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Not sure where to start? A comparison covers everything in one go.
Last updated September 2026.
How do you compare business electricity prices in London?
Clearsight Energy compares business electricity prices for London businesses across a wide panel of UK suppliers. Most of Greater London sits on UK Power Networks’ London licence, so the MPAN begins with 12 and every supplier passes through the same regional network charge, which is the highest in Great Britain. You send us a recent bill, we price the meter like for like, you choose, and we handle the switch.
- Network operator. UK Power Networks, London region.
- MPAN prefix. 12 for most of Greater London, with 10 in the outer north east and 19 in the outer south east.
- Switching time. Four to eight weeks, no interruption to supply.
- Contract types. Fixed, pass-through or flexible, one to five years.
- What is negotiable. Wholesale timing, supplier margin and standing charge. Network charges and taxes are not.
London is where the difference between a good and a bad electricity contract is largest in cash terms, because the network element is the most expensive in the country and the buildings are the most varied. A Georgian townhouse in Fitzrovia converted to offices, a railway arch in Bermondsey turned into a brewery, a floor of a tower at Canary Wharf behind a landlord’s private network, a Victorian pub in Islington that trades until one in the morning. Each of these is priced differently, and a surprising number of them are on a contract nobody has looked at since the tenant before last.
This page covers what sets a London business electricity price, where London businesses most often overpay, how the local network works, and how we compare and switch. If you’d rather just send a bill, start here.
Why do London businesses pay more for electricity than they should?
Almost every London bill we review has at least one of these on it. None of them shows up as a line called “overpaying”. They show up as a unit rate that looks fine and an annual total that isn’t.
Rolled-over contracts in buildings that change hands
London tenancies turn over faster than anywhere else in the country. The contract end date leaves with the last occupier, the termination window passes, and the supplier moves the meter onto out-of-contract rates. We see it in Soho, Shoreditch and Clerkenwell every week.
Landlord recharges in multi-let offices
A lot of London office space sits behind a landlord’s supply, with tenants recharged through the service charge. If you don’t have your own MPAN you can’t switch supplier, and the useful question is what the landlord is paying and how the recharge is calculated. We’ll tell you which side of that line you’re on from the bill.
Capacity inherited from a building’s last life
Converted warehouses in Shoreditch, print works in Clerkenwell and railway arches across south London carry authorised supply capacity agreed for a previous use. On a half-hourly meter you pay for it monthly whether you draw it or not, and reducing it is a request to UK Power Networks rather than the supplier.
A profile that doesn’t match how the site trades
A restaurant in Covent Garden, a gym in Battersea that opens at six and a data-heavy office in Old Street have completely different shapes of demand. A quote priced off an estimated profile rather than twelve months of real data prices the wrong one, and in London the network element makes that error expensive.
VAT and Climate Change Levy relief never claimed
Charities, community buildings, places of worship and very low users can pay 5% VAT and be exempt from CCL, but only with a declaration. London has thousands of them and most are on 20%.
Where does a London business electricity bill actually go?
A London business electricity bill is wholesale energy, the supplier’s margin and standing charge, network charges set by UK Power Networks for the London region, and taxes. The first three are negotiable. The network charges and the taxes are not, whichever supplier you choose. Here’s how that breaks down.
| Part of the price | What sets it in London | Can you negotiate it? |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale energy | The market on the day you fix. Same across Great Britain. | Yes, through timing and contract type |
| Supplier margin | Each supplier’s own pricing for your credit profile, consumption and meter type. | Yes, this is where comparison works |
| Standing charge | Set by the supplier. Varies widely between quotes for the same meter. | Yes, compare it alongside the unit rate |
| Distribution (DUoS) | UK Power Networks, London region, MPAN prefix 12. | No, set regionally |
| Transmission (TNUoS) | Mostly a fixed charge banded by site size since 2023, with a small locational element. | No, set nationally |
| Climate Change Levy and VAT | Taxes at national rates. | Only through reliefs, such as 5% VAT for low use or charities, or a climate change agreement |
Who runs the electricity network in London?
UK Power Networks runs the electricity network in London under its London licence, and every London MPAN begins with 12. The London licence is the old London Electricity area and covers the City, Westminster and most of the inner and middle boroughs. Cross into the outer north-east, from Enfield and Waltham Forest out towards Romford, and you’re on UK Power Networks’ Eastern licence with an MPAN beginning 10. The outer south-east, around Bromley, Bexley and Croydon, sits on its South Eastern licence with an MPAN beginning 19. Same company, three sets of regional charges, which is why a business with sites across the capital can see three different network lines on otherwise identical bills.
Capacity is the live issue. Parts of west London, around Ealing, Hillingdon and Hounslow, have had connection constraints for several years as data centres and new development compete for the same substations, and the City and Docklands have their own pinch points. If you’re planning a fit-out that adds load, or an EV charging bank, the network conversation belongs before the lease, not after it. No supplier can speed it up.
Confirm it from your bill. The first two digits of your MPAN are the distributor ID. For London that’s 12 for most of Greater London, with 10 in the outer north east and 19 in the outer south east. The network recovers its costs through DUoS charges collected by whichever supplier you use, and you can’t switch away from it. What you can switch is the supplier.
How does switching business electricity supplier work in London?
Any business in London can switch electricity supplier, the switch is paperwork, it takes four to eight weeks and nothing at the site changes. Every licensed supplier can quote any GB meter, so your region doesn’t limit who will price you, only the network element they all pass through. We compare quotes from a range of licensed UK suppliers, and you can see who we work with on our suppliers page. Here’s how a comparison runs from start to finish.
We take the MPAN, meter type, contract end date and twelve months of consumption from a recent bill. If the current rate is out of contract or rolled over, we say so.
Your London meter is priced by our supplier panel on the same start date and term, so the quotes are directly comparable. Fixed, pass-through and flexible options where they apply.
Unit rate, standing charge and the annual cost side by side. The lowest unit rate is not always the lowest bill, and we’ll show you why.
We serve notice on the old contract, handle the transfer, and remind you well before the next termination window so it never rolls over again.
Which businesses in London do we work with?
We work with businesses across all of Greater London, from the City, Westminster and the West End to Camden, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lambeth and Wandsworth, out to Croydon, Bromley, Kingston, Ealing, Brent, Barnet, Enfield, Stratford, Ilford and the Heathrow corridor. Most of what we price in London is pubs, restaurants and hospitality, hotels, offices, retail and leisure and fitness, with a steady run of schools and education, healthcare, care homes and charities.
If you run several sites, in London or across regions, multi-site business energy explains how we handle an estate as one portfolio, and what an energy broker does covers how we work.
Nawa Kitchen
A restaurant whose renewals were being driven by supplier deadlines. We moved it to a scheduled annual review, starting the comparison months before expiry so the decision was made on the business’s timetable, not the supplier’s. Read the Nawa Kitchen case study.
“No pressurised selling was involved, just clear and constructive advice.”
Clearsight Energy have provided a quick and efficient service to our Parish Council. We will look to using them in the future when our other utility contracts are up for renewal.
Should a London business take a fixed, pass-through or flexible electricity contract?
Most small and medium businesses in London are best served by a fixed price for one to three years, and larger half-hourly sites are the ones that should look at pass-through or flexible. A fixed contract buys certainty, at a premium, and you get no benefit if wholesale prices fall during the term. A pass-through contract fixes the energy and lets the network charges float, which suits a site with steady load and a finance team that can handle a variable line. Flexible procurement buys energy in tranches and is normally for larger half-hourly sites or multi-site groups.
Whatever you sign, write down the termination window. Most suppliers want notice in writing somewhere between 30 and 180 days before the end date. Miss it and you can be rolled onto out-of-contract rates, which is the single most expensive thing a busy business does with its electricity and entirely avoidable.
Why do London businesses use Clearsight Energy?
We’re an independent business energy broker based in Bicester, Oxfordshire, working with businesses across the UK. Since 2019 we’ve compared, switched and managed electricity, gas and water contracts for businesses from single-meter shops to multi-site estates.
- Independent. We compare across a wide panel of UK suppliers and we’re not tied to any of them.
- Like for like. Every quote on the same start date and term, with the annual total shown, not just the unit rate.
- The switch handled. Notice served, transfer managed, nothing physical changes at your site.
- Renewals watched. A reminder well before the next termination window, so the contract never rolls over.
- Rated Excellent on Trustpilot from 186 reviews, and you can read them.
Electricity is usually one of several meters. We also compare business gas in London and business water, and can review all three at once.
Guides and other locations
Nearby on the same or neighbouring networks:
All our business electricity locations:
London business electricity questions
How do I compare business electricity prices in London?
Send us a recent bill so the MPAN, meter type, contract end date and annual consumption are known. We price the meter across our supplier panel on the same start date and term, show you the annual total for each option, and handle the switch if you go ahead.
Who is the electricity distributor for London?
UK Power Networks. Its London licence covers most of Greater London with MPANs beginning 12. The outer north-east is on its Eastern licence (10) and the outer south-east on its South Eastern licence (19). It runs the wires; it doesn’t sell you electricity.
Is business electricity more expensive in London than elsewhere in the UK?
The energy itself costs the same everywhere in Great Britain. The network element is set regionally and London’s is the highest in the country, so a London unit rate is typically a little above the same meter in the Midlands or the north. On a half-hourly supply it shows as separate lines. On a small supply it’s inside the unit rate.
I rent an office floor in London. Can I switch electricity supplier?
Only if you have your own MPAN and a contract in your own name. Many London offices are behind a landlord’s supply with electricity recharged through the service charge. We’ll check which you’re on from the bill and, if it’s a landlord supply, tell you what to ask them.
Can a London business use any electricity supplier?
Yes. Every licensed supplier in Great Britain can supply any GB meter. Your distribution region doesn’t restrict who will quote, only the network element of the price they quote.
Does switching electricity supplier interrupt the supply?
No. The meter, the cables and UK Power Networks all stay the same. The change is to who bills you. A switch typically completes in four to eight weeks.
What’s the difference between a fixed and a pass-through electricity contract?
A fixed contract locks the whole unit rate for the term. A pass-through fixes the energy element and lets the network and policy charges float at their published rates. Pass-through suits larger sites that can handle a variable line on the bill and want to avoid paying a premium for the supplier absorbing that risk.
How far ahead of my contract end date should I get quotes?
Start four to six months out. That leaves time to serve notice inside the termination window, compare properly and line the new contract up to start the day the old one ends, so you never touch out-of-contract rates.
Who supplies electricity to businesses in London?
There is no single electricity supplier for London. UK Power Networks owns and runs the local network, and that is the same for every business in the area, but the supplier that bills you is your choice from any licensed supplier in Great Britain. If your business has never switched, you are most likely with whichever supplier the previous occupier or the developer set up, often on a deemed or rolled-over rate, and that is the first thing worth checking.
Why is my business electricity bill so high in London?
The usual reasons, in order of how often we see them: the contract has ended and rolled onto out-of-contract or deemed rates; the standing charge is high for the size of the supply; a half-hourly site is paying for more authorised capacity than it uses; or the quote was priced off an estimated profile rather than real consumption. The London-specific element is the network charge set by UK Power Networks, which is the same for every supplier and cannot be negotiated. Everything else can be.
What is the average business electricity price in London?
There is no published average for London that is worth relying on. A business unit rate depends on the wholesale market on the day you fix, your meter type, your annual consumption, your credit profile and the contract length, so two businesses on the same street can be quoted very differently. The only part that is truly local is the distribution charge for the London region. The useful benchmark is a like-for-like quote on your own MPAN, which is what we produce from a recent bill.
How do I get quotes from multiple electricity suppliers in London?
Send us one recent bill. That gives us the MPAN, meter type, consumption and contract end date, and we price the meter across our supplier panel on the same start date and term so the quotes are directly comparable. You see the annual total for each option, not just the unit rate, and you can see who we work with on our suppliers page. Going to each supplier yourself works too, but you will get quotes on different dates and terms that are hard to compare.
How long does it take to switch business electricity supplier in London?
Typically four to eight weeks from signing to the new supplier taking over, and it can be lined up further ahead so the new contract starts the day the old one ends. Nothing physical happens at the site: the meter, the cables and UK Power Networks all stay the same, and there is no interruption to supply.
Can I switch business electricity supplier in London while I am still in a contract?
Not before the current contract ends, but you can agree the next one now. Most suppliers let you sign a new contract up to twelve months ahead of your end date, and you serve notice on the existing contract inside its termination window. That is how you avoid the gap where out-of-contract rates apply.
Need Help? Get in touch
Call us on 020 8036 5715, or email us.