Good Point, Dominic. Its an important part of being ready for the inspection so it cant be said too many times. 
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How about a simple call to verrify that everything is ready for inspection, before you show up.
That is what REA’s are for…
With it being a DR Horton new build, you would be lucky if there was one… that wasn’t attached to DR’s hip!
And worth their time and commission on the sale.
I always communicate between all parties, that all utilities are on prior to the inspection and verified before I leave for it. If not verified, I let them know that the inspection may be limited and re-inspection fees may be applied.
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That’s how I do it. If they want me back, it’s $250 + $50hr travel time. It’s in my agreement. They can negotiate the fee with the seller. I don’t work for free.
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I just had one on Friday, that was a new row home inspection. About 30 min before I showed up, the power to the whole building went off, because the builder didnt pay the power bill.
I inspected everything I could, and told the buyer that I could come back on Monday, but it would be an additional $150. (should have charged more)
He scoffed at the price, and I said, “well, maybe you can get the builder to pay for it”. Which is exactly what happened.
They agreed to reimburse him for the fee, because they had approved the time frame for my inspection
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What I do is this. When I find they are turned off, I will immediately call the Agent(s) Buyer’s first if they do not immediately answer or call back, I will call the listing agent or number on the sign. Tell them the situation and explain we will continue the inspection and if they can get things turned on while we are still there, fine if not Most likely my client will want a reinspection for which I Do Charge an additional fee…That they will most likely require The Seller or Seller’s agent to pay (And rightly so!) prior to the reinspection. Making sure utilities are turned on and hose ready for inspection is the agent’s job.
And by all means do not discount the fee as we all know, it takes just as much time to explain why we could not inspect a component as it does to report a defect…And do not feel bad about charging a fair price for the returning.
Related to this is on new construction: I used to give a $25 discount but do not anymore because contractors are notorious for saying a home is completed and when you get there something is not yet installed…And you have to report those things. Used to be new construction had very little defects to report on but I find that not the case Now.
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The longer I do this, the less flexible that I become. On my inspection confirmation email, I state that all of the utilities must be turned on at the time of the inspection. This goes out to both the buyer and the buyer’s agent. When I arrive, I inspect the property how it is.
If the agent is there and they can turn the utilities on, I will accommodate things so that the inspection includes those items. I no longer make phone calls to report that anything is turned off or blocked. I’ve learned that 98.9% of the time, the person that it is sent to turn them on arrives as you are leaving or after you have left. Then you are the ass for not accommodating them to spend extra time on site.
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I use a pre-inspection checklist that the owner or the owner’s agent completes and returns to me before the inspection. Among the items on the list are the utilities. If I arrive and the utilities are off, my client can take it up with the seller. My fee is the same whether utilities are off or on.