Business Energy Renewals Guide

When Should You Renew Your Business Energy Contract?

You should start the renewal process 3-6 months before your contract end date. This gives you enough time to compare the whole market, negotiate rates, and arrange a switch (if needed) without any gap in supply. Leaving it too late is the most common mistake businesses make.

The official renewal window opens 120 days before your contract ends, when your broker must send you renewal terms. From 49 days before your end date, you can switch brokers without paying exit fees. These timelines are set by Ofgem and apply to all business energy contracts.

However, we recommend starting even earlier — 6 months before — because wholesale energy prices fluctuate. By starting early, we can monitor the market and lock in rates at the optimal time, rather than being forced to accept whatever rates are available in the final weeks.

What Happens If You Do Nothing?

If your contract expires and you haven't arranged a new one, you'll automatically roll onto 'out-of-contract' (OOC) rates — also called deemed or default rates. These are the most expensive rates in the market, typically 30-50% higher than negotiated rates, and sometimes even more.

Let's put that in perspective: if your negotiated rate is £1,000/month, out-of-contract rates could push that to £1,300-£1,500/month. Over a year, that's £3,600-£6,000 wasted — money that goes straight to the broker for no additional value.

Worse, you stay on out-of-contract rates until you actively arrange a new contract. Some businesses have been on OOC rates for months or even years without realising it. Brokers are not required to proactively contact you — the expensive rates simply continue automatically.

This is entirely preventable. By tracking your renewal date and acting within the renewal window, you'll never roll onto expensive default rates. This is exactly what we do for all our clients — completely free.

How Energy Brokers Help With Renewals

An energy broker adds significant value at renewal time. We: track your contract end date so you don't miss the renewal window, compare rates from every major UK broker simultaneously (not just your current one), negotiate directly with brokers to secure below-market rates, handle all the paperwork and admin for the switch, ensure no gap between contracts (so you never hit out-of-contract rates), and set up tracking for your new contract's renewal date.

Without a broker, you'd need to: remember your renewal date, contact multiple brokers individually for quotes, compare complex quotes with different unit rates and standing charges, negotiate with each broker, handle the switching paperwork, and coordinate timing to avoid gaps. It's time-consuming and easy to get wrong.

We do all of this for free — we're paid by the broker you choose to switch to, not by you. There's literally no downside to using a broker for your energy renewal.

Renewal Warning Signs

Watch for these signs that you might be paying too much or about to roll onto expensive rates:

Your broker sends a 'renewal letter' with new rates — but you haven't compared them to the market. Renewal offers are rarely the best available rates.

You can't remember when your contract ends — this means you're at risk of missing the renewal window and rolling onto out-of-contract rates.

Your bills have increased significantly without a change in usage — this could mean you've already rolled onto out-of-contract rates.

You've been with the same broker for 3+ years without comparing — loyalty doesn't pay in business energy. Brokers rarely offer their best rates to existing customers.

If any of these apply to you, contact us immediately. We'll check your current rates, compare the market, and arrange a switch if it saves you money.