Business gas meters and new connections
A new business gas connection costs from around £2,000 in pipework where the premises sit within 23 metres of a gas main (industry estimate, correct as of July 2026). Cadent's connection works take 6 to 8 weeks on average after payment. End to end, from application to gas flowing, allow 3 to 5 months.
New premises with no gas. A meter too small for the new kitchen. A meter in the wrong place. Three different jobs, three different organisations, and nobody tells you which one to ring first. This page is the whole chain in order. We arrange it end to end, so you make one call instead of five.
The three players (and who to call)
The gas transporter owns the pipes in the street and everything up to the emergency control valve, the tap immediately before your meter. Four companies cover Britain: Cadent Gas, Northern Gas Networks, SGN and Wales & West Utilities. Your postcode decides which one you get. They lay the pipe and connect your building to the main.
Your gas supplier owns the meter. Installing and maintaining it is their responsibility, which is why no meter gets fitted until a supply contract is agreed. Larger sites sometimes appoint a separate meter operator under contract, but for most businesses the supplier handles it.
You own everything after the meter: the internal pipework to your boiler and appliances. Work on that side needs a Gas Safe registered engineer, appointed by you.
Roles per Cadent's commercial connections guidance, checked July 2026. The order matters. Pipework first, contract second, meter third. Get them out of sequence and you own a connected building with no gas in it.
New gas connection, step by step
1. Get a connection quote. Apply to your transporter. Have three things ready: your expected annual usage in kWh, your peak hourly demand, and where on the plan the meter will sit. The quote is sized on them. Quotes are priced per site, and Cadent gives you up to 90 days to accept one. If you don't know your transporter, we'll tell you from your postcode.
2. Pipework. Once you've paid, Cadent completes commercial connection works in 6 to 8 weeks on average. Road permits and groundworks can stretch that.
3. Agree a supply contract. The meter belongs to a supplier, so you need one signed up before anything gets fitted. One warning here: business energy contracts have no cooling-off period, even on the phone (Ofgem). Get the quote in writing before you agree anything.
4. Meter installation. Agree the meter type with your supplier first. A standard single-rate meter suits most businesses; two-rate meters exist for premises that mostly run evenings and weekends. According to MoneySuperMarket's January 2026 guide, suppliers take around 15 working days to verify the new connection details, and most then complete the meter installation within 5 working days of the contract being agreed.
5. Gas on. Your meter gets an MPRN, the reference every future quote will ask for; our MPRN guide shows where to find it. Your bills will include the Climate Change Levy at 0.801p per kWh, the rate from 1 April 2026 (gov.uk).
One reconciliation, because the numbers confuse people. Cadent's 6 to 8 weeks covers the works after payment only. The whole run, application to gas flowing, is longer: industry estimates (Telnergy, April 2026) put a standard connection within 23 metres of a main at 3 to 5 months, a main extension at 5 to 9 months, and jobs needing network reinforcement at 9 to 18 months. If your opening date is fixed, every week you wait to apply comes off the wrong end. The pipework won't hurry for anyone.
What connection and meter work costs
No transporter or supplier publishes a fixed price list for commercial meter installation, upgrade or relocation. Every job is quoted per site. The pipework is also contestable work, meaning independent utility infrastructure providers can quote against the transporter; on larger jobs, get both. The biggest cost driver is distance to the nearest main. Industry estimates for the pipework (Telnergy, April 2026):
| Distance from the gas main | Estimated pipework cost |
|---|---|
| Within 23 metres | £2,000 to £5,000 |
| 23 to 50 metres | £5,000 to £15,000 |
| 50 to 200 metres | £15,000 to £50,000 |
| Over 200 metres, or network reinforcement needed | £50,000 to £100,000+ |
Treat these as orientation. Your quote will differ, and the meter itself is extra. What moves the price: meter size and pressure, the ground between you and the main, and whether a road needs digging up. Anyone quoting a flat price before seeing the site is guessing with your money.
Upgrading or moving an existing meter
If new appliances have outgrown your meter, or a refit puts it in the wrong place, the same split applies. A straightforward meter swap runs through your supplier, and the same 5 working days after contract agreement applies to straightforward meter work (MoneySuperMarket). Anything that alters the pipework goes back to the transporter, where Cadent's 6 to 8 week average is the realistic yardstick. Relocations are quoted per job.
Upgrading to a smart gas meter may be free for many small businesses under the smart rollout, per MoneySuperMarket. Worth asking your supplier before paying for anything.
And the honest bit: if your meter is safe, working, and your usage hasn't changed, keep it. Moving a meter to tidy up a wall rarely pays back. Sometimes leaving it alone is right, and we'll say so.
Moving premises rather than moving a meter? That's a different process: see moving business premises.
Questions people ask us
- Who installs business gas meters?
Your gas supplier. They own the meter and are responsible for installing and maintaining it. The transporter does the pipework up to the emergency control valve, and internal pipework beyond the meter is yours, via a Gas Safe engineer.
- How much does a commercial gas meter cost?
There's no published price schedule; suppliers and transporters quote per site. Pipework starts from around £2,000 for premises within 23 metres of a main (industry estimate, July 2026), and meter size, pressure and groundworks set the rest. Get a site-specific quote before budgeting.
- How long does a new gas connection take?
Cadent's connection works take 6 to 8 weeks on average once you've paid. End to end, industry estimates run 3 to 5 months for a standard connection, and longer where the main needs extending.
- Do I need a supply contract before the meter goes in?
Yes. The supplier owns the meter, so no contract means no meter. Remember there's no cooling-off period on business energy contracts, so get the quote in writing first.
- What if my premises already have a meter?
Then you don't need installation, you need a contract. Use gas before agreeing one and you're on a deemed contract at the supplier's rates (Ofgem). If you've moved in, start with our change of tenancy page; if you're settled and the meter's fine, switching supplier is the quicker fix.