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BUSINESS ENERGY UK

Compare business
energy prices in under
60 seconds


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UK Business Energy Comparison

Peek behind the curtain of any successful business and you will usually find strong leadership, skilled teams of staff, and the tools and equipment they need to be efficient. You’ll also notice that, no matter what type of business you’re observing, it requires energy.

Whether you are powering a single electric tool or large-scale manufacturing site, operating computers and using Wi-Fi, heating your buildings or simply keeping the lights on, all businesses need energy to run.

Energy bills can make up a large portion of operational costs, but many business customers may be overpaying simply because they haven’t compared the deals on offer. While it would be time consuming to seek out quotes from every possible business energy supplier individually, you can compare business electricity and business gas prices in seconds using Business Energy UK.

Our service is fast, free and impartial. We’ll match your business needs with the UK market’s most competitive commercial energy quotes in under 60 seconds.

How to find the best business energy deals to cut your annual bills

Our comparison service can save your business money – and it’s completely free. All you need to do is provide some basic information about your business and how it typically uses energy, which you can find using a recent business energy bill.

We compare tariffs from the major business energy suppliers, known as the Big Six, as well as a wide range of smaller, newer, independent energy companies. We’ll tailor the search results to suit your needs, so that you’re only shown relevant tariffs.

Our service is impartial, so you can have complete confidence that we’ll always show you the deals offering the best value for money.

Our service is fast, free and impartial. We’ll match your business needs with the UK market’s most competitive commercial energy quotes in under 60 seconds.

Average business energy prices

Reports suggest that the average annual business energy bill for a small or medium sized business will exceed £3,000 for electricity and approach £1,000 for gas, but the actual cost of energy depends on how your business operates. Every business is different, and this is reflected in the amount of energy consumed.

You can refer to your previous bills to see how much your business already pays for energy and use our comparison tool to discover potential savings. Comparing and switching business energy suppliers and energy tariffs through Business Energy UK costs you nothing and is guaranteed to find you the most competitive deals.

Compare prices

Business Size Electricity Price Per kWh Gas Price Per kWh
Micro Business 49.48p 15.48p
Small Business 49.27p 14.92p
Medium Business 49.27p 14.68p
Large Business 50.70p 14.57p
Extra Large Business 50.70p 13.42p

Prices last updated: January 2023 / Source: Gov UK

How to get
accurate business
energy quotes

When your contract is coming to the end, you will likely be contacted by your provider about renewal. This contact may be made through a letter or email and will often include a renewal quote that is more expensive than the average business energy prices available on the market, which is why it’s so important to compare commercial energy deals.

For the most accurate business energy comparison, use Business Energy UK to compare deals with a recent energy bill to hand and your meter numbers noted down. You can ensure you get the most accurately-priced quotes by using real energy consumption data as your reference and by providing meter numbers.

Compare quotes

How to find the most competitive energy tariffs

Historically, the energy market has been volatile and fast-changing. This makes it difficult to predict how the prices for gas or electricity will change in the future.

Market trends are reflected in the rates business energy suppliers quote, and many factors can influence this, from customer demand to major global events – even the weather.

The best way to ensure you have access to competitive business energy deals is to compare quotes, so that you can find a tariff with the best value for money once your contract’s switching window opens. Remember to:

Switch before you end up on rollover contracts

These tariffs are far more expensive than your business will currently be paying, sometimes as much as 100% increase.

Formally end your existing contract

Terminating your agreement formally before the deadline, which will be written into your terms and conditions, is essential for you to change contract.

Compare the best deals using Business Energy UK

By shopping around for your gas and electricity deals, your business could save hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

It’s important to look at the value for money that each quote offers by considering both the price and the quality of service you expect. By looking beyond face value of the price alone, you can make a fully informed decision about how well an offer satisfies the needs of your business.

The difference
between domestic
and business
energy

Although many of the terms you’ll read about business energy are the same as your standard household energy, there are some key differences between the two.

One difference is the extent that energy deals are personalized. While both types of customers can compare tariffs that are suitable for them, business energy customers typically require a list of bespoke quotes that are tailored more closely to their needs.

Another difference is the way contracts come to an end. Business energy contract terms keep commercial customers bound, whereas household customers are able to switch freely despite their contract as long as they are willing to pay an exit fee.

The periods for switching or cancelling contracts are also different. For business customers, you cannot switch until you have entered the switching window, sometimes called the renewal window, which usually opens around six months before a contract period ends.

After switching, there’s no cooling-off period for business customers, like there is with household energy.

Business energy contract types

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Fixed-rate tariffs

The amount you pay for energy remains the same when you choose a fixed-rate tariff. Your business will still have higher bills if it uses more energy, but the amount it pays for each unit of energy will be fixed.

understanding-utility-bills

Green business energy tariffs

There are a wide range of reasons for going green with your business energy, from commercial incentives to social responsibility, and most pressingly, customer expectations and retention.

If your business is looking to reduce its carbon footprint and operate in a way that is environmentally friendly, a green energy tariff uses renewable sources of energy.

You can find green business energy deals using our comparison tool. Choose from renewable contracts with the Big Six or an increasing number of green suppliers that offer renewable energy exclusively.

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Half-hourly meters

Businesses with very high energy usage use half-hourly meters, which send readings to energy suppliers every thirty minutes. If your business has a half-hourly meter, it will only be charged for the energy it consumes.

The data from meter readings also helps you manage your energy consumption by revealing peak times and days, enabling you to make changes to improve energy efficiency.

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Out-of-contract tariffs

When your contract is coming to an end, it’s important to find a new deal. If not, you might be moved to a rollover contract and charged out-of-contract rates for your business energy. This usually means your organisation ends up paying far more than it should be. Compare and switch business energy deals when your current contract is about to expire, rather than letting it rollover to an expensive tariff.

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Variable-rate tariffs

Offering greater flexibility, you will not be charged a set rate per unit of energy with a variable-rate tariff. Instead, your charges will reflect what is happening in the energy market more widely.

This can be beneficial when the cost of energy is low, but it is risky because your bills will inevitably increase when the cost of energy is higher. As the price is determined by market activity, the amount your business pays for energy can change from month to month.

One major benefit of variable-rate tariffs is that there is no contract term, so your business does not need to commit to long-term deals. Typically, you’ll be able to cancel your contract with around one month’s notice.

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Multi-site energy contracts

If your business operates across multiple sites, you can manage these together by choosing a multi-site business energy deal. Quotes for this type of contract are grouped into a single procurement offer that takes data from the meters across all your sites into account.

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28-day contracts

These types of tariffs are now uncommon and hark back to a time before market deregulation. Your business will only be on a 28-day contract if it has not switched supplier in more than thirty years.

submit-meter-readings

Deemed rate tariff

If you move business premises, you might find yourself paying a deemed rate. These tend to be the default choice in the absence of a formal contract, but are usually very expensive. If your business is paying deemed rates, you should make it a priority to compare quotes and switch to a better deal to avoid overpaying for your energy.

Frequently asked questions

You can save hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds by switching business energy provider. It’s important to keep a handle on commercial expenditure, particularly energy bills, for three reasons. First and foremost, bills often make up a large chunk of overall business costs. Secondly, businesses generally use much more energy than domestic households. And thirdly, businesses can reinvest their savings into other areas, helping them grow and become more profitable.

You can compare deals in under 60 seconds using Business Energy UK, so you can select a new business energy supplier quickly. This is just the start of the process, but the majority of work is taken care of by the energy companies behind the scenes. It typically takes between four and six weeks to complete the switch. To avoid any unnecessary delays, ensure you’ve provided all the information your new supplier needs early on.

Standing charges involve a daily payment that remains the same, no matter how much energy is used, and most business energy contracts include them. Although standard charges are very common, some suppliers offer tariffs with no standing charges, which can be useful if you run a seasonal business or do not open every day.

Gas and electricity are not packaged together in business energy tariffs, so there’s no equivalent to the dual fuel offerings that you are able to choose with your domestic energy deals. Business energy suppliers will instead offer separate energy quotes and draw up separate contracts for business gas and electricity. It’s a good idea to choose the same contract length for both, making these easy to manage.