Business electricity for car garages and workshops

Workshops draw electricity in heavy bursts. Compressors cycle on and off, two-post lifts pull big loads briefly, MOT brake testers and emissions kit need clean power, and spray booths can pull more in a morning than the office side draws in a week. Standard “small business” tariffs don’t price that profile well. We compare suppliers across the open UK market with the workshop load shape in mind.

The basics of switching apply just as for any commercial site. They’re in our guide to switching business electricity. But workshop-specific questions matter: how the supplier handles inrush current from compressors, whether the contract allows you to add EV charging capacity later without renegotiating, and how the new contract treats sub-meters on a leased unit.

Our wider business electricity service covers the whole UK market. For garages we also look at three-phase pricing, time-of-use options if you run early or late shifts, and any kVA charges if your workshop has a half-hourly meter.

EV charging is changing the conversation

If you’re servicing EVs already, or planning to install customer chargers, the contract needs to cover that growth. We’ll factor in expected EV load. Fast chargers add real kWh to the bill. And route you toward suppliers who can scale you up mid-contract without penalty. For dealerships installing forecourt rapid chargers, the pricing model changes entirely; we’ll talk through whether a separate metered supply pays off.

Three-phase supply and kVA charges

Most workshops with spray booths, paint baking, or larger compressors run on three-phase. If yours has a half-hourly meter (typical above 100kW peak), you’ll see kVA charges on the bill. A fixed cost based on your peak demand. We’ll review whether your peak is set artificially high by inrush events and whether re-rating your capacity can knock 5–10% off the standing-charge side of the bill.

Leased units and sub-meters

If you lease the workshop and there’s a sub-meter feeding from the landlord’s main, your switching options can be limited. You may be billed through the landlord rather than directly. Where you do have your own MPAN, we’ll switch it. Where you don’t, we’ll help you build the case for getting your own supply installed if the savings stack up.

How a workshop electricity switch works with us