The energy at your new building does not arrive as a blank page. From the moment you take the keys you are buying it from whoever supplied the last occupier, at rates nobody negotiated, and you are liable for it from day one. It is one of the most expensive weeks in a business move, and almost nobody plans for it.
The 30-second version
- Your old contract does not move with you. It is tied to the meter, not the business.
- You land on a deemed contract automatically at the new site, usually at the dearest rates on offer.
- You are liable from the day you move in, even before you have spoken to anyone.
- Deemed contracts have no exit fee and no notice period, so you can leave the moment you have something better.
- Photograph the meters on both days. It is the cheapest insurance in the whole move.
- Tell the supplier as soon as you can. They have 10 working days to respond.
On this page
What actually happens on day one
When you move into premises and start using gas or electricity without having agreed a contract, you are on what Ofgem calls a deemed contract. It happens by default. Nobody signs anything, and the previous occupier's supplier simply carries on supplying the meter, with you now responsible for it.
Deemed rates are the most expensive way to buy energy. They exist to cover the supplier for an unknown customer with no agreed term, and they are priced accordingly. Our guide to deemed and out of contract rates goes into what the gap typically looks like.
Two things make this better than it sounds, if you act:
- You are not locked in. A supplier cannot require notice before you leave a deemed contract, and cannot charge a termination fee. You can switch as soon as you have something better agreed.
- It is only expensive for as long as you leave it. The businesses that get hurt are the ones who assume somebody sorted it during the move and find out nine months later.
The building you are leaving
This is the half people forget, and it is where unexpected bills come from months later.
- Tell your current supplier your leaving date as soon as you know it, and give them a forwarding address. Until you do, you remain the registered customer for that meter.
- Take a meter reading on your last day and photograph the meter with the readings visible. This is what closes your account at the right number.
- Check the contract end date against the move date. If your contract runs past your move, ask the supplier what happens. Leaving a site mid term is a different conversation from leaving at renewal.
- Get a final bill and check it against your reading. Do not let it sit. Disputes are far easier to settle in the first few weeks.
If you hold the lease on somewhere you no longer occupy, you are probably still paying a daily standing charge on every meter there. It accrues whether or not anything is switched on. Worth checking across every site your business holds.
The building you are moving into
- Find the MPAN and MPRN for the new site. The landlord, agent or previous occupier should have them. These identify the meter points and every conversation needs them.
- Read the meters the day you take the keys and photograph them. This is the single most useful thing you can do, because it fixes the point where the previous occupier's liability ends and yours begins.
- Contact the existing supplier straight away to tell them you are the new occupier. You will be on a deemed contract until you agree something, and the clock is already running.
- Get quotes before you move, not after. You can line up a contract to start as soon as the move completes, which cuts the time on deemed rates to almost nothing.
- Check what you are inheriting. Meter type, available capacity, whether it is half-hourly metered. A site that was a warehouse and is now a workshop may have the wrong capacity set. Our guide to reading a business energy bill covers what those lines mean.
What the supplier will ask for
Suppliers want proof that a change of occupier really happened, because it moves liability between two parties. Expect to be asked for one of:
- Confirmation from the landlord, if you are renting
- Confirmation from the solicitor or agent handling the move
- A copy of your business rates statement for the premises
- The mortgage completion letter, if you bought the property
Once notified, the supplier should respond within 10 working days, either by closing the old account and opening a new one, rejecting the change of occupier and telling you why, or asking for more information. If you are switching supplier at the same time, you need to contact both: the new supplier starts the switch, and the existing one will accept it if they agree a change of occupier has taken place.
A sensible timeline
| When | Do this |
|---|---|
| 6 to 8 weeks before | Get the MPAN and MPRN for the new site. Start getting quotes so a contract can begin on move day. |
| 2 to 4 weeks before | Tell your current supplier your leaving date and forwarding address. Agree the new contract. |
| Move day | Photograph meters at both sites. Note the readings and the date. |
| Within a few days | Notify the new site's existing supplier that you are the occupier, with your opening reading. |
| Within a month | Check the final bill at the old site and the first bill at the new one against your photographs. |
None of this is difficult. It just has to be somebody's job during a period when everyone is busy with the actual move, which is exactly why it gets missed.
Moving premises in the next few months?
Tell us where you are going and roughly when. We will get the MPAN and MPRN sorted, quote the new site so a contract can start on move day instead of months later, and make sure the old supply is closed at the right reading. We handle the phones and broadband for moves too, so it can be one conversation.