Business energy prices and quotes

There is no single figure. Business electricity rates are quoted per site and depend on when you buy, how much you use, when you use it, your meter type, your network area and the contract length. Any published average is only a rough guide to what your own site would be offered.

Usually 20 per cent. A reduced 5 per cent rate applies where usage stays below the de minimis level, around 33 kWh of electricity a day, or where the supply is for a charity's non-business use. The reduced rate is not always applied automatically, so it is worth checking your invoice.

Not necessarily. Larger users can secure lower unit rates through a tender, but businesses usually pay 20 per cent VAT rather than 5, plus the Climate Change Levy, and there is no price cap. The contract and the charges around the unit rate decide the real difference.

Suppliers price each supply from the wholesale market at the time you buy, then add network charges, policy costs and their own costs and margin. That is why two similar sites can be quoted different rates in the same week.

No. The Ofgem price cap covers domestic customers only. Business prices are agreed in a contract, which is why the contract terms and renewal timing matter so much.

Standing charges now carry a large share of network costs, including the fixed residual charge for your site's band. On larger supplies, agreed capacity charges can add further daily costs that do not fall when you use less.

The supply continues, usually on out of contract or rollover rates that tend to cost more than a negotiated contract. Tracking end dates and starting the renewal early avoids this.

Send us a recent invoice for each meter and the contract end dates. We take the supply to the market, set out the offers on the same basis, and you sign the contract yourself. Our fee is agreed in writing before you sign.

Not quite. A comparison site shows the tariffs it is paid to list. A tender asks suppliers to price your actual supply, and we check the offers line by line, including standing charges and pass through costs.