Business gas and electricity

Compare business energy deals and find the right one for you

From small start-ups and coffee shops to office blocks and corporate conglomerates, businesses of all sizes need to take care of their energy bills.

High energy prices could seriously affect your operating costs and eat into your profits, so it’s worth making sure you don’t burn through too much of your money to keep the lights glowing and the coffee flowing.

Business energy

Much like domestic customers, a business may well stick with the same supplier for a long time without changing.

Unfortunately, this often means businesses will be on higher tariffs rather than the cheaper ones they could be using.

A business’ energy rates depend on more variables than those of a domestic user including, but not restricted to, the following:

• Credit rating
• Size
• Postcode
• Business type (whether you're a sole trader or limited company, for example)
• The sector you operate in
• Annual consumption

So how can you make sure your firm isn’t over-charged? The answer is as simple as comparing energy suppliers.

Business energy contracts

One key way of saving money on your business’ energy needs is to keep a sharp eye on your contracts

It’s worth comparing different types of contract to ensure you’re on the right one for your business needs.

• Rollover contract - is automatically renewed until it's cancelled and may not give you the best deal.
• Fixed-term contract - should lock you into a certain price for a number of years.
• Deemed rates - these tariffs usually apply to businesses that have just moved to a property - they can be very expensive.

Climate change levy

Another good way of saving money on your business energy bills is to make your business as green as possible.

One incentive to make your business more energy efficient is the Climate Change Levy (CCL).^†

This is a tax imposed on businesses in the industrial, agricultural, commercial, or public services sectors.

Your business may be able to get a reduction on the main rates of the levy if you can prove you’re committed to reducing emissions.

The CCL is paid as part of your energy bill, so you don’t have to worry about paying it separately.

The only kinds of business that don’t need to pay the CCL are charities that engage in non-commercial activities, domestic energy users, and any businesses that only use small amounts of energy

CMA energy market investigation

It might sound like the burden of making your energy bill cheaper is largely yours to bear, and this is true - to a degree.

But there’s also a large push for reforms in the energy market – which the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been listening to.^†

It investigated the energy market and announced its provisional decisions in March 2016.

They estimated that microbusiness customers of the 'big six' suppliers were paying £180m more a year (between 2007 and 2014) than they would have in a better functioning market.

The most attractive prices are typically found with 'acquisition tariffs' - which are available to switchers opting to fix their supply for a year or more - while the most expensive are typically applied to 'out of contract' rates where businesses have never actively looked at their energy supply contract.