How to switch business energy suppliers

Buying business energy isn’t the same as buying it for your home and the main difference is that households can choose from a range of pre-determined tariffs from suppliers – such as dual fuel, fixed, or green tariffs. Commercial energy deals on the other hand, are tailored to meet the exact needs of individual businesses, taking into account factors such as size, location and the type of industry they’re in. Other differences between commercial and domestic energy deals include:

• Cooling-off periods – unlike domestic deals, business energy deals don’t come with a 14-day cooling-off period, so you need to be confident that the plan you have in place represents value for money.
• Contract length – business energy deals generally last longer – up to five years with some fixed-term contracts, whereas domestic contracts usually last between one and two years. If you don’t have a contract in place (either as a domestic or business user) you’re likely to pay a lot more for your energy compared to those that do.
• Ability to exit your contract – not only can domestic energy users cancel a contract within the cooling-off period, they can technically leave at any time – subject to any conditions and payment of cancellation fees. Business energy users can’t cancel contracts and have to stay with their supplier until the agreement reaches its end date.
• Fixed rates – business energy tariffs are usually fixed for the length of the contract. Domestic energy prices can vary (unless billpayers have agreed on a fixed tariff) depending on the wholesale price, supplier costs and tariff type.
• Flexibility – commercial energy deals are more flexible in the sense that they’re based on use and business owners can often agree mutually beneficial deals. Domestic users on the other hand, are limited to the energy tariffs available on the market.

Switching energy deal at the end of your current contract is the simplest way to ensure you get the best price for your business energy. If you don’t renew or switch you’ll find yourself on a pricey ‘out of contract’ tariff – which you could end up being locked into for up to 12-months.

One type of out of contract tariff, is ‘deemed rates’ – you can find yourself on this if you’ve just moved business premises and haven’t yet agreed a deal with a supplier. Another out of contract plan is the ’28-day tariff’ which you may be on if you’ve never switched supplier since as far back as the 1990s when the energy market was deregulated.

All out of contract tariffs are very expensive as suppliers are under no obligation to give you their best price without a plan in place – so switching really does mean saving.

You can switch business gas suppliers by getting in touch with a new supplier and asking them to switch your business to one of their commercial tariffs. You'll need to have the following information to hand:

• Your MPRN to help the supplier locate your supply.
• Your energy consumption and how much you currently pay
• When your switching window opens and your contract end date

You'll then need to let your current supplier you're leaving. Your switch will take place when your existing contract ends.

That sound pretty straightforward, but if you want to make sure you're on the best deal, you'll need to repeat all of this information to multiple suppliers. This can be very time-consuming and quite frustrating. And if you also need to switch business electricity suppliers, you'll need to go through the whole process again for that.    

Or you can let our energy experts do all the hard work for you. We use smart data to cut the amount of time it takes to gather the information we need to compare quotes. And we only need to take your information once to compare business energy prices from our panel of trusted UK energy suppliers.

Give us a call now on 0800 188 4930 or pop your postcode in the box on the right and we'll get back to you. 

How long does it take to switch energy providers? Business energy switching can take up to six weeks – longer if your new provider needs to clarify any details with you or if you’re waiting for your switching window to open. To minimise delays it’s best to keep recent bills to hand and give your new supplier as much information as you can upfront.

If you’ve just moved business premises and don’t know who supplies your energy you can call Xoserve for gas queries on 0800 188 4930. To find out your electricity supplier visit the Energy Networks Association for a list of contact numbers.

By switching energy suppliers, you can help your business make substantial savings – especially if you’ve never switched before. If you want more information contact our energy experts on 0800 188 4930 for help and advice.