How this savings estimate works — and why business energy is a different market
UK business energy isn’t a smaller version of domestic energy. The price cap doesn’t apply, contracts can run from one to five years (or longer), and the protections that exist around switching, renewals and "deemed" out-of-contract rates are split between Ofgem rules and the supplier’s own published terms. The calculator above gives you a published-data estimate of where most businesses in your sector and spend bracket sit, and what the headroom typically looks like — the gap between an out-of-contract or deemed rate and a competitively-priced fixed contract.
For SMEs specifically, the figure that drives nearly every saving is the unit rate (pence per kWh). Standing charges have risen significantly since 2022, but on most non-domestic meters they remain a smaller share of the bill than the consumed-units line. That’s why the calculator focuses on monthly spend rather than asking you to dig out kWh figures: spend is a reasonable proxy for total consumption when paired with sector type, and it’s the figure most operators have to hand.
Who counts as a "micro-business" under Ofgem’s rules
Ofgem’s non-domestic protections are stronger if you qualify as a micro-business, defined as a business that meets one of three tests: fewer than ten employees and turnover of no more than €2 million; or annual electricity use under 100,000 kWh; or annual gas use under 293,000 kWh. If you fall under any of those thresholds, suppliers must give you an objections period of at least 30 days when your contract is up for renewal, must publish principal contract terms, and can’t use evergreen / auto-renewal clauses that lock you in beyond the original term. We covered the full implications in our business-energy switching guide.
Why "deemed" and out-of-contract rates are usually 20–50% above market
If a fixed contract ends and you don’t agree a new one, the supplier moves you onto either an "out-of-contract" rate (you stayed with the same supplier) or a "deemed" rate (you took over a property where energy is already flowing). Both rates are published in supplier terms but are typically 20–50% higher than the equivalent fixed deal, because they price in the risk of the customer leaving at any time. Ofgem’s 2024 non-domestic research report found that just under a third of UK businesses switched supplier in the previous year, with price cited as the primary driver by 53% of switchers; the other side of that statistic is the two-thirds who didn’t switch, of whom a meaningful share will be sitting on those above-market rates.
Sector benchmarks behind the calculator
The bands used in step 2 are calibrated to typical UK SME usage:
- Small office / shop — typically 8,000–15,000 kWh of electricity a year, with little or no gas. Monthly spend often sits in the £100–£250 range depending on opening hours.
- Restaurant or café — high gas and electricity use due to cooking and refrigeration, typically 25,000–75,000 kWh of electricity and 15,000–50,000 kWh of gas. Monthly spend £400–£1,200 is common.
- Pub / bar — long opening hours, refrigeration, and ambient lighting drive electricity use into the 25,000–60,000 kWh range; many sites also have gas for kitchen and heating.
- Hotel / B&B — among the most energy-intensive premises per square metre, with substantial heating, hot-water and laundry loads. Spend bands sit higher than restaurants on average.
- Salon / clinic — electricity-heavy due to dryers, sterilisers and lighting; usually no gas. Spend often £150–£400 a month.
- Warehouse / industrial — usage varies an order of magnitude depending on whether the site has cold storage, compressed-air systems or process heating. The calculator’s wide upper band reflects this.
These benchmarks come from Ofgem non-domestic data, public sector-level reports such as Bionic’s aggregated SME usage figures, and DESNZ’s annual energy consumption statistics. We don’t use them to forecast your bill exactly — that depends on your specific tariff and meter — but to size the headroom between what you’re likely paying and what a competitive fixed deal in your sector currently costs.
What happens after you click "See Exact Quotes"
The "See Exact Quotes" button hands you off to YourUtilities, our regulated business-energy switching partner. They run a live tariff search across their panel of UK business-energy suppliers (including British Gas, EDF, E.ON, Octopus, Scottish Power, SSE and others), and a broker advisor will follow up by phone to confirm the figures and walk you through any objection from your current supplier. There’s no charge to you and no obligation to proceed; SaveCompare receives a referral fee from YourUtilities only if you go through with a switch. We disclose the relationship at the top of this page and in full on our methodology page.
If you’d rather not switch right now
Switching isn’t the only lever. If you’re mid-contract, the steps that consistently make a measurable dent in business-energy bills are: getting a Climate Change Levy (CCL) reduction confirmed if you qualify (charities and very-low-use sites can drop to 5% VAT and have CCL waived), upgrading lighting to LED (typically a 30–50% reduction in lighting kWh), fixing controls and timers on heating/cooling, and submitting accurate meter readings monthly so estimated bills don’t mask a real-usage spike. Ofgem’s consumer-information pages cover the formal complaints route if a supplier won’t engage on any of these.
A final practical note: business energy contracts can’t be cancelled in a cooling-off period the way domestic ones often can — non-domestic agreements aren’t covered by the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. That makes the renewal window the only realistic opportunity to change supplier each cycle, which is why the “30-day objection period” figure for micro-businesses matters so much. Set a calendar reminder for 60 days before your contract ends and you’ll have room to negotiate, compare and (if needed) push back on objections from your existing supplier.
Last reviewed: April 2026. Sources: Ofgem Non-Domestic Research Report 2024; Smart Energy UK analysis of British Gas out-of-contract rates; DESNZ annual energy statistics; Bionic SME usage benchmarks. Full citations on our methodology page.