Moving Business Premises – Gas and Electricity

What to do about your energy supply

When you're moving into business premises - whether it’s for the first time, because you're expanding or simply a change of location - you’re bound to be busy, and struggling under the weight of a huge to-do list.

So it won't be a big surprise if electricity and gas get short of the bottom of the list.

Your energy supply may be easy to overlook, but doing so can be an expensive mistake. In this guide, we give you a simple set of steps to follow that will save you time, money and hassle

1. Check the meters and connections

Before you move in, you should check if the premises are associated and have both electricity and gas meters if that’s what you need.

Existing premises

When moving into a previously occupied premises, you need to be wary of whether the premises have been disconnected, for example if the previous tenant got into debt. This can take both time and money to sort out so it’s good to know before you move in. In cases such as this you may be asked to pay a reconnection fee, and a deposit, even though the debt that leads to the disconnection wasn't yours.

New Build Premises

If you’re moving into a newly built premise, you may find that that the building has not yet been connected, or it might only have an electricity connection.

There is often a charge for being connected, so it’s good to know how much this will be and exactly what you’re dealing with before you move in, not only in terms of cost but also in the time it will take to get you up and running.

2. Find the right business energy contract

Even if you don’t need any connections to work, it’s still a very good idea to get your business energy contract sorted before you move into your new premises.

You don’t need to wait until you move in to sort out a contract, you can do it beforehand - you just need a signed tenancy agreement, and proof that your business exists, like a website.

If you move into a premise without a contract in place, you’ll pay what’s known as deemed rates. These won’t be the cheapest on the market and also leave you exposed to price fluctuations.

Worse still, you could end up paying out-of-contract rates if you don’t enter into a contract quickly. Out-of-contract rates are typically double the market rate, so you want to avoid this at all costs.

The best way around this is to notify your supplier immediately you move in or out to ensure you're fully covered contractually and not paying too much.

To find out more on deemed and out of contract rates see our guide or visit our dedicated supplier pages to find out how much your new supplier may charge you.

One good thing that will come of this is that if you had forgotten to sort your new business energy contract, at least these calls will prompt you to act, contact lloyd energy and enter a deal on your terms.