Octopus Energy business electricity

The business energy market for gas and electricity can seem complex and energy suppliers such as British Gas business and British Gas Lite overcomplicate the business energy comparison process.

Compared to British Gas getting a new commercial energy quote is delightfully straight forward. As a business you are often pressed for time and don't have the time to analyse the often complexly presented range of tariffs. Using Octopus to compare for a cheaper energy deal is quite frankly a breath of fresh air.

You can do a comparison for electric only, gas only or gas and electricity. Once you have entered your business address and your energy usage you are presented with a few tariffs to choose from.

For most micro, small and often medium sized businesses it is often the business owner who finds themselves responsible for organising the business energy supplier. Often that person will have no knowledge of how the energy industry works, what types of tariffs there are and how to go about getting a good deal.

The Octopus business website makes it straightforward and offers clear options without a lot of jargon. As at the time of writing Octopus energy tariffs are very competitive. Our June 2020 comparison shows for a medium energy user of a small business Octopus comes out as the cheapest tariff using Love Energy Savings energy broker and the third cheapest tariff (second cheapest supplier) using the GoCompare business comparison website.

Octopus business energy comparison

We will compare the business energy rates for the average small business so you can see how they compare with the UK's largest business utility.

Energy deals for businesses are generally cheaper if you choose a 1-5 year fixed tariff. Variable rate plans, deemed rates and especially standard variable rates are the most expensive and are generally best avoided.

All of the electricity tariffs for business are 100% renewable energy. It is a growing trend with green energy becoming cheaper where many green tariffs are now the lowest cost energy deals for both business and residential.

As there are so many business energy rates it is essential that businesses do a business electricity price comparison or use a trusted energy broker to find a cheaper energy deal. Even though Octopus offers some very competitive prices for business electricity our comparison is just an illustration of a typical small business in a specific UK energy region with medium energy demands. Your circumstances may not be reflected in our illustration as all business energy requirements are unique.

Green Octopus 12M Fixed

Taking the example of a small business based in the eastern energy region of the UK with medium business energy usage of 20,000 kWh of electricity per year.

The Octopus quote for business electricity comes out at £2,687.26 per annum which is £223.94 per month on a 1 year fixed business deal on their 'Green Octopus 12M Fixed' tariff.

Compare this with the cheapest 1 year fixed tariff from British Gas costing £3,465.18 per annum which is nearly £778 more expensive. British Gas do have a tariff especially suited to small businesses, these are the British Gas Lite tariffs. However for the average small business it works out even more expensive at £4,322.32 per annum for their British Gas Lite 1 year fixed rate tariff.

Octopus Energy Business offer some of the cheapest energy tariff rates with a simple and easy quoting system, transparent and clear information and 100% renewable electricity.

Green Octopus 24M Fixed

A 2 year fixed business energy rate from Octopus costs £2,760.55 per annum or £230.05 a month so only about £7 a month difference to their 1 year fixed rate. The cheapest similar 2 year deal from British Gas costs £3,535.86 a year on their 2 year save plan. It works out £775 more expensive, a very similar increase in cost to BG 1 year deal compared to Octopus.

If you take the lowest cost 2 year fixed rate from the British Gas Lite tariff it works out at £4,363.61 per annum, over £1,600 more expensive.

Green Octopus 36M Fixed

Three years is the longest fixed price tariff Octopus offers for business with their 'Green Octopus 36M Fixed' tariff costing £2,903.15 per year working out at £241.93 a month. A longer term fix is often preferred by business to ensure consistent energy costs for a known period.

If we compare this to the cheapest similar deal from British Gas going direct through the British Gas business website the least cost tariff for 3 years costs £3,604.68 which again works out at a similar £701 per year more expensive. Over the course of your 3 year deal you would save around £2,100 with Octopus compared to British Gas.

Flexible Octopus

The 'Flexible Octopus' tariff is a flexible business energy tariff which has no exit fees or termination periods. Flexible Octopus is also the business tariff that you would default to should you decide not to renew or forget to renew you fixed energy contract.

In terms of fairness and transparency this also makes a refreshing change whereby the general trend for energy firms offering business energy tends to trap businesses into expensive deemed or standard rate tariffs.

Although the most expensive tariff it is a very low cost tariff costing £3,046.65 per year which is £253.89 a month. Considering this is also their standard variable rate it is a very good price.

Compare this to the electricity standard variable rate for British Gas being 63.63p (Octopus 21.00p) per day standing charge and 20.64p per kWh (Octopus 14.85p) for the 01-04 business profile class covering a medium energy usage small business.

Octopus Energy business tariff rates

Tariff	Electricity daily standing charge	Electricity pence per KWh	Cost £ per Year	Cost £ per Month
Green Octopus 12M Fixed	25.55	12.97	2,687.26	223.94
Green Octopus 24M Fixed	24.26	13.36	2,760.55	230.05
Green Octopus 36M Fixed	28.26	14.00	2,903.15	241.93
Flexible Octopus	21.00	14.85	3,046.65	253.89