Utilities & Essentials

Once you have a place to live off campus, you’ll need to make sure you have heat, electricity, food, and other necessities. Here are a few important things to keep in mind.

Hand pushing buttons on thermostat

Utilities

  • The term “utilities” generally refers to heat, electricity, water, and gas. Before renting, ask the landlord which utility costs you must pay. Make arrangements with utility companies as soon as possible. Waiting until you arrive in September when thousands of other students are also moving into the area may leave you waiting for services long after you’ve moved in.
  • Arrange to have services begin on the date you plan to move in (or the day before, if the apartment is vacant).
  • Tell each utility company that you are a new tenant so that you will not be held responsible for the outstanding bills of the previous tenant. Sometimes utility companies want to verify with your rental agent or landlord that you are the new tenant. Clarification at the start can save you potential problems, like having your utility service shut off because the previous tenant has not paid his/her bill.
  • In this climate, heating costs tend to be very high. Depending on the size of your unit, the setting of your thermostat, the age of your building, and the quality of your building’s insulation, you could end up paying several hundred dollars a month in utility costs. Take steps to be as energy efficient as possible.

Telephone Service

  • A growing number of students rely on cell phones and no longer contract for “land line” service.
  • If you do want a land line phone, AT&T and Xfinity (& others) provide local service to the Cambridge/Boston area.
  • You also may also be interested in Vonage, which provides home telephone service over the internet.

Electricity & Gas

  • Eversource: provides electricity in most area communities—and electricity and gas in a few areas. 
    • Electricity: Arlington, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge
    • Electricity and Gas: Chelsea, Lexington, Newton, Somerville
    • Customer Service: (800) 592-2000
    • Gas Leaks/Emergencies: (800) 572-9337
    • Report Power Outage: (800) 592-2000

Heating Oil

  • In an oil-heated unit, the incoming tenant often will pay the outgoing tenant for the amount of oil remaining in the tank.
  • Find out the name of the previous tenant’s oil supplier.
  • Consider joining an oil-buying cooperative to get a discount on heating oil.
  • The price of oil is in constant flux, so get the latest information from the sources below.
  • Low-income residents can apply for financial assistance with their heating bills.

Oil-Buying Cooperatives

The Boston Fuel Consortium

670 Centre Street

Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

(617) 524-3950

The Ecological Innovations

Oil Buying Network

441 Stuart Street

Boston, MA 02116

(800) 649-7473

Financial Assistance with Heating Bills

Cambridge/Somerville Fuel Assistance

51 Inman Street

Cambridge, MA 02139

(617) 349-6247

Citizens Energy Corp. 

530 Atlantic Avenue

Boston, MA

(877) Joe-4oil

Internet & Cable Television:

U.S. Postal Service

Every community has a local post office with its own hours and services. Use the handy locator tool on theU.S. Postal Service website to get specifics about your local post office.