With the rising energy prices, businesses have felt the need to switch to a new energy supplier or find cheaper rates.
Added to the price increase, by the end of March 2024, the Energy Bill Discount Theme has been scheduled to end. All this means that April will show flames in terms of energy costs.
Let’s look at the top business energy providers and how they compare.
Top Business Energy Providers
Below are the top business energy providers in the UK. We will discuss how they are in comparison and what customers can expect from their service.
EDF Energy
This utility group is made up of six energy suppliers. They are also the most well-known energy supplier, so most people will likely choose them over the lesser-known providers.
The suppliers include EDF Energy, British Gas, E.ON, Scottish Power, SSE, and Npower.
Based on their one-year fixed tariff, a customer using 18,000 kWh annually is quoted at 22.1p per kWh. However, they have a higher standing charge of 75p per day.
With the EDF energy group, your tariffs will be determined by:
- The type of tariff means people who choose an online-only tariff will have lower rates than a full-service tariff that will give you access to customer care support.
- Length of tariff: You will pay a little extra to secure your tariff rates for longer after choosing a fixed tariff.
- Payment method: Depending on the payment method, the rates will be lower when you use Pay As You Go or Direct Debit than when you use cheque or cash.
As long as you provide 49 days’ notice, exit fees are not charged if you terminate your contract.
They also offer four green tariffs if you want renewable energy sources.
Octopus Energy
This utility provider is rated best for no standing charges. This means that you pay for the amount of energy you use. This is an ideal option if you have a small business and do not use a lot of energy.
They use the average customer usage of 18,000 kWh annually on a fixed rate. This utility provider sets the price at 26.26p per kWh. However, the standing charge is set at 95p. For small businesses, however, the no-standing charge comes into play as it was introduced in October 2023.
Existing as well as new customers can sign up for the initiative program, which gives a fixed 12-month contract for people who use less than 25,280 kWh of electricity per year. This initiative also has no standing charge, as it will add to your unit rate.
Octopus Energy also has other plans available, such as:
- Electric Supply: This plan has been designed to charge businesses with charging points for electric vehicles on their premises and gives them cheaper rates when the charging points are used outside of peak hours.
- Panel Power BETA: This plan has been designed for businesses that use solar panels with a combined energy of 15p/kWh for every unit exported.
All Octopus Energy plans, including the Flexible Octopus Tariff, have no termination periods or exit fees. However, they take an advance payment as a safety measure to safeguard them against unforeseen circumstances and unreliable customers.
The advancement is usually the price of an estimated energy cost, or it could be as much as three months, depending on your credit score. This money will be taken and held until your contract ends and is not added to your energy bill. It will then be returned to you once the account balance has been squared up at the end of the contract.
Customer services include various options such as phone, email, and online customer accounts. They also offer a smooth switching process that doesn’t require installation visits or engineers. There is also no disruption to your power supply.
They also offer 100% renewable energy across tariffs.
Utilita’s
This utility provider mainly supplies electricity to customers via prepayment and smart meters.
The price is based on a one-year fixed rate tariff for customers using 18,000 kWh. Currently, the price is set at 23.96p per kWh in January 2024. Although this is similar to Octopus Energy, they have a higher standing charge of 42.55p per day.
They have a one-price-fits-all-tariff which includes:
- Same price on Direct Debit, Pay on Receipt, and Pay As You Go.
- A 12/24 month fixed price for both electricity and gas on contract.
- Using Flexi Pay means you can switch how you pay anytime.
- Free Smart meter that comes with Smart Energy Monitor
- Out of Contract/ Deemed Electricity Prices: 35p/ day standing charge
A range of add-ons will keep customers happy, such as Utilita Rewards, which gives customers credit that they can spend on energy. Utilita Extra also offers weekly giveaways, shopping, and concert tickets, and prize draws.
With their repayment meter, there are more convenient options that you can use; these include paying via the app, over the phone, using the online platform to top up, at any PayPoint location, or even by SMS.
They also offer Emergency and Friendly Credit, meaning you will never run out of credit at night, on bank holidays, or over the weekend.
There are no hidden fees, so you do not have to pay to exit the contract or when changing to another Utility provider. However, you will be billed if you are late on your monthly payments. These payments are as follows:
- 14+ days late= £10 charge
- 23+ days later= £30 charge
It is important to remember that if you use the Direct Debit payment method and it fails, there is a charge of £8. A meter being fitted will cost an additional £150.
Unfortunately, they do not offer a green tariff but encourage customers to reduce their individual carbon footprint. You can use the “Smart Score” function on their app to test how energy-efficient you are.
Conclusion
Finding an energy provider to meet your energy consumption needs is not the only aspect you should consider.
You need to be able to afford the cost of energy your business is using. To
compare energy rates from UK providers. You can use the Utility Bidders comparison tool to find the best prices on both gas and electricity from leading energy providers.
