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UK businesses overpay by an average of £3,200/year on energy. Enter your postcode to see what you could save.
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Why businesses overpay on energy
Roll onto expensive tariffs
Most businesses let their contract expire and roll onto out-of-contract rates — often 30–50% more expensive than a negotiated deal.
Average annual saving
That's what the average UK business saves when they compare and switch energy supplier through our comparison service.
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Our service is completely free. We're paid by the supplier if you switch — there's no charge to you at any point.
Common questions about business energy
Yes, completely free. We earn a commission from the supplier if you switch through us — there's no charge to you at any point and no obligation to switch if you don't find a better deal.
Getting quotes takes 60 seconds. If you decide to switch, the process typically takes 2–6 weeks. Your supply is never interrupted during the switch.
No. You can compare at any time. You can often negotiate a new contract up to 6 months before your current one expires to lock in better rates and avoid costly out-of-contract tariffs.
You can compare both business gas and business electricity. We cover all meter types including single-rate, multi-rate, and half-hourly meters, across all contract lengths.
SaveCompare is an independent UK-based comparison service established in 2008. We don't supply energy — we just help you find the best deal. Learn more about us.
Business energy in the UK: contract types, deemed rates, and where the overpayment comes from
Business energy works under a different set of rules to domestic energy. There's no Ofgem default tariff cap on business contracts. The contracts are typically 12 to 48 months, fixed-rate, and end on a specific date with no cooling-off period. Once you're out of contract, the supplier moves you to a deemed (out-of-contract) rate that is usually 40-70% higher than the rate you would have agreed had you renewed in time. That gap is where most of the overpayment in the UK small-business energy market comes from.
The four contract states a business sits in
At any given moment, a UK business sits in one of four positions on its energy supply.
- In-contract. Inside the fixed-term agreement you signed. Your rate is locked; the contract end date is fixed; you can't switch supplier until the renewal window opens, usually 6 months out.
- In renewal window. The supplier has written to you with renewal terms. This is the cheapest time to switch because new suppliers will quote you their best forward-price; staying with the incumbent on the renewal terms is almost never the cheapest option.
- Out-of-contract (deemed rate). Your fixed-term expired without you renewing. You're on a deemed rate, usually 40-70% above the rate you could have agreed in the renewal window. Suppliers are required to display this rate on the bill, but most businesses don't read it.
- Rolled-over (rolling contract). Some suppliers historically rolled small businesses onto a new fixed term automatically if the renewal wasn't actioned. Ofgem has tightened the rules on rollover since 2022, but the practice still exists for businesses defined as Non-Domestic Micro-Business in some supplier contracts. Read the renewal letter carefully.
Brokers, commissions and the new transparency rules
Most business energy contracts in the UK are arranged through brokers (third-party intermediaries) rather than direct with the supplier. Brokers earn a commission, paid by the supplier, that's added as an uplift to the unit rate. The uplift is typically between 0.1p and 2p per kWh, which for a business using 50,000 kWh a year is between £50 and £1,000 added to the annual bill. Ofgem's new business energy rules from December 2024 require brokers to disclose their commission upfront in pence per kWh. If a broker won't show you their commission, walk away.
Half-hourly and multi-rate meters
Businesses with peak electricity demand above 100kW are usually on half-hourly metering, which records consumption in 30-minute intervals. Pricing for half-hourly meters is more complex than the standard single-rate fixed contract — the unit rate varies by time of day, day of week, and (in some contracts) by load profile. The cheapest half-hourly contract on paper isn't always the cheapest in practice; the load-shape assumptions matter as much as the headline rate. Our business energy comparison flags load-profile mismatches when they apply.
The data feeding our business energy estimates comes from the Ofgem business energy price tracker, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's quarterly fuel statistics, and our partner brokers' published rate cards. The methodology and full source list are on the About page. We don't take payment for higher rankings; partner relationships are disclosed.