Moving premises is busy enough without a surprise energy bill landing a few months later. The suppliers at your old and new sites both need to know as soon as possible, and you’ll want meter readings on the day. The new site also needs a proper contract quickly, because the moment you start using energy there without one, you’re on deemed rates. Tell us your moving date and we’ll tell the suppliers, compare prices and get the new site’s energy and water lined up for you.
Key points
- Tell us early: The current supplier needs to know as soon as possible, whether you’re moving in or out, and we’ll let the suppliers at both sites know for you.
- Readings on the day: A dated reading at each end means you only pay for what you used.
- Deemed rates are a bridge: You can leave one with no notice and no termination fee, and we’ll compare prices so you can.
- Water needs sorting too: In England you can usually choose your water retailer, and we compare those prices as well.
How Change of Tenancy Works for Business Energy
When your business moves into or out of a property, the energy industry calls it a Change of Occupier (CoO) or Change of Tenancy (CoT). The first step under the change of tenancy rules is always the same: the property’s current energy supplier needs to know as soon as possible, whether you’re moving in or moving out, even if you’re already talking to a new supplier. That’s one call you can hand to us in a busy week. Our Letter of Authority (LOA) lets us help you, not make decisions for you. Help with your contracts, bills and supplier queries: yes. Enter into a contract on your behalf: no. Some brokers ask for a ‘level 2’ LOA that lets them sign contracts for you. Ours is a level 1 LOA, so only you can agree a contract.
The supplier will usually want evidence that you’ve really taken over (or left) the building. A tenancy or lease agreement, property sale documents or title deeds all work. If those aren’t enough, it may ask for something else, such as a business rates bill or a letter from your landlord. We’ll let you know what’s needed so you can have it ready.
Once the evidence is in, the supplier has 10 working days to review it. It will then do one of three things: close the old account and open a new one in your name, reject the change and say why, or ask for more information and explain why what you sent wasn’t enough. If you’re switching supplier at the same time, the new supplier starts the switch and the current supplier accepts it if it agrees a change of occupier has taken place.
Imagine you run a café and you’re taking on a second unit on the same street. The lease starts on a Monday, the fit-out team are in by Wednesday and the lights are on all week. If nobody’s told the existing supplier, the account may still sit with the last tenant, or with nobody at all, and the bills that follow are far harder to unpick than a phone call in week one. Give us that call and we’ll make it for you.
Deemed Rates: The Cost of Doing Nothing
The day you start using energy at a new site without agreeing a contract, you’re on a deemed contract. It happens automatically when you move in without arranging a formal contract, and it’s an expensive place to be: deemed rates are usually higher than negotiated contract rates, and usually among a supplier’s most expensive offers.
The good news is you’re not stuck. A business on a deemed contract can switch supplier with no notice and no termination fee.
So a deemed rate is a bridge, not a destination. We’d always rather you spent as few days on it as possible. That’s where we come in: we’ll compare supplier prices for the new site and arrange the contract you choose, whether you need business electricity, business gas or both. If the move is still weeks away, get in touch and we can start comparing prices before you get the keys.
To quote, suppliers almost always need the site’s meter details: the MPAN that identifies the electricity supply and the MPRN that identifies the gas supply. We’ll gather those for you where we can, so you don’t have to hunt down your MPAN and MPRN in the middle of a move.
Leaving Your Old Site Behind
Moving out needs the same care. The supplier at your old premises needs your leaving date as soon as you know it, and we’ll pass it on for you. You’ll want a meter reading on the last day too, ideally with a dated photo of each meter. If the change affects any bills already sent to you, the supplier will let you know, and we’ll check that the final bill matches what you used.
The bigger question at the old site is your contract. Termination (exit) fees are contractually agreed fees that can apply if you end a contract before its agreed end date. If you’re partway through a fixed-term contract, talk to us before you sign anything for the new site, and we’ll talk you through how the move fits around it.
Got a renewal you’d already arranged for the old building? Tell us that too. Our retentions team keeps every contract end date across your sites on record in one place, so when one site closes and another opens, nothing slips through the gaps. If you’ve got an end date we don’t know about yet, tell us your contract end date and we’ll plan the next contract for the right time.
Getting Water Sorted at the New Premises
Water works differently from energy. If your business is in England, you can usually choose your water retailer: business customers supplied by a water company whose area is wholly or mainly in England are eligible. The retailer bills you and looks after your account, while the regional water company (known as the wholesaler) runs the pipes and supplies the water itself.
On moving in, the first thing to find out is which retailer the premises are registered to, and the quickest way is a recent water bill for the property. Send us whatever you’ve got and we’ll take it from there.
Take a water meter reading on your first day too, just as you would for gas and electricity, so you’re only billed from the date you took over. Then think about the deal you’ve inherited. The retailer registered to the building was chosen by someone else, for someone else’s business, and moving retailer doesn’t change your wholesaler or interrupt your supply. We compare business water prices for the new site, and if there’s a contract end date on the account, we’ll plan the move for the right time.
What This Means for Your Business
A move is the perfect moment to get every supply set up properly at once. You approve and sign; we do the legwork:
- Prices for the new site: We compare prices from suitable suppliers for the new site and present the options that best suit your business, so you’re not left on deemed rates while you sort out everything else.
- Water as well as energy: We look at the water at the new premises alongside your gas and electricity.
- One record of every site: Your contract end dates stay on record in one place, and we can link related companies and billing entities so all your sites are managed together.
- No separate fee: You don’t pay us a fee. We’re paid commission by the supplier, which is included in the rates and charges in your supply contract, and we disclose it in full, in writing, before a contract is signed.
All we need to start is a recent bill, from the old site or from the previous occupier at the new one.
Final Thoughts: Tell Us Before You Move
The businesses that get caught out are the ones that leave energy and water until after the move. Tell us your moving date early and we’ll have prices ready for the new site before you get the keys. Get a quote for your new premises, book a call with our Energy Team or ring us on 01273 914000, and we’ll take it from there.