Which electricity supply contract suits your charging site?

Compare electricity contracts against the hours your chargers and building will actually use energy. Ofgem lists an electricity-use threshold of 100,000 kWh a year for microbusiness protection [S1]. A low headline unit price can still produce a higher total bill once other charges are included. Price the same demand profile under each written offer before committing. Checked October 2026.

Last checked 17 October 2026

How should you compare electricity supply charges?

Build a forecast bill, not a list of unit prices. Send each bidder the same annual energy demand and expected charging times. Ask for unit rates, standing charges, excluded items, meter costs, payment terms and the mechanism for any price changes. Ofgem’s guidance explains the contract categories and the importance of knowing the fees and term before agreeing. [S1]

Kilowatts (kW) measure power; kilowatt-hours (kWh) measure energy over time. A charger rating tells you its power capability, not how many paid sessions your site will sell. Use bookings, fleet requirements or a documented demand survey to estimate energy. Read business electricity prices alongside the written offer.

Identify which costs change because of the project. If your building already has a supply, its existing standing charge is different from the additional cost of a new charging meter. Show the building’s total bill when comparing suppliers, then show the project’s additional costs in your investment model.

What are your site’s biggest electricity uses and when do they occur?

Prepare separate lines for the building, fleet, visitors, solar generation and battery charging. Ask for available meter data rather than dividing a yearly bill evenly across the day. Note planned equipment, opening hours and seasonal closures before treating last year’s use as next year’s forecast.

For a depot, vehicle departure requirements should shape the schedule. For a hotel, customer dwell time may allow flexibility, but that does not prove all energy can move into a cheaper period. Ask the installer to model simultaneous demand and control settings against the proposed tariff.

Your distribution network operator (DNO) manages the local network. Ask the surveyor to identify supply constraints and any connection work, separately from the supplier’s energy price. Compare load management and agreed supply capacity before assuming a meter change solves a power constraint.

Could a cheaper unit rate still cost your site more?

Yes, as the following illustration, not a quote shows. All prices, charges and usage are assumptions, not current offers. Costs exclude VAT and any items not explicitly listed.

Assume two 7 kW sockets deliver 20 kWh per session across 365 days. Low, mid and high use means 1, 2 or 4 site-wide sessions daily. Assume effective purchased energy equals delivered energy for this simplified comparison; a real quote must add measured or forecast losses.

B’s weighted unit rate = (40% × £0.29) + (60% × £0.17) = £0.218/kWh. Annual supply cost = annual purchased kWh × weighted rate + annual standing charge.

The switching point is £365 extra standing charge ÷ £0.032 unit-rate difference = 11,406.25 kWh yearly. That is about 1.56 assumed sessions daily. Below that use, A costs less in this scenario. At mid use, if only 20% of charging energy can move off peak, B’s weighted rate becomes £0.266 and its annual bill becomes £4,613.60. It then costs £598.60 more than A.

These comparisons apply only to the stated charging load. Add the rest of your building’s energy and the excluded charges before choosing a supplier. A supermarket refrigerator cannot be treated as flexible demand simply because the proposed charging controller has a timer.

Who should hold the electricity contract under each funding model?

Ask for a meter and payment diagram. Under fully funded, establish whether the operator buys energy directly or reimburses your business. Under part funded, define which energy deductions occur before calculating the host’s share. Under self funded, put the full supply bill and operating costs into your own forecast.

Where an operator uses your building’s meter, request a reconciliation showing purchased energy, charger readings, losses and settlement dates. Ask who carries tariff increases, disputed readings and unpaid driver transactions. Do not compare a share of gross sales with another proposal’s share after energy deductions.

Land access, business rates, insurance, planning and electricity supply are separate discussions. Record responsibility for each, including any reinstatement work at the end of the agreement. Review contractual liability and exit terms with your solicitor.

How do renewable supply claims affect the comparison?

UK reporting guidance distinguishes location-based electricity reporting from contractual market-based reporting. [S4] Ask your reporting adviser what documentary evidence the proposed product provides. A carbon claim should not replace the annual cost calculation.

If solar or storage is planned, reprice the residual grid demand after modelling it. Compare a daytime generation profile with charging hours; do not subtract all solar generation from annual imports without checking whether it is used, stored or exported. Keep each assumption visible in the supplier comparison.

Before arranging a switch, read the existing contract’s notice and switching provisions. Ofgem notes that unpaid bills can lead to an objection from the existing supplier. [S2] If affordability is the concern, Ofgem also signposts government and local efficiency support. [S3] Keep any application separate from the contract decision until an award is confirmed.

What should you do next?

Collect your meter details, current terms and charging forecast. Read how we work and get matched with an installer that covers your area. Piggy Pineapple Ltd operates this referral service. We refer enquiries to installer partners and may be paid a fee. Our owner holds shares in at least one partner. Before passing on details, we name the proposed partner and disclose any shareholding our owner holds in it.