Newcomer guide
Setting up a home
Internet, electricity, gas and water, each one with its own company and its own sign up. There is no single City page that bundles them, so this guide links to each official provider and its self-service site. Rules and fees change, so confirm the details on the provider's own page before you sign anything.
No single City of Buenos Aires page walks you through all four utilities. Each provider runs its own sign up, which is why each step links to the company directly.
Internet at home
Fibre and cable internet are sold by a handful of companies, all of which you sign up with online or by phone. Telecentro, Personal (which absorbed the old Fibertel brand) and Claro are the three most common in the City. Each one asks for an address, your DNI and a payment method, and most send a technician within a few days. Compare the plans on each site, since the price for the same speed changes often and bundles with mobile or TV.
- Have your exact address and floor and apartment number ready
- Decide whether you want fibre or cable, they are not the same in every building
- Ask the building admin if there is an exclusive provider wired in already
Electricity
The City is split between two distributors: Edesur in the south and Edenor in the north, and which one serves you depends on your address. When you move in you either take over the existing meter (cambio de titularidad) or, if the place was never connected, ask for a new supply (nuevo suministro). Both companies have an Oficina Virtual, a self-service site where you register with your DNI and create the account in your name. Keep the emergency line handy: for Edesur it is 0800-333-3787, confirmed on their site.
- Find out whether Edesur or Edenor serves your address
- Take over the meter in your name, do not just keep paying the previous bill
- Save the emergency line for power cuts or a fallen cable
Edenor's emergency number is on its own contact page. Check it there rather than trusting a number written elsewhere, and confirm which distributor your address falls under before calling.
Gas
Metrogas is the gas distributor for the whole City. You start service through its Oficina Virtual, registering the address and your DNI, and the company checks that the internal installation is safe before turning it on. If the flat has gas but it was shut off, the reconnection is the same process. Gas leaks are a real emergency: the Metrogas site lists its emergency line on its contact page, so confirm the number there before you need it.
- Register the address in the Metrogas Oficina Virtual
- Let the safety check happen before you use any appliance
- Save the Metrogas emergency line from its contact page
- If you smell gas, do not switch anything on or off, open windows and leave
Water
AySA is the water and sewer utility for the City and Greater Buenos Aires. New accounts and transfers are done through its Oficina Virtual, and like the others you register with your DNI and the address. Bills come every two months and include both water and sewer charges. AySA's phone directory is on its contact page, which is where to find the number for a water-main break in your block.
- Register the address in the AySA Oficina Virtual
- Check the meter reading on your first bill matches the flat
- Keep the AySA contact page for reporting a break
What has no single page
There is no City of Buenos Aires page that bundles all four utilities into one guide. Each provider runs its own signup, so you go to each one. The general City trámites directory is the closest official hub, but it does not walk you through electricity, gas, water and internet together, which is why this guide links to each company directly.
- Expect to set up each utility separately, there is no one stop page
- Use the City trámites directory for anything else official
Next steps
Once the flat is connected, the rest of settling in is nearby.