"Best" is doing a lot of work in the phrase "best commercial energy rates". For a UK business in May 2026 the cheapest available unit rate is almost never the same as the most heavily advertised one, and the gap between them is paid by the customer through a broker commission baked into the per-kWh charge. The mechanism that produces that gap is the Letter of Authority, the broker quote sheet, and a TPI disclosure regime that only works if the customer knows to ask.
TL;DR
- Going direct to a supplier in May 2026 typically removes 1-4p per kWh of broker uplift from the unit rate, depending on annual consumption and supplier.
- A Letter of Authority signed with a broker can stay live for 12 months and grant access to the customer's MPAN and renewal data without the business realising.
- Octopus for Business publishes its non-domestic rates online; most large suppliers route quotes through a sales desk or a panel of brokers.
- Ofgem's December 2024 TPI rules require brokers to disclose commission to microbusinesses on request, but enforcement depends on the customer asking.
- Direct quote routes exist with Octopus, EDF, Drax Energy Solutions, SmartestEnergy, and the larger supplier sales desks for sites above microbusiness thresholds.
Last reviewed: May 2026
What "best" actually means in non-domestic energy
"Best commercial energy rates" is a phrase brokers and price-comparison sites optimise for because it converts well. It implies a leaderboard exists. For non-domestic supply in the UK there is no Ofgem-published leaderboard, no default cap to benchmark against, and no requirement on suppliers to publish a standard tariff. Two businesses on the same street with the same consumption profile can be quoted different unit rates by the same supplier on the same day.
The actually-cheapest rate for any given business depends on annual kWh, load profile (when in the day consumption peaks), credit history, contract length tolerance, payment method, and DNO region. A bakery drawing 18,000 kWh per year with a heavy morning load curve has a different optimal supplier than a hairdressing salon drawing 9,000 kWh with an even spread across opening hours. "Best" only makes sense once those inputs are pinned.
The honest reframing is: what process produces the cheapest available unit rate for a specific business in a specific region in May 2026. That process has a name and it usually does not involve a broker.
The direct-from-supplier route, in practice
Several UK non-domestic suppliers take quote requests directly, without a broker intermediary. The list is not long, and not every supplier on the list will quote every consumption profile.
- Octopus for Business: publishes rates online for microbusiness and small business meters, and runs a direct sales desk for larger non-half-hourly and half-hourly sites. The published rate is the rate, with no broker uplift in the unit rate.
- EDF Energy Business: accepts direct quote requests through its business portal, and for sites above microbusiness thresholds, routes the request to a named account team.
- Drax Energy Solutions: focuses on larger SMEs and industrial users, accepts direct enquiries, and publishes flexible procurement options for half-hourly customers.
- SmartestEnergy: serves larger commercial and industrial customers, generally above the microbusiness threshold, with a direct sales team and no broker-only model.
- British Gas Lite: the British Gas non-domestic SME brand, takes direct quotes through its own platform for sub-50,000 kWh sites.
- SSE Business Energy, E.ON Next Business, ScottishPower Business: all accept direct enquiries, though the route through a broker is also actively marketed.
The process for a microbusiness is straightforward in theory. Get the most recent bill, identify the MPAN (electricity supply number) and MPRN (gas supply number), record the annual kWh from the bottom of the bill, then submit the same set of details to two or three suppliers directly. Quotes are typically returned within 24 to 72 hours.
In practice the friction is that supplier sales desks for non-microbusiness sites prefer to deal with brokers. Brokers package multiple sites, file LOAs, and respond faster than an SME procurement officer juggling other priorities. A direct quote from a busy supplier desk can take longer to land than a broker-packaged quote, and the SME is left wondering whether the wait is worth the saving.
The LOA trap
The Letter of Authority is the document a broker asks a business to sign at the start of the engagement. On its face it permits the broker to obtain quotes from suppliers on the customer's behalf. In practice it does more than that.
A standard broker LOA grants the broker authority to access the customer's MPAN and MPRN data, communicate with current and prospective suppliers, request meter readings, and in many cases initiate contract negotiations. The LOA typically remains in force for 12 months from signature, sometimes longer if the wording is not explicitly time-limited.
Here is where it breaks. A business that signs an LOA, decides not to use the broker, and signs a direct contract with a supplier may still find that broker holds an active authority on file. When the contract approaches renewal 12-24 months later, the broker can be the first party to receive notice through the supplier's industry data feed. The customer hears from the broker before the supplier.
The fix is to either insist on a single-quote LOA with a 30-day expiry, or to formally revoke the LOA in writing to the broker once the quote exercise is complete. Citizens Advice's energy supply pages cover the LOA mechanic and the customer's right to revoke.
How broker commission ends up in the unit rate
A broker does not, in most cases, charge the customer a separate fee. The broker is paid by the supplier, and the supplier recovers the payment through an uplift on the unit rate the customer pays. The mechanism is called a "commission uplift" and it works like this:
The supplier quotes the broker a wholesale-plus-cost unit rate (say 24p per kWh). The broker then quotes the customer a higher rate (say 27p per kWh), retaining the 3p per kWh difference as commission across every kWh consumed for the duration of the contract. On a 36-month 30,000 kWh per year contract, that 3p uplift is 2,700 pounds going to the broker over the contract life, invisible on the bill.
The catch is that the supplier and the broker both have an incentive to maximise contract length and total kWh, because both increase the broker's commission take. A 36-month contract pays better than a 12-month one. A higher kWh estimate (suppliers sometimes use historical readings, brokers sometimes use forward projections) increases the commission base.
Ofgem's non-domestic market review concluded in 2024 with rule changes published on the non-domestic TPI rule changes pages, requiring brokers serving microbusinesses to disclose commission on request from December 2024. The disclosure must be given in writing and in a form that allows the customer to understand the total commission across the contract.
The Ofgem TPI disclosure rules: what they do and do not do
The 2024 Ofgem TPI rules, implemented from December 2024 onwards, set out three core requirements for third-party intermediaries serving microbusinesses. First, brokers must disclose the commission they will earn from a quoted contract, in writing, on request from the customer. Second, brokers must signpost the Energy Ombudsman as the formal dispute resolution route for microbusiness energy issues. Third, brokers must operate to a standard of conduct that includes clear identification of who they are and which supplier panel they are quoting from.
The rules do not require automatic, unprompted disclosure of commission for every quote.
The rules do not cap broker commission.
The rules do not apply to non-microbusiness customers (above the microbusiness threshold the TPI rules either do not bite or apply less directly, depending on the specific rule).
What that means in practice: a microbusiness that asks the question and gets the answer in writing has full information; a microbusiness that does not ask gets a unit rate with the commission baked in and no obligation on the broker to volunteer the number. The asking is the trigger. Sample wording for the customer to use: "Please confirm in writing, before signing, the total broker commission payable to your firm across the full contract term, expressed both in pence per kWh and as a total pound figure." A broker that responds with a clear figure is operating within the rules. A broker that hesitates, redirects to the supplier, or offers a vague "industry standard" answer is signalling that the figure is larger than the customer would accept if disclosed plainly. A broker that refuses outright is in breach of the Ofgem rule for microbusiness customers and is reportable to the Energy Ombudsman through its energy sector pages. The disclosure question, asked in writing and on the record, is the single highest-value sentence in the procurement exercise. It costs nothing to send and routinely saves the customer thousands of pounds across a 24 to 36 month contract.
| Quote route | Typical p/kWh uplift vs supplier wholesale-plus | LOA required | Best fit for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supplier portal direct (Octopus, British Gas Lite) | 0p (published rate is the rate) | No | Microbusiness, sub-50,000 kWh per year |
| Supplier sales desk direct | 0p, but rate is bespoke and may be no better than broker | No | Small to medium SME, 50,000-250,000 kWh per year |
| Independent broker, commission disclosed | 1-2p typical | Yes | Customers wanting market panel access with transparency |
| Independent broker, commission not disclosed | 2-5p typical (sometimes higher) | Yes | Not recommended on cost grounds |
| Tied broker (single-supplier "energy partner") | Variable, often presented as "no commission" | Yes | Customers who want a single point of contact |
What changes above the microbusiness threshold
The microbusiness rules cut out at 100,000 kWh annual electricity, 293,000 kWh annual gas, or 10 employees, or 2 million euros turnover (Ofgem's definition includes any one of those triggers). Above that, the TPI disclosure rules apply with less force, the supplier sales desk is more open to direct negotiation, and the calculus changes.
A 200,000 kWh hotel in Edinburgh approaching renewal in 2026 has access to a different market than a 12,000 kWh corner cafe. Suppliers will quote bespoke pricing, flexible procurement options become available (basket purchasing, fixed-then-flex contracts), and the value-add of a specialist broker who understands flexible procurement starts to outweigh the commission uplift cost on a pure-fixed contract.
Industrial customers above 1 GWh per year typically use a procurement consultant on a fee basis (not a unit-rate uplift), and the consultant's role is closer to a chartered surveyor than a salesperson. That model is the cleanest in cost terms, but the fee is real and visible. For a 30,000 kWh microbusiness the consultant fee makes no sense; the published supplier rate does.
What a named UK example looks like in 2026
A microbusiness coffee shop in the SP Energy Networks Manweb region (Merseyside) at renewal in March 2026 was quoted three rates for the same 14,000 kWh annual consumption: 41p per kWh through an inbound broker call (no commission disclosed), 36p per kWh through a different broker after the commission disclosure question was asked in writing (commission disclosed as 1.8p per kWh), and 31p per kWh direct through Octopus for Business via the published rate portal. The three quotes came in within a single week. The unit rate spread between the cheapest and the most expensive was 10p per kWh, which across 14,000 kWh per year for the 24-month term the customer eventually signed represents roughly 2,800 pounds.
The 31p direct quote was not "the best rate in the market" in any objective sense. It was the cheapest available rate for that specific business, that specific consumption profile, and that specific region, on that specific week. Two weeks later the same exercise might have returned different rankings between suppliers; wholesale moves daily.
Editorial disclaimer. KaelTripton is an independent UK publisher. This article is editorial, not personal financial or energy procurement advice. Rates, caps, grant levels and supplier offers move; verify any figure with the named primary source before acting on it. KaelTripton does not earn commission from suppliers or brokers mentioned.
Frequently asked questions
Do all UK business energy suppliers quote direct, without a broker?
No. Some suppliers route all non-domestic enquiries through a broker panel. Octopus for Business, EDF, Drax, SmartestEnergy, and British Gas Lite are among those that accept direct quote requests; others vary by site size and consumption.
Can a broker commission be removed from an existing contract?
Generally not mid-contract. The commission is paid by the supplier to the broker on the basis of the signed contract and is recovered through the unit rate the customer agreed. The next renewal is the realistic point to switch route.
What is the Energy Ombudsman's role in broker disputes?
Since the Ofgem TPI reforms, the Energy Ombudsman handles eligible microbusiness complaints about TPIs operating in the non-domestic market, including disputes about commission disclosure and conduct standards.
How long does an LOA stay in force?
Standard broker Letters of Authority typically run for 12 months from signature. Customers can revoke an LOA in writing at any time to the broker and copy the current supplier.
Does going direct guarantee a cheaper unit rate?
No, it removes the broker commission uplift, but the underlying supplier wholesale-plus rate may or may not be the cheapest in the market on a given day. Comparing two or three direct quotes is the working method.
Are flexible procurement contracts cheaper than fixed contracts?
Flexible procurement can be cheaper in a falling wholesale market and more expensive in a rising one. The contract type carries wholesale exposure the customer needs to be able to manage, and is not usually suited to businesses below roughly 200,000 kWh per year.
Sources
- Ofgem - Non-domestic market review, TPI rule changes (implementation December 2024)
- Ofgem - Energy advice for businesses, microbusiness definition
- Citizens Advice - Energy supply, business customers and Letters of Authority
- Ombudsman Services - Energy, microbusiness and TPI dispute scope
- Ofgem - Energy data portal, Q1 2026 non-domestic market data
- DESNZ - Quarterly Energy Prices statistical release, May 2026
