Business Energy Comparison

Take advantage of falling business energy rates

Business energy rates have significantly fallen since the peak of the energy crisis in Autumn 2022. Business energy suppliers are now offering substantial discounts on their one-year fixed tariffs. Discover how much your business can save today.

Source: Wholesale energy rates on the National Grid published on the ICE exchange.

Energy analysts at Cornwall Insights predict that wholesale energy prices will continue to fall gradually through 2024. With the energy market becoming more favourable, suppliers are reducing their one-year fixed energy prices.

Get The Latest Energy Prices

Business energy comparison – Jargon buster

Business energy supplier – Companies that buy energy wholesale from the market and then sell it to individual business customers.

The national grid – The system operator for the network that carries Energy, in the form of electricity and gas, around the country to supply businesses and households.

Big six energy suppliers – The largest energy suppliers in the country, made up of Centrica (branded British Gas), EDF, E.ON (including nPower), OVO, Scottish Power and SSE.

Green energy tariff – A tariff offered by a business energy supplier who will match your usage with renewable energy generation or contribute towards environmental schemes.

Ofgem – The Energy markets regulator. Ofgem’s role is to protect the interests of consumers (including businesses) by promoting competition. Ofgem has the authority to issue licences to all participants in the Energy market.

Smart business energy meter – Self-reading energy meters that send your energy consumption directly to your supplier.

Climate change levy – An environmental tax on energy supplied to companies in the UK. The Climate change levy is added to all business energy bills for each kWh of energy provided.

Fuel mix – A disclosure by a business energy supplier that sets out the energy generation sources used in your business energy tariff.

Standing charge – A standing charge is a fixed rate paid daily, covering the cost of maintaining a business energy connection and meter.

Business energy tariff – An energy tariff is a scheme that sets out how a business energy supplier will provide your business with energy. The tariff specifies the price of energy, the agreed settlement and the term.

Rollover contract – A rollover occurs when you’ve not agreed to a specific tariff before your current contract end date. If you are a micro business, this contract cannot last more than 12 months.

Deemed contract – The legal arrangement between a business energy supplier and a commercial property occupier when energy is being supplied, but no contract has been agreed upon.

Half-hourly meter – A mandatory metering system used for larger businesses. A smart energy meter will transmit a meter reading to your business energy supplier every half an hour.

Authors of the business energy comparison page

The compare business energy page was written and reviewed by our business energy experts Tom Melhuish and Ben Brading. Click here for more on our editorial process.

Tools to help you understand business energy

At AquaSwitch, our business energy experts have worked hard to build several tools to help business owners understand the world of business energy. Here’s some we are particularly proud of:

Business electricity rates calculator
Business energy audit checklist
Guide to business energy contracts

Business energy comparison – FAQs

Here are frequently asked questions about energy comparison for business. We cover deemed contracts, cancelling business energy contracts and much more.

How does my company’s credit score affect comparing business energy quotes?

Business energy suppliers carefully manage credit risk when onboarding new customers. Suppliers have different approaches when it comes to assessing the credit scores of new customers. It’s common to adjust their pricing to factor in the credit risk associated with a contract.

To accept a new customer with a lower credit score, suppliers can ask for a security deposit or bill settlement by direct debit to reduce their exposure to credit risk.

Read our in-depth guide on credit scores and business energy comparison.

How much does business energy cost?

The cost of business energy tariffs available in the market changes daily and is affected by several different factors. Business energy costs are impacted by the following:

• Wholesale cost of energy – The cost of generating energy or importing it into Britain.
• Energy distribution costs – The cost involved in moving energy through the national grid to your property
• Government taxes – The business energy bills include VAT and the climate change levy.

The cost of business energy also depends on your company’s energy consumption location.  Use the AquaSwitch business energy comparison tool to request quotes tailored to your business.

Why do commercial energy prices depend on the size of my business?

Typically, companies that consume more energy can access lower business energy prices.

Business energy suppliers can negotiate lower fixed wholesale rates on the energy market in high-consumption business energy contracts. It’s most easily thought of as a bulk-buy discount.

The following table shows the latest government statistics on the business energy rates paid by different sizes of companies.

For business energy supply:

Source: BEIS: Quarterly energy prices.

Please note that the government statistics are about six months out of date. For the latest business energy rates, see above.

Should I get a smart meter for my business energy consumption?

Yes, most businesses can benefit from upgrading to a smart meter, which offers the following advantages:

• Accurate measurement of electricity usage to calculate business energy bills. Pay for exactly the energy you use.
• Your energy supplier can identify if your business premises have suffered a power cut and resolve it immediately.
• Be alerted to any energy consumption issues that arise.

For more information, read our guide on smart meters for business.

Why do I need an LOA when comparing business energy?

When you compare business energy quotes with AquaSwitch, you must sign an LOA to allow us to negotiate the best energy rates and manage the switching process on your behalf.

You can use our business energy comparison tool to compare the latest prices, but for AquaSwitch to manage the switch, an LOA must be completed.

Does my business need a half-hourly meter?

Half-hour business energy meters are compulsory for commercial properties with energy demands of over 100kW in any 30-minute period.

Check out our comprehensive guide to half-hourly business energy meters for more information.

Will my business energy quote change?

Unfortunately, prices fluctuate due to the ever-changing nature of the energy market. If you receive a business energy comparison report today and look to go ahead with a quote in two days, prices will likely have changed.

Once you use the business energy comparison tool, it’s worth reviewing each supplier’s prices and then deciding whether to proceed with those rates. The rates you get today will differ from tomorrow due to volatility in the wholesale energy market.

Can I cancel my business energy contract?

You can cancel a business energy contract immediately without incurring expensive exit charges in the following scenarios:

• You’ve recently moved into a property and are paying deemed rates
• You are relocating out of your commercial property (change in tenancy).
• Your current tariff has ended, and you’ve moved on to variable rates.

For more information, check out our complete guide to cancelling a business energy contract.

Does the energy price cap apply to businesses?

Normally, business energy prices are not capped. Unlike domestic energy products, energy companies are not regulated with a price cap.

The lack of a business energy price cap means that business energy suppliers’ out-of-contract rates can be much higher than current market prices. This makes energy comparison for business an essential part of keeping costs down.

Check out our complete guide to the business energy price cap.

Who supplies my business energy?

Energy operators can tell you who currently supplies energy to your business property. To do this, use the Energy Network Association tool to help you find your business energy supplier using your postcode.

Once you find out who supplies your business energy, reach out to them, and they can give you your MPAN (Meter Point Administration Number) and MPRN (For Gas) as well.

MPAN and MPRN numbers will allow you to compare business energy prices by receiving quotes tailored to your energy supply points.

What is a multi-site meter?

A multi-site meter is an efficient way for your business to organise the billing for numerous energy supply points. This could be the billing for meters housed in one large business site or across multiple business locations.

Multi-site meters can save business owners money, time, and hassle. Trying to gather different meter reads for different suppliers around your multiple properties can be costly. It’s a huge benefit when you go to compare business energy prices.

If I compare business energy prices, can I switch immediately?

You can only switch to a new contract the day after your contract end date. It’s important to note that it can take up to 4 weeks for a new supplier to take over your supply, so if your contract end date is less than four weeks away, you may end up on out-of-contract rates while you wait for the transfer of your supply.

There are some exceptions to this.

• You’ve just moved into new premises: It can take up to 6 weeks for your new contract to come into effect as you will need to provide proof of the move-in date and make sure the previous supplier is aware the old tenant is no longer in the premises. The old supplier will have to process this as a change of tenancy and can delay the switch.
• You are currently out of contract: If you are currently out of contract, we can ask the new supplier or existing supplier to start your new contract with an ASAP start date. Please note that switching to a new supplier could take up to 4 weeks for the transfer process.

How do I know if my business is on a deemed contract or is paying out-of-contract rates?

Avoiding expensive out-of-contract business energy rates in a deemed contract is key to avoiding overpaying for business energy.

The most common indicators that you are paying for energy in a deemed contract are:

• You’ve recently moved into a property but have not yet agreed to an energy contract.
• You’ve noticed a significant increase in the unit rate on your energy bills.

Your business energy supplier must tell you exactly what kind of contract you are on and the cheaper alternatives that they offer. If you are uncertain about the current status of your business energy tariff, we recommend contacting the customer services department of your supplier.

How do I know when my business energy contract is coming to an end?

If you look at your recent business energy bill, it will usually state the end date of your current contract. If not, we recommend reviewing the original agreement that you signed or otherwise contacting the customer services of your business energy supplier.

It’s important to know when your business energy contract ends. If you haven’t arranged another business energy contract, you’ll automatically start paying needlessly expensive deemed standard variable energy rates.

It’s so important that we’ve published a complete guide on what happens at the end of a business energy contract.

Will my business energy renewal quote be cheaper?

Knowing whether your renewal quote will be cheaper than your current tariff is difficult. It depends on multiple factors. If you recently fixed for a year in the height of the business energy crisis, your current supplier may be able to fix you at a better rate for the future.

We recommend using our business energy comparison service to compare the latest prices and rates. You’ll quickly find out if your renewal quote is competitive.

How much can I save if I compare business energy prices?

AquaSwitch has helped businesses save thousands on energy rates by switching to the most competitive deals. If you haven’t switched suppliers in a while, you could be paying unnecessarily expensive business energy rates.

Regardless of your situation with our business energy comparison service we’ll quickly let you know how much you can save.

What’s the difference between business and domestic energy?

Business energy is essentially gas and electricity for commercial buildings. It’s similar to domestic energy supplies but with a few differences:

• For businesses, you will be quoted separately for business gas prices and business electricity prices, unlike households, where you get dual-fuel tariffs.
• Businesses pay 20% VAT on business energy bills compared to the 5% VAT homeowners pay.
• The unit rates are generally lower for commercial compared to domestic, as the business energy supplier purchases the energy in bulk to negotiate lower rates.

Check out our full guide to the difference between domestic and business energy.