Multi-site business energy: how to manage energy across several sites

A multi-site business energy arrangement brings several premises under one supplier or one buying plan, ideally with aligned contract end dates, one account view, and consistent data for every meter. It does not have to mean one contract, and it will not suit every site, but it usually makes a portfolio easier to manage and compare.

Running energy for one site is simple enough. Running it for ten, fifty or two hundred sites is a different job. Contracts end on different dates, bills arrive from different suppliers, and nobody is quite sure which meter belongs to which building.

What is a multi-site business energy contract?

It is any arrangement where one supplier supplies a group of your sites on matched terms. EDF, for example, says putting multiple sites with one supplier gives you:

• aligned contract dates: it can “align all your sites to the same contract start date”
• one point of contact: a dedicated team who know your account
• one online view: all your sites in one place, to track usage, view bills and manage contracts
• bespoke pricing for businesses with high usage across multiple sites or meters

In practice, a multi-site arrangement can be:

Type	How it works	What to check
Matched site contracts	Each site has its own contract, but prices, terms and end dates are aligned	Each contract’s end date and exit terms
Portfolio contract	One agreement covering a list of sites	How sites are added or removed during the term
Flexible or basket buying	Energy for many sites is bought in stages on the wholesale market	Who makes buying decisions and your risk limits

Should you align your contract end dates?

Aligning end dates lets you compare and buy for the whole portfolio at once, rather than renewing a site every few weeks. It also makes budgeting simpler.

You can build towards a common end date without paying exit fees:

1. Map every site with its supplier, contract type and end date (see the site register below).
2. Move deemed and out-of-contract sites first. A deemed contract cannot have an exit fee or notice period, and microbusiness sites on out-of-contract terms can leave at any time without a fee. See our guide to out-of-contract rates.
3. Move fixed-term sites as each contract ends. Ask for shorter or longer terms on some sites so they all finish on the same date.
4. Check before breaking a contract early. Exit fees can be large. TruEnergy’s terms, for example, base its early termination charge on the value of the rest of the contract or the cost of selling energy bought for you, plus £100 per supply point.

Watch notice terms too. Microbusiness contracts cannot require notice at the end of a fixed term, but larger business contracts may. Our contract renewal guide explains how.

What is basket or flexible procurement?

Flexible procurement means buying your energy in several stages instead of fixing the whole price on one day. Suppliers offer it in different forms:

• SmartestEnergy lets you trade your volume in tranches and “spread the price risk across multiple purchasing decisions on a monthly, quarterly or seasonal basis”. It says this suits a company with multiple sites run by a central energy management team, and that its flexible contracts are typically three years.
• npower Business Solutions offers MultiPurchase, which splits your contract volume into multiple purchases, and a range of flexible contracts that spread buying decisions through the year.
• npower’s Access Flex is a group purchasing framework for customers who would not normally have enough consumption to buy on the wholesale market on their own. It covers half-hourly, non-half-hourly and combined portfolios. npower says there is no cross-subsidy between clients, as each is priced on its own consumption profile.

Is flexible buying right for you?

Flexible buying can go either way. You can benefit if prices fall, but you are exposed if they rise before you buy. SmartestEnergy describes it as a way to “balance market risk with your company’s risk tolerance”.

SmartestEnergy aims its flexible product at businesses with in-house energy management or support from a consultant or broker. You will also need a clear buying strategy. If you want budget certainty instead, a fixed contract may suit better. See fixed vs flexible energy contracts.

How do half-hourly sites fit in?

Some of your sites may already have half-hourly metering. Ofgem says that if the first two digits of the supply number on your electricity bill are 05, 06, 07 or 08, your supplier is taking half-hourly readings from your meter.

That is about to become normal for every site. Under Elexon’s Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) programme:

• migration of meters to half-hourly settlement began on 22 October 2025
• around 33 million meters are moving over an 18-month transition
• Elexon planned for about 80% of meters to have migrated by October 2026
• full migration is planned for May 2027, with cutover to the new settlement arrangements in July 2027

Ofgem has said MHHS will give suppliers accurate signals about the cost of serving customers through each day, which should encourage new tariffs that reward flexible energy use.

For a multi-site business, this means more half-hourly data across your estate. That makes it easier to spot sites using energy when they are closed, and to compare sites fairly. Our guide to half-hourly meters explains more.

Can you get one bill for all your sites?

Ask each supplier how it bills multi-site customers before you sign. Options vary. For example:

• EDF says you can view bills for all your sites in one online account.
• SSE Energy Solutions says that for multi-site businesses, a site reference on the invoice identifies each property.

When you tender, ask whether the supplier can provide a single consolidated invoice, add your own site names or cost-centre codes, and send data files you can load into your finance system. Agreeing this at the start can save a lot of reconciliation later.

How do you manage energy data across many sites?

Keep one site register and keep it up to date. Every tender, bill check and complaint is easier with it.

Field	Why you need it
Site name and full address	Suppliers match sites by address
MPAN and MPRN	These identify each supply point
Meter type (half-hourly, smart, standard)	Affects pricing and data
Annual consumption (kWh)	Suppliers price on it
Current supplier and contract type	Shows who to contact and what applies
Contract end date and notice terms	Stops sites rolling over by accident
Legal entity paying the bill	Needed for contracts and letters of authority

Letters of authority for group companies

If a broker is buying for several companies in your group, the letter of authority needs to cover all of them. npower Business Solutions, for example, asks for the company registration number of every company named on a letter of authority, and for the company name to match the contract exactly.

Checking bills

With many sites, billing errors are easy to miss. Decide who will check invoices against meter readings and contract rates, whether that is your own team, a broker, or a specialist bill-checking service. Our guide on how to read a business energy bill shows what to look for.

Multi-site checklist

1. Build a site register with every meter, supplier and end date.
2. Move deemed and out-of-contract sites onto contracts now.
3. Plan a common end date and fill in the gaps as contracts end.
4. Decide between fixed and flexible buying, and who will manage it.
5. Agree billing format, site references and data files up front.
6. Get a letter of authority that covers every site and company involved.
7. Review half-hourly data to find sites using energy out of hours.

When you are ready to tender your portfolio, you can compare business energy quotes with us.

Frequently asked questions