Business energy for cafes and coffee shops Sort your cafe's next energy contract without picking up the phone.

About 27,900 kWh a year for a cafe of 71 m², the median size in DESNZ's Building Energy Efficiency Survey, but that's an estimate: DESNZ doesn't publish a median yearly use for cafes. The survey found cafes used a median of 393 kWh of electricity per square metre a year in 2014-15, on a par with large food shops and about three and a half times the median for small shops. Cafes vary widely around that, so your bill shows what yours actually uses.

There's no official figure for cafes, but at an estimated 27,900 kWh a year, a 71 m² cafe would pay about £7,980 a year before VAT, or £670 a month, at the provisional Q2 2026 average paid by businesses using 20,000 to 499,999 kWh a year (28.59p per kWh, including every charge except VAT). A cafe using up to 20,000 kWh a year falls in DESNZ's smallest band instead, where the average was 38.36p. If your kitchen runs on gas, that's a separate bill on top.

Catering: about 79% of cafes' electricity in DESNZ's end-use tables. DESNZ's building survey counts coffee machines, hot water boilers for drinks, kitchen and servery equipment, dishwashers and cold storage for food in that category, so there's no official split between the espresso machine and the oven. Heating comes next at about 7%, then lighting at about 5%. The survey estimated catering from an allowance per meal served, so treat the split as a guide.

Usually, yes. Gas and electricity are separate supplies with separate meter numbers (an MPRN for gas, an MPAN for electricity), and each normally has its own contract, end date and standing charge, so check both dates. Gas has its own VAT limit too: HMRC treats up to 145 kWh a day as domestic use, against 33 kWh for electricity. The same 1p/kWh fee applies to both, but gas isn't on the online platform yet, so for now our team arranges gas contracts with you directly.

On bills that average 33 kWh a day (1,000 kWh a month) or less, yes, in Great Britain. HMRC treats those as domestic use, so there's no Climate Change Levy and 0% VAT from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, then 5% again; Northern Ireland stays at 5%. Cafes use a lot of electricity for their size: at the median use per m² in DESNZ's building survey, a cafe bigger than about 31 m² would average over the limit, and a bill over it normally carries 20% VAT and the levy. HMRC judges each bill on its own, so check each one: if a bill averages 33 kWh a day or less and still shows 20%, ask your supplier to correct it. Mains gas has its own limit, 145 kWh a day, and stays at 5% within it.

No, they're separate rules. The VAT you charge customers follows HMRC's catering rules, under which hot takeaway drinks are standard-rated. The VAT on your energy bill depends on how much energy each bill covers, not on what you sell: HMRC treats small supplies, averaging up to 33 kWh of electricity or 145 kWh of mains gas a day, as domestic use even when the customer is a business, and they carry a lower VAT rate.

It depends who's responsible for paying the energy bill, and your lease or agreement should say. If it's you, Ofgem's 2022 advice for business tenants, written with Citizens Advice and Energy UK, says you can still switch even if the lease ties you to a preferred supplier, but check for clauses saying you must tell your landlord if you plan to switch, or switch back to a particular supplier when you leave. If the host business or landlord pays the supplier and recharges you, the contract is theirs, and Ofgem's limit on resale prices doesn't apply to commercial premises. DESNZ's 2014-15 survey found 61% of the cafes it surveyed occupied only part of a building.

If your business is new to the premises, tell the current supplier as soon as you can, with a meter reading if you can take one: Ofgem says both the business moving in and the one moving out should. The supplier can ask for evidence such as your lease or property sale documents, and reviews it within 10 working days. You're responsible for any energy you use before your own contract starts, and moving in without arranging one puts you on a deemed contract, at rates Ofgem says are usually higher than negotiated ones. If the kitchen has a gas meter, do the same for the gas.

A flat 1p per kWh, and you only pay it if you switch through Meet George. For a cafe using an estimated 27,900 kWh of electricity a year, that's £279 a year. The same 1p per kWh applies to gas. Electricity switches happen online; gas isn't on the online platform yet, so for now our team arranges gas contracts directly. You pay the fee through your energy supplier, and it's itemised on every quote, never buried.