sense and compare scope, exclusions, payment terms and dates line by line. If one utility is better bought separately, we tell you. Read our DNO, IDNO and ICP guide.
Can all the utilities share one trench?
Often, yes. On new estate roads and footways, electricity cables, water pipes, gas mains and telecoms ducts are commonly laid in a shared trench. Each service goes in its own standard position, at its own depth, with set gaps between them so they can be maintained safely later.
The positions come from the industry guidelines published by Street Works UK (formerly NJUG). Volume 1 covers the positioning of apparatus and is now at Issue 10. Volume 2 covers new development sites. Each operator then has its own specification on top.
Sewers and drains are different. They are laid to falls set by the drainage design, so they normally follow their own route and go in separately, often earlier in the build.
Why a shared trench is worth planning
- The ground is opened, backfilled and reinstated fewer times.
- Service routes can be shown on one drawing for the whole site.
- Your groundworker can plan one dig rather than several.
- There is less risk of a later trench damaging a service already laid.
Check depths against the current specification
You will see trench diagrams online with exact depths for each service. Many are taken from older editions of the guidelines. Depths, positions and separations depend on the current issue and on each operator's own specification, and they can change with the type of road, the size of the main and the ground.
We get the current requirements from each operator and pass them to your groundworker before anything is dug.
What decides the trench layout
- Which utilities run along each road and footway
- Footway width and any verges
- Each operator's positions and separations
- Who lays which part, and who inspects it
- Where services cross roads into each plot
In what order do the utilities go in?
Every site is different, but the same pattern repeats. Apply early for the slowest utility, put the deepest services in first, and line up the final connections with the build.
Check capacity
We confirm each operator, look at existing services and, where useful, make pre-development enquiries to the water company.
Slowest first
Applications that may need a new substation, water main or sewer work go in first, because they take longest.
Deep services
Drainage and sewers are usually laid early, as their levels are fixed by the drainage design.
Shared trench
Electricity, water, ducts and any gas are laid in their positions, with each operator's inspections booked in.
Live supplies
Operators make the final connections. Water mains are tested first. Meters and fibre are activated plot by plot.
Do new homes still need gas? Homes in England built to the Future Homes Standard won't need a gas connection for heating. It comes into force on 24 March 2027, with transitional arrangements for buildings already notified and started in time. Read the Future Homes Standard guide.
Phasing utilities on a larger site
On a phased scheme the utilities need to arrive with each phase, not all at once and not after the first buyers move in.
We set out the phases in the applications from the start, with real dates for each. Network operators want a credible programme. For the largest electricity applications, of 5 MVA and above, generic dates such as "ASAP" or "TBC" are no longer accepted, and some large housing developments fall into that range.
Offers are time-limited. We plan when to apply and accept for each phase so you are not paying early for work years away, or letting an offer lapse and starting again.
Phase dates
A milestone for each phase, agreed with every operator.
Plot-by-plot supplies
Services and meters connected as homes are finished.
Early show homes
Supplies to the first plots and sales areas brought forward.
Adoption
Who adopts each network, and when, tracked phase by phase.
Information for a multi-utility application
One set of information covers every utility. Send what you have and we'll tell you what is missing.
- Site address, postcode and a location plan
- Site layout with plot or unit numbers
- Number and type of homes or units
- Heating type, EV chargers, solar and batteries
- Drainage layout, if you have one
- Phasing and the date each phase needs supplies
- Any existing services on or next to the site
What affects the price
Each operator prices its own work. The main drivers are distance to each network, the capacity you need, road crossings and highway work, and whether new substations, mains or sewers are required.
Water charges in England follow Ofwat's charging rules, published by each company every year. Under the rules in force from April 2026, companies must not make asset payments for adopting new water mains or sewers, so be wary of any quote that assumes one.
Our own fee for managing the applications is fixed and agreed before we start, and our quote is free.
Read the connection costs guideMulti-utility connection questions
What is a multi-utility connection?
It means arranging several new utility connections, such as electricity, water, sewer and fibre, as one project with one programme. Some firms build the contestable work for several utilities under one contract. We manage the applications to every operator and coordinate them, without doing the installation ourselves.
Is a multi-utility provider cheaper than going to each operator?
Not always. A multi-utility provider can be competitive on developments, but for a single home or a small site near existing networks, going direct can be simpler and cheaper. We price both where we can and compare them like for like.
Can all the utilities go in one trench?
Electricity, water, gas and telecoms ducts are often laid in a shared trench, each in its own position with set separations. Sewers and drains usually follow their own route. Positions and depths come from the current industry guidelines and each operator's specification.
Who does the final connections?
The network operators and water company still do the non-contestable work, such as connecting new assets to their existing networks. A multi-utility provider or independent network builds the parts that are open to competition.
Which utility should I apply for first?
Usually the one with the longest lead time, which is often whichever needs a new substation, water main or sewer work. We look at the site and set the order before anything is submitted.
Will I get an asset payment for adopted water mains?
In England, no. Under Ofwat's charging rules from April 2026, water companies must not make asset payments for adopting new water mains or sewers.
Do I need gas on a new development?
Often not. Homes in England built to the Future Homes Standard, in force from 24 March 2027, won't need a gas connection for heating. We still arrange gas where your design and the transitional rules mean you need it.
Can you take over applications already started?
Yes. Send us the references and any offers you have, and we will pick them up, check where each one stands and bring them onto one programme.
Each utility in more detail
Electricity connections
Find out moreWater connections
Find out moreSewer connections
Find out moreFibre and telecoms
Find out moreBuilding a housing scheme? See our page for developers and housebuilders.
Need several utilities on one site?
Send us the site details and we'll set out the operators, the best route for each utility and a clear quote for managing them together.