FAQ's About Business Energy Bills

A rollover contract (also known as evergreen, assumptive renewal) is’an agreement between two parties that is automatically renewed (rolled over) after each completion – or maturity period, until cancelled by either party. Unlike household energy contracts, nearly all gas and electricity for business contracts are evergreen, meaning they automatically renew themselves if you don’t terminate them with a letter of notice. Some suppliers renew over 90% of their customers in this way, rolling them over on to new not-so cheap energy prices when often the customer is unaware this is happening.

Most energy suppliers require your business to have a minimum credit rating – so the better score you have, the more you can compare energy prices and the cheaper your energy bills will be. Other variables that determine which cheap business electricity prices each business is eligible for include: postcode, business type (sole trader, Ltd etc), sector (retail, manufacturing etc), annual consumption (average for an SME is 25,000 kWh/year), meter profile (the first two digits in a meter reference number range from 00-08 which is a classification related to consumption – most small businesses are 03/04 profile) and payment terms (direct debit being best).

As far as utilities companies are concerned, businesses include all not-for-profit/community buildings such as churches, village halls and scouts huts. Still, this doesn’t mean they can’t compare business energy prices and switch to a better deal. Plus, they may also be eligible for a lower rate of VAT and Climate Change Levy exemption. The VAT on electricity bills and gas bills can often make a significant difference alone.

The other most common types of contracts for businesses are ’28 Day’ and ‘Deemed Rates’.

We are 100% independent and work with all energy companies, at least 10 of the telephone companies and each of the mobile networks. In some cases the rates we have from suppliers have been negotiated and are exclusive to our company. We’re committed to offering you the lowest price and will always present the best available deals for you, no matter what commission we are being offered by suppliers.

Businesses that do not compare energy prices or have not attempted to switch energy suppliers since the market was de-regulated in the 1990s often find themselves on 28 Day supply contracts. The energy prices charged for these contracts can go up and down with the market and are rarely competitive. As such, we would always recommend a business switches on to a competitively-priced ‘fixed-rate, fixed-term’ contract for a minimum of a year – even with the same supplier. Thankfully, as the name suggests, switching to cheap business electricity can be carried out anytime after giving 28 days notice.

These rates are often the worst and usually apply to businesses that are either new to a premises or have terminated a contract but failed to switch to a new supplier. The good news is that, like 28-day contracts, there is only a maximum of 28 days’ notice required to switch onto the cheapest energy rates.

Half-hourly meters are for energy-intensive businesses whose average peak electricity demand was greater than 100kW in any three months of the previous year. There are two simple ways of checking if you are a half hourly customer: usually a half hourly meter will have a communications link so that meters can be read remotely on a daily basis or if you check your meter reference number on your bill you’ll see that it begins 00. We have a specialist team that arranges for the cheapest electricity prices to be sought from suppliers that cater for the half-hourly market.

If you have just moved into a premises, you will be supplied by the same supplier(s) that the previous tenants used. However, this supplier is likely to be charging you out-of-contract rates which are significantly higher than average. It is important that you arrange new commercial energy contracts for your business as soon as you can after moving in. If you call us with your new address, we can find out who your current supplier is, your meter serial number, compare energy prices and advise you on the best option going forward. Please note that a meter serial number (or ‘meter ID’) is different to a meter reference number. It is the 9 or 10 digit reference located on the actual meter itself that usually appears in the following format A12B 34567. Click to read our advice for businesses that are relocating.

In this instance, we would advise you to contact your local business energy supplier, have them install a meter at your premises and enter a fixed-price contract with them on the minimum fixed-term contract they have available (usually a year but sometimes as short as nine months). Once you are on supply and have a meter reference number we can search the market for a better deal to switch to once your initial contract expires.