Setting Up Business Gas and Electricity for The First Time

If you’re a business owner setting up at in a new building, one of the first things you’ll need to organise is your business energy contracts.

The gas and electricity tariffs you select will have a huge impact on your company overheads, so choosing the right deal is key.

In this guide, we’ll provide you with everything you need to know about setting up your business gas and business electricity for the first time. We’ll also advise you on how you can compare business energy deals to find the most suitable option for your company.

How do business energy contracts differ from domestic energy tariffs?

The first thing you need to understand about business energy contracts is that they are different from standard domestic energy tariffs. 

Here’s a breakdown of the main differences between business and domestic energy contracts:

• Business contracts often have cheaper rates – Domestic customers purchase their energy on a monthly basis, meanwhile businesses are required to buy their energy in bulk. Due to this, business energy rates are usually cheaper, however companies are required to pay a higher VAT charge (20%), and they are also charged a Climate Change Levy fee.
  
  
• Business contracts have longer term lengths – Whilst domestic energy tariffs usually last 1/2 years, business energy contracts can have term lengths of up to 5 years. These longer contracts mean that once you have agreed to the terms, it will be very difficult for you to cancel before your renewal window. Business energy renewal periods are usually 6 months prior to the official contract end date.
  
  
• Business contract prices are based on your specific needs – With domestic energy, you can compare a range of different tariffs to find a suitable option. However, business energy contracts are based on your specific needs, so they can be more complicated to compare. We recommend using a comparison service to compare business energy prices. 

• Business contracts do not usually offer dual fuel contracts – Unlike domestic energy tariffs, dual fuel contracts are not typically available to businesses. You’ll therefore need to get separate gas and electricity contracts. However, both contracts can be with the same supplier if this is preferred. Try our quick and easy comparison tool today to find suitable deals for your business gas and electricity. 
• Business energy supplier switches take longer to complete – If you decide to switch business energy suppliers, the overall process will take longer than a domestic supplier switch. Business energy switches typically take 4-6 weeks to set up, whilst domestic switches can take around 21 days. There is also no cooling-off period with commercial energy contracts, so it’s essential that you choose suitable tariffs.

How to set up your business’ gas and electricity

There are four main steps to setting up your business’ gas and electricity. These are:

1. Locate your meters and take a reading – This is the first task you should complete when you move into your new business premises. Taking gas meter and electricity meter readings will provide a measurement of the energy you’ve used since entering the property and helps to ensure that your future bills are accurate.

2. Find out your current supplier – Once you’ve recorded the meter readings, you’ll need to provide them to the building’s current energy supplier. You can find out who this is by enquiring with the property seller or the previous tenants. Alternatively, you can use the Meter Point Administration’s online tool to find out your gas supplier and use the Energy Networks Association tool to find out who supplies your electricity. These services will also be able to inform you of your MPAN and MPRN

Once you’ve found out who supplies your gas and electricity, you can either choose to negotiate a new deal with the current supplier or use a comparison engine to compare business energy and find better tariffs.

3. Choose a tariff – Your business energy needs may be different to your building’s previous owners, so you should consider the different types of energy tariffs available. For example, you can choose between fixed-rate contracts, variable-rate contracts, multi-site contracts, as well as Economy 7 and Economy 10 meter tariffs. Here at Business Electricity Prices, we can help you decide which type of energy tariff is most suitable for your company.

Depending on your planned level of energy consumption, you may need to get new meters installed. For example, businesses that use 100kW of energy or more per 30 minutes are legally required to get a half-hourly meter installed.

4. Compare energy deals – Finally, once you have an idea of the type of energy contracts your business requires, you can compare business energy tariffs to find the best deal. This is where the energy experts at Business Electricity Prices come in. We can find the most suitable gas and electricity deals for your business in a matter of seconds. Simply enter a few details about your business into our free comparison tool and we’ll be in touch shortly with your free quote.