Switch business energy

A business energy switch runs on a five working day clock once your new supplier registers the supply (Citizens Advice, accessed August 2026). Nothing physical happens at your premises. No engineer visits and the meter stays where it is. Your supply is not interrupted (British Gas Business, accessed August 2026).

Our fee is 1.5p per kWh, gas and electricity, on every contract length, printed on your quote before you sign. How we arrive at that sits on our pricing methodology.

What actually happens when you switch

You agree a price, sign the contract, and sign a letter of authority so we can talk to your supplier. Your new supplier then registers the meter. Registration takes two working days on a business meter, and your old supplier then gets two working days to object (British Gas Business, July 2022).

Clear that window and the transfer completes on the five working day clock. What you feel is a final bill from the old supplier and a first bill from the new one.

The calendar around it runs longer, because quoting, notice, credit checks and your start date all sit in front of registration. That sequence is on how to switch business energy.

When you can switch

Most suppliers will not let you switch before your contract ends, and you have to tell them before it expires (Ofgem, accessed August 2026). So the window is set by your end date and your notice, not by when you feel like moving.

If you are out of contract or on deemed rates, you can go whenever you like. There is no exit fee and no notice to give, and those rates are usually very expensive (Citizens Advice, accessed August 2026). What they are and how you land on them is on deemed rates.

If your current fixed price beats what the market will give you today, we tell you and you stay put.

What can go wrong

Your old supplier can object. There are two grounds it can use: money outstanding on the account, or notice you never gave (British Gas Business, accessed August 2026). Clear the balance or serve the notice and the switch goes through on the next attempt.

Objections are not always valid. Ofgem's 2014 enforcement case against British Gas Business covered errors in its switching and renewal processes between 2007 and 2012 (Ofgem, April 2014). If you owe nothing and gave notice, say so in writing and ask for the objection to be withdrawn.

The rarer failure is an erroneous transfer, where the wrong meter gets switched because addresses were mixed up. The licence rules give households £40 plus a return to their old supplier inside 21 working days (Ofgem, accessed August 2026). Businesses get neither. Ofgem's wording is blunt: "Businesses cannot get compensation."

Since December 2024 you have somewhere to take it. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees can escalate to the Energy Ombudsman (Ofgem, April 2024).

Gas, electricity or both

The process above is the same for each fuel, and each meter is registered separately, so gas and electricity can move on different dates. If you only need one, go to switch business gas or switch business electricity.