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Fixed vs Variable Business Energy Tariffs: Which Suits You?

Budget certainty or market exposure? A practical comparison of fixed, variable and flexible business energy contracts for UK companies.

19 July 2026 6 min read

Fixed: certainty at a premium

A fixed tariff locks your unit rate for the contract term. You know your cost per kWh for budgeting, and you are protected from spikes. The trade-off is that suppliers build a risk premium into the price, and you will not benefit if wholesale prices fall.

Variable: exposure with flexibility

Variable rates track the market and can drop quickly, but they can rise just as fast — and rarely come with meaningful notice. They suit businesses that can absorb short-term volatility or that expect to move premises within months.

Blend or stagger

Multi-site operators rarely need a single answer. Fixing the majority of load while leaving a smaller portion variable spreads renewal risk so you are never re-pricing your whole estate in one bad week. Staggering end dates across sites achieves the same thing with less complexity.

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