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- Cheaper fixed energy rates
- A hassle-free supplier switch
Companies in Britain can choose from approximately 40 licensed business energy suppliers. This guide is designed to help you determine which supplier is best for your business.
Our experts rank energy suppliers based on the following categories: greenest, cheapest, and best overall business energy supplier:
| Ranking | Supplier | Average review | Reviews | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Assured Energy | 5.0 | 785 | Business |
| 2 | Octopus Energy | 4.8 | 432,146 | Home and Business |
| 3 | United Gas and Power | 4.8 | 899 | Business |
| 4 | Good Energy | 4.8 | 12,180 | Home and Business |
| 5 | Shell Business Energy | 4.8 | 143 | Business |
| 6 | Total Energies | 4.7 | 6,232 | Business |
| 7 | EDF | 4.6 | 105,431 | Home and Business |
| 8 | Opus Energy | 4.5 | 7,566 | Business |
| 9 | E.ON next | 4.4 | 123,845 | Home and Business |
| 10 | Ecotricity | 4.3 | 5,890 | Home and Business |
Source: Extracted from Trustpilot in November 2024, extracting licensed non-domestic energy suppliers in the UK ranking according to the average score of verified customer reviews.
Greenest business energy suppliers
Most business energy suppliers now offer a green electricity product which supplies electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar. Power generation in the UK is increasingly sourced from green sources, making renewable electricity affordable for most businesses.
It’s difficult to single out a business electricity supplier for being the greenest. However, we’ll use this as an opportunity to highlight an innovative supplier: Good Energy.
Unlike other business energy suppliers, Good Energy generates electricity from 1,700 independent generators, buying directly from small renewable sources, including businesses that generate their renewable electricity.
Cheapest business energy suppliers
Unfortunately, there’s no straight answer to which business energy supplier is the cheapest. All business energy suppliers change prices daily with market changes and target specific customer groups.
Business energy supplier quotes are affected by factors such as:
- Contract length
- Tariff type
- Meter type
- Location
- Energy usage
We recommend comparing the market and getting bespoke quotes for your business to find the cheapest business energy supplier.
Request quotes today with the free AquaSwitch business energy comparison tool.
How to find the best business energy supplier
Finding the “best business energy suppliers” depends on your company’s needs. You’ll need to consider factors such as who offers the best business energy rates and the quality of their customer services.
Our commercial energy experts are here to help you compare the market and find your next business energy supplier. Our process is simple:
Where is your energy supplied?
Collect quotes
We’ll request quotes from our panel of trusted business energy suppliers and let you know the best options available in the current market.
hassle-free switch
We will take care of the switching process for you and make your move to a new business energy supplier as painless as possible.
Business energy suppliers for small and large businesses
A handful of major suppliers dominate the business energy market. Some of these suppliers cater to businesses of all sizes, while others specialise in specific customer segments.
The services provided to small and large business energy customers differ significantly. Here’s a summary of what is typically offered in each case:
Small business energy suppliers
Small business energy suppliers focus on enhancing the customer experience by offering services such as:
- Self-service online portals
- Card payment options for invoicing
- Easy-to-understand fixed tariffs
Large business energy suppliers
Large business energy suppliers prioritise supporting organisations with complex energy procurement strategies, providing services such as:
- Pass-through business energy tariffs
- Business energy monitoring software
- Half-hourly meter installations
Below, we summarise the services offered by the nine largest business energy suppliers and the types of businesses they specialise in serving.
EDF Energy is one of the largest energy suppliers to businesses and is Britain’s biggest zero-carbon electricity generator. It is currently building two new-generation nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point C that will significantly reduce the country’s overall carbon emissions.
EDF provides 24/7 live chat support for its customers and offers a wide choice of deals to small and large business properties.
Best for: Large and small businesses
E.ON Energy is another member of the ‘big six’ energy suppliers. E.ON Energy works with both its business and domestic customers to reduce their carbon footprint by implementing smart technologies.
E.ON Energy has recently acquired the business energy supplier arm of nPower. The combined E.ON and nPower businesses are now among the largest commercial energy suppliers in the UK.
Best for: Large and small businesses
Octopus Business Energy is growing fast, offering innovative commercial energy solutions to compete against the more established brands on this list while providing award-winning customer service.
Recent new business energy solutions include a 21-hour off-peak tariff, a no standing charge tariff and an export tariff where you can share electricity generated from commercial solar panels across multiple sites.
Best for: Small businesses
SSE’s Business Energy division is one of the largest in the commercial market. SSE Energy Solutions currently supplies over half a million business energy meters across the UK.
SSE’s business energy supplies are sourced from SSE’s own wind and hydroelectric dams. SSE was a principal partner of the UK government in the Glasgow COP 26 climate change conference.
Best for: Large and small businesses
British Gas is the largest supplier of energy services to homes in the UK and forms a significant part of the British business energy market. British Gas is owned by Centrica, a London Stock Exchange-listed multinational energy firm.
British Gas supplies Energy to over 350,000 organisations across the country, providing a full suite of additional services such as new connections, renewable energy generation, EV charging points and boiler maintenance.
Best for: Large and small businesses
Drax is the new name for Haven Power. The Drax brand supports large businesses through the process of decarbonisation offering renewable power procurement, corporate PPAs, and carbon credits.
Drax previously provided energy services to small businesses under the Opus Energy brand.
Best for: Large businesses
Scottish Power is an energy company based in Glasgow, a subsidiary of the Spanish utility giant Iberola. Scottish Power has various roles in the UK energy industry as a distribution network operator, transmission owner and supplier to homes and businesses.
Scottish Power offers energy supplies to businesses, small and large, with various deals to suit all needs. Scottish Power provides 100% renewable deals supplied by Scottish Power’s own wind farms.
Best for: Large and small businesses
Engie is committed to assisting SMEs in transitioning to low-carbon operations by providing a clean, affordable energy supply.
Engie also offers competitive purchase agreements through the Smart Export Guarantee scheme for businesses that generate their electricity.
Best for: Small businesses
Like British Gas, Total also claims to be the biggest supplier of energy products to UK businesses.
Total Energies is focused on becoming the UK’s most trusted business energy supplier, providing its customers with a secure, hassle-free power supply.
Best for: Large and small businesses
What are business energy suppliers?
A business energy supplier is a retail provider of energy licensed by Ofgem to supply electricity and/or gas to non-domestic properties in Britain.
The energy market is complex, involving various companies responsible for generating, transporting, and selling energy.
However, the role of a commercial energy supplier is straightforward. Here’s a summary:
- Purchase of energy – The supplier buys electricity or gas from the national grid, sourcing it from generators, producers, and importers.
- Distributors – The supplier pays to transport electricity and gas through the grid to individual customer locations.
- Measurement – The meter installed at commercial properties tracks business energy consumption of individual customers.
- Billing – The supplier issues regular business energy bills based on your tariff.
What are the differences between domestic and business energy suppliers?
Some business energy suppliers are also domestic energy suppliers, but there are some key differences between the two services:
- Commercial energy suppliers are not limited by a business energy price cap and generally have much more expensive standard variable tariffs.
- Business energy suppliers charge VAT at 20%, whereas home energy suppliers charge 5%. Business energy suppliers must add the climate change levy to their bills.
- Home energy suppliers offer dual-fuel products, whereas business energy suppliers offer them separately.
Can I negotiate prices with my business energy supplier?
It depends; if you’ve agreed to a contract with your current business energy supplier, it will not usually be possible to negotiate rates before your contract end date.
However, if you’re out-of-contract paying standard variable rates, then it is certainly possible. Out-of-contract business energy rates are typically needlessly expensive, and your supplier may offer a cheaper fixed tariff as an alternative.
To get the best business electricity rates, it’s important to negotiate with your current supplier and compare the whole market.
What’s the difference between a business energy supplier and a distributor?
Business energy suppliers and distributors perform very different roles in the energy market.
An electricity distributor owns and operates the local electricity distribution network, consisting of powerlines, underground cables and substations. The function of a distributor is to transport electricity from the core National Grid to homes and businesses in their local area.
In contrast, a business energy supplier will purchase electricity in the wholesale market and then pay the distributor to transport the energy to the commercial customers they supply.
Business energy supplier complaints
Business energy suppliers must provide a customer services department to handle problems and customer complaints. If you have a complaint, the first step is to call your supplier and explain the problem and how you would like this to be resolved.
You can find the contact numbers of your supplier’s customer services departments in our guide above.
If you don’t feel your complaint has been appropriately resolved, you can formalise your complaint using a letter. The Citizens Advice Bureau have published a handy template to prepare your letter. We recommend including any supporting evidence, such as photos, to support your formal complaint.
Ofgem sets out a further and final step. If you reach eight weeks of dialogue with your business energy supplier without resolution, you can escalate your complaint to the Energy Ombudsman. See contact details below:
Energy Ombudsman:
Contact number: 0330 440 1624.
Website: https://www.ombudsman-services.org/complain-now
Business energy suppliers who have gone bust
The last quarter of 2021 and the start of 2022 were difficult for business energy suppliers. The wholesale cost of natural gas has increased by 250%, resulting in several corporate failures in suppliers.
Here’s the list of business energy suppliers that have gone out of business over the last few years:
| Business energy supplier | Date | Number of customers |
|---|---|---|
| Whoop Energy | 18 February 2022 | 212 |
| Xcel Power Ltd | 18 February 2022 | 274 |
| Together Energy Retail Ltd | 18 January 2022 | 1 |
| CNG Energy | 3 November 2021 | 41000 |
| MA Energy | 2 November 2021 | 300 |
| Ampoweruk | 2 November 2021 | 2000 |
| Bluegreen Energy | 1 November 2021 | 5900 |
| Daligas | 14 October 2021 | 9000 |
| Symbio Energy | 29 September 2021 | 48000 |
| People's Energy | 14 September 2021 | 1000 |
| PFP Energy | 7 September 2021 | 5600 |
| Hub Energy | 9 August 2021 | 9000 |
What happens if my energy supplier goes out of business?
Ofgem, the energy industry regulator, has issued the following advice to customers of business energy suppliers that have gone out of business:
- Arrange to take regular meter readings at your business properties.
- Do not try to arrange a switch of business energy supplier
- Wait for a new supplier to be appointed.
In the case of a corporate failure of a licenced business energy supplier, Ofgem will step in and ensure there will be no disruption to your supply of energy.
In a supplier failure, Ofgem appoints a supplier of last resort. All customer accounts of the bankrupt supplier will transfer to the supplier of last resort. Once the appointment process is completed, your new business energy supplier will contact you.
You’ll receive communications from your new business energy supplier when the transfer has been completed. You’ll be supplied with energy from the transfer point under a deemed contract.
Under a deemed contract, you’ll pay expensive, variable out-of-contract rates, but you can switch to another supplier anytime.
Once your supplier of last resort transfer has been confirmed, we recommend using the AquaSwitch business energy or business gas comparison service to ensure your new supplier offers competitive prices.