TL;DR: Key Takeaways
- Business energy brokers do charge a fee - it is usually built into your unit rate, not invoiced separately. This is called an “uplift”. The supplier collects it through your bills and pays it on to the broker.
- Most businesses don’t realise it. In Ofgem’s 2025 survey, 63% of businesses that knew they had used a broker thought they had not been charged.
- It must now be disclosed. Since 1 October 2024, suppliers must show any broker fee in the contract’s principal terms for all non-domestic customers. It is still rarely shown on the quote.
- Fees vary a lot. Ofgem’s data shows broker fees of about 3p/kWh were typical at some suppliers in 2022-23 - three times Meet George’s 1p/kWh.
- It can be in the standing charge too, and some suppliers pay brokers most of their commission upfront.
- A good broker can be worth paying for complex, high-usage sites. For a single standard site, you are mostly paying for access to prices.
- Meet George’s fee is a flat 1p/kWh, itemised, never buried.
What Does Uplift Mean in Business?
In business, an uplift is an increase added to a price, cost, rate or value - Cambridge Dictionary’s business definition is “an increase in value” (Cambridge Dictionary (opens in new tab)). So an uplift fee or price uplift is an amount added on top of a base price, and in business energy, “uplift” usually means the fee a broker adds to your unit rate.
The term turns up in a few places:
- Price, cost or rate uplift: an increase applied to an existing price or rate, for example when a contract price goes up.
- Uplift fee or uplift charge: an extra charge added on top of a base price. In energy, a broker’s uplift is built into the pence per kWh you pay, so it may never appear as a separate fee on your bill.
- PO uplift: in procurement, an increase to the value of a purchase order that has already been raised.
- Sales uplift: an increase in sales, as in Cambridge’s example of stores enjoying “16% sales uplifts”.
If you’re here because of an energy bill, the rest of this guide explains how energy uplift works and what it costs. To see whether your rate looks high, upload your latest bill: Meet George’s free bill check compares your all-in price per kWh with the DESNZ average for a business of your size.
What Is Uplift in Business Energy?
Uplift is a broker’s fee added to the supplier’s price, so you pay one combined unit rate instead of a separate fee. The supplier sets its price, the broker’s fee is added on top, and you see a single figure on your bill.
Ofgem describes how the money moves in its Non-Domestic Market Review decision (opens in new tab) (April 2024): “in most cases TPI service fees are paid as part of a customer’s energy bill from their supplier, with the supplier paying fees to the TPI from the payment they receive from the customer. This structure has led to some customers being unaware that they are paying a separate fee to the TPI and how much.” (“TPI”, or third-party intermediary, is the industry term for brokers and similar services.)
The supplier can then pass the fee to the broker month by month as you pay, or as a lump sum at the start of the contract - more on that below.
If you bought a house, you’d see the estate agent’s fee. Business energy brokers mostly don’t work like that, which is why the fee is so easy to miss.
Do Business Energy Brokers Charge a Fee?
Yes - almost every broker is paid, but most don’t send you an invoice. Their fee is usually built into the price you pay per kWh, and the supplier passes it on to them, so the service feels free even though you pay for it through every bill for the life of the contract.
That is why so many businesses think brokers cost nothing. In Ofgem’s 2025 survey of 1,002 businesses (opens in new tab), of those that knew they had used a broker when switching, “Around one in five (21%) of these businesses believed they were charged by their broker, while 63% thought they were not charged. 13% reported that they did not know.” Ofgem’s 2023 research, quoted in its April 2024 decision, found “Only 7% said they were charged by the broker.” We explore why businesses think energy brokers are free in more depth.
Two exceptions are worth knowing about:
- Fee-based consultants. Some consultants charge a visible fixed fee or retainer instead of, or as well as, supplier commission - more often for larger or multi-site businesses. If a broker quotes you a fee, ask in writing whether they also receive commission from the supplier on top.
- “Upfront” usually means something else. In industry jargon, an “upfront” payment normally means the supplier paying the broker its commission as a lump sum at the start of your contract. You still pay for it through your unit rate either way.
Since 1 October 2024, whichever way the broker is paid, the fee must be shown in your contract’s principal terms - see what the rules say now below.
With Meet George there is no upfront fee and no buried one: you pay our 1p/kWh fee, itemised on every quote and collected via the supplier. See how we’re paid.
How Much Does Uplift Cost You?
Ofgem’s data shows broker fees on micro business electricity contracts averaged about 1.2p/kWh across suppliers in 2022-23, and reached about 3p/kWh at some - but individual contracts vary, so the only reliable figure is the one in your contract. Ofgem’s December 2023 draft impact assessment (opens in new tab) published each supplier’s median broker fee for contracts between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023. The data came from suppliers, in response to a formal request Ofgem sent to 60 non-domestic suppliers in September 2023. Read from its charts, the average of suppliers’ typical (median) fees for micro business electricity was about 1.2p/kWh.
But Ofgem’s data shows broker fees of about 3p/kWh were typical at some suppliers in 2022-23 - three times Meet George’s 1p. At those suppliers, about half of micro business electricity contracts arranged by a broker carried a fee of around 3p/kWh or more. Ofgem notes that “a variety of services are likely to be included in these cost values, so this data does not infer anything about the value for money of the services provided by TPIs.”
These are medians: half of each supplier’s broker contracts were above its median, so your fee could be higher or lower. Our guide to energy broker commission rates sets out Ofgem’s figures for every business size.
To see what any uplift costs you, multiply the fee in pence per kWh by your annual kWh and the number of years.
Illustrative example (our arithmetic): a business using 25,000 kWh a year on a three-year contract.
| Fee built into the rate | Per year | Over 3 years |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5p/kWh | £125 | £375 |
| 1p/kWh | £250 | £750 |
| 2p/kWh | £500 | £1,500 |
| 3p/kWh | £750 | £2,250 |
Because the uplift is part of the unit rate, it also looks like part of the “energy price” when you compare quotes. To see what you pay per kWh in total, upload your latest bill - Meet George’s free bill check lists every charge line by line and compares your all-in price with the DESNZ average for a business of your size.
You can also try our commission calculator.
Can Brokers Add Commission to the Standing Charge?
Yes - a broker’s fee can be built into your standing charge (the fixed daily charge) as well as your unit rate. Suppliers’ terms allow for this. Drax’s SME terms, for example, say that if you used a broker “we will include any amount of commission payable to the broker (or other introducer or agent) within the Charges” (Drax SME terms, February 2024 (opens in new tab)). The same terms define the Charges as “any charges or payments that are payable by you to us” under the contract, which covers the standing charge as well as the unit rate.
Illustrative example (our arithmetic): if 60p a day were added to a standing charge, that is 60p x 365 = £219 a year, or £657 over three years. Because most people compare unit rates, the standing charge is easy to overlook. Our standing charges guide explains what yours is made of.
How Do Suppliers Pay Brokers: Upfront or Monthly?
Suppliers pay brokers either month by month as you pay your bills, or as a lump sum near the start of the contract. Paid monthly, the broker only earns while you are a customer. Paid upfront, the broker gets most of the money on day one.
The Court of Appeal case Expert Tooling and Automation Ltd v Engie Power Ltd (opens in new tab) (21 March 2025) shows how big that can be: the broker “received an up-front payment from Engie of £89,000”, representing “80% of the commission” it would ultimately be entitled to on the first contract.
In our view, upfront payments can create an incentive to sell longer contracts with bigger uplifts, because both increase the day-one payment. If a broker recommends a long contract, ask in writing how and when they are paid.
Why Can Commission Work Against You?
Because the broker is paid by the supplier, and paid more on some contracts than others, the deal that pays the broker most is not always the deal that is best for you. That is not just our view. The government’s October 2025 response on regulating TPIs (opens in new tab) says:
“Market structures such as payment by commission and supplier’s ability to gatekeep access to pricing create regular situations where the most profitable decision can be directly opposed to the best interest of the TPI’s customers.”
It adds that the consultation “provided further evidence of TPI’s charging hidden fees/commission and only seeking quotes from favoured suppliers.”
Not all brokers behave this way - many are good at what they do - but the structure creates the risk. Group legal claims over undisclosed commissions have also been brought: in January 2024 the Guardian reported (opens in new tab) that thousands of small businesses had joined a group action led by the law firm Harcus Parker. Those claims are allegations still to be tested in court. Our round-up of mis-selling cases covers the court decisions so far.
When Is a Broker Worth Paying?
A good broker can earn its fee when your energy is genuinely complex; for a single site with a standard meter, you are mostly paying for access to prices. The difference isn’t how clever the customer is - it is how complicated their energy is.
You Probably Benefit From a Broker If:
- You have half-hourly metering, high-voltage connections or several sites
- You have on-site generation (solar, CHP), battery storage or take part in demand response
- You buy energy flexibly (in chunks over time) rather than on a simple fixed contract
- You have network agreements with your local DNO, or need to manage time-of-day network charges
- Energy is a strategic cost that someone in your business actively manages
For these industrial and commercial users, a skilled broker or consultant who manages contracts, network charges and on-site assets can be worth more than their fee.
You Probably Don’t Need One If:
- You have a single site with a standard electricity or gas meter
- Your usage is predictable (open 9-5, closed weekends)
- You just want a fair, fixed price and accurate bills
- You’d rather see the fee than trust that it is fair
In our view, the problem is the consultancy model built for large users being sold to small ones, with a fee that doesn’t match the service. Small business owners understandably need more explanation - but in our view the answer is plain information and a visible fee, not a bigger uplift. And shopping around doesn’t always mean what it seems: several comparison sites route enquiries to the same broker behind the scenes.
If you’re in the second list, our honest comparison of broker-assisted, self-service and direct-to-supplier switching sets out what each route costs and when a good broker still earns their fee.
What Do the Rules Say Now?
Suppliers must disclose broker fees, small businesses can take broker complaints to an ombudsman, and Ofgem is preparing to regulate brokers directly - but those broker rules are not in force yet.
Since 1 October 2024: Fees in the Principal Terms
Ofgem’s April 2024 announcement (opens in new tab) expanded “the requirement for a contract’s principal terms to clearly display any broker fees from Micro Business consumers to all non-domestic customers. This will apply to contracts signed on and from 1 October 2024 and suppliers must make this information available upon request.” Ofgem’s decision also introduced a cost-per-unit presentation of the fee for all businesses.
The duty sits with the supplier, and it applies to contracts signed on or after 1 October 2024 - so a contract signed before then may not show the fee.
Since December 2024: Ombudsman Access for Small Businesses
From December 2024, suppliers may only work with brokers that are members of a redress scheme when securing Small Business contracts, and Small Businesses can take disputes about brokers to schemes such as the Energy Ombudsman (opens in new tab). Ofgem’s announcement defines a Small Business as one with fewer than 50 employees and an annual turnover of £6.5 million or a balance sheet total of £5 million, or annual usage of 200,000 kWh of electricity or 500,000 kWh of gas.
The Energy Ombudsman’s broker scheme review for 2025 (opens in new tab) reports 980 broker disputes accepted in 2025, down 38% on the previous period. Sales disputes accounted for 93%, and 36% of cases were upheld in favour of the consumer.
Coming Next: Ofgem Regulation of Brokers
The government’s October 2025 response (opens in new tab) confirmed it will “appoint Ofgem as regulator for TPIs”, with powers to set rules and require TPIs to pass a registration process. In July 2026 Ofgem published good-practice guidance for intermediaries (opens in new tab) while it develops the rules (“We still need to create the new rules”). It expects brokers to “clearly explain your commission or fee arrangements, including how much you’ll receive and how the customer pays their fees”, and says: “We would expect any commission or fees you get to reflect the services and benefits given to customers.”
Until then, there is also the industry’s voluntary TPI Code of Practice. We welcome regulation.
What the Courts Have Said
In Expert Tooling v Engie (2025), the customer knew its broker would be paid commission by the supplier but, as the Court of Appeal put it, “did not know other material matters, including how much” - a “half-secret” commission. The court held that the supplier was not liable in that case, because a claim that it helped the broker breach its duty needed dishonesty, which had not been properly alleged. The case shows how much can turn on what you were told about the fee.
How to Check What Your Broker Is Paid
- Find your contract. For contracts signed on or after 1 October 2024, the broker fee should be in the principal terms. If a broker arranged the deal, you may need a Letter of Authority to get your contract details.
- Look for the fee lines. Look for “Third Party Costs”, “Broker Commission”, “TPI fee” or similar - in pence per kWh, on the unit rate and the standing charge.
- Ask your supplier. If it isn’t there, email your supplier asking what third-party costs are included in your contract.
- Ask your broker the hard questions: “What is the supplier’s rate and what is your fee?”, “Is your fee in the unit rate, the standing charge, or both?” and “Are you paid upfront or monthly?”
- Work out the total. Fee per kWh x annual kWh x years - for example 2p x 25,000 kWh x 3 years = £1,500.
- Compare your all-in price. What a business your size should be paying sets out the DESNZ average for each size band. While you’re reviewing the contract, check it against the 7 red flags in business energy contracts too.
If you think you were mis-sold, keep copies of your contracts and correspondence, ask the broker to explain the fee in writing, complain to the broker and supplier, and if you’re a micro or small business, take it to the broker’s redress scheme.
The Meet George Difference
We built Meet George because we think the fee should be visible.
- A fixed fee: 1p/kWh on gas and electricity, itemised, never buried. See how we’re paid.
- Shown separately: every quote shows the supplier’s rate, our fee and the total.
- No reason to steer you: our fee is the same whichever supplier you choose. No supplier pays us more than another, and there are no volume bonuses or preferred suppliers.
- In pounds, not just pence: quotes show what you’ll pay a year, not only a unit rate read out over the phone.
- Pro-regulation: we welcome Ofgem regulating brokers.
Switching soon? Learn the complete 5-step switching process, or read our guide to broker commission rates.
