Can your supplier disconnect your business electricity?

Can a supplier disconnect a business for not paying?

Yes. In England, Wales and Scotland, the law lets an electricity or gas supplier disconnect premises where bills haven't been paid, or fit a prepayment meter instead. The same steps apply to both:

1. A written demand. The supplier must ask for payment in writing.
2. 28 days. If you haven't paid within 28 days of that demand, the supplier can move on.
3. Notice. It must then give you at least seven working days' notice before disconnecting electricity or fitting a prepayment meter. For gas, the notice is at least seven days.

The supplier can't use these powers for an amount that's genuinely in dispute, so if you think a bill is wrong, say so in writing.

Disconnection for unpaid bills at a glance

In Great Britain, the steps in the law are the same for homes and businesses. In Northern Ireland, business premises have a shorter wait after a written demand than homes: 15 working days instead of 20. Ofgem said in 2012 that business customers don't have the same protection on debt and disconnection as households, who are protected by licence conditions. Its current guidance for suppliers of business customers is good practice rather than part of the rules. This guide describes the rules; it isn't legal advice.

What to do if you can't pay or are threatened with disconnection

Act as early as you can, and keep a record of every call and letter.

• Talk to your supplier. Ofgem says you can ask about a payment plan, a payment break or a reduction, and about any hardship funds. Citizens Advice says your supplier should help you come to a solution.
• Dispute a wrong bill in writing. A supplier can't disconnect you over an amount that's genuinely in dispute.
• Check the rates you're paying. If your contract has ended, or you moved in without one, you may be on deemed or out-of-contract rates, which Ofgem says are usually higher than contract rates. Our pages on business electricity rates and business gas prices show what businesses pay on average.
• Get free debt advice. Business Debtline, a charity run by the Money Advice Trust, gives free, confidential debt advice to self-employed people and small business owners in England, Wales and Scotland, on 0800 197 6026, and links to separate help for Northern Ireland. Ofgem points businesses to it too.
• Get urgent help. If you've been told you'll be disconnected, Citizens Advice says to contact its consumer helpline. In Scotland, its page points to Advice Direct Scotland, on 0808 196 8660. The Extra Help Unit, part of Citizens Advice Scotland, helps small businesses in vulnerable circumstances, including taking urgent action to prevent a disconnection.
• Complain if it's not resolved. Microbusinesses and small businesses can take a complaint to the Energy Ombudsman for free, once the supplier has had 8 weeks or has sent a final response.

The Energy Ombudsman counts you as a small business if you have fewer than 50 employees and a turnover of up to £6.5 million or a balance sheet of up to £5 million, or if you use up to 200,000 kWh of electricity or 500,000 kWh of gas a year. A microbusiness has fewer than 10 employees and a turnover or balance sheet of up to £2 million, or uses up to 100,000 kWh of electricity or 293,000 kWh of gas a year.

What Ofgem expects suppliers to do before disconnecting

Ofgem updated its good practice guidance for business suppliers on 9 June 2026. It isn't part of the licence rules, but it sets out what Ofgem expects:

• A last resort. Disconnection should be avoided where possible.
• Affordable plans. Suppliers should consider your ability to pay and tailor any payment plan to what you can afford.
• Debt advice. Suppliers should point you to specialist business debt advice, such as Business Debtline.
• Fair site visits. Visits should be fair and arranged with notice, and Ofgem sees them as important where a customer has been hard to reach.
• People living on site. If business premises are shared with people who live there, the supplier should pause the disconnection process, and take all reasonable steps to avoid disconnection where a vulnerable person lives there. For supplies to the communal areas of a residential building with more than five floors, it should alert the local fire brigade first.
• Reasonable charges. Any charges during the process should be reasonable and proportionate, and made clear from the start.
• Compensation for mistakes. If a business is disconnected in error, Ofgem says it should get at least £100.

Since 1 July 2024, Ofgem's Standards of Conduct, which require suppliers to treat customers fairly, have covered businesses of every size.

Does the supplier need a warrant to come in?

To enter your premises to disconnect you, a supplier needs your consent or a warrant from a magistrate (in Scotland, a sheriff or a justice of the peace). The exception is an emergency. A warrant lasts until its purpose is met or for 28 days, whichever comes first.

Citizens Advice says a supplier should tell you at least 21 days before it applies for a warrant, and can only apply at least 28 days after it sent you the bill. Your supplier might agree to stop its application, or arrange for you to join the court hearing, usually by video call, where you can explain to the court why your supply shouldn't be disconnected. If you're disconnected, the supplier can add a disconnection fee to what you owe, and you'll pay another fee to be reconnected.

Prepayment meters and security deposits

• Prepayment instead of disconnection. A supplier can fit a prepayment meter instead of disconnecting you, on the same notice. If it can switch your meter to prepayment remotely, Ofgem expects it to be able to show it gave the legal notice first.
• Deposits. Suppliers may ask a business for a security deposit, for example when you join. Ofgem says a deposit should be no more than is reasonable, and it knows of suppliers asking for up to three months of future energy use as a typical starting point. A deposit asked for when you reconnect shouldn't unfairly stop you reconnecting.

Can business electricity be cut off without warning?

Not for unpaid bills: the law requires a written demand, 28 days and then notice, as set out above. The rules are different in a few situations:

• Safety. Your network operator can disconnect an unsafe installation without notice if safety justifies it, but must give you written reasons as soon as reasonably practicable.
• Meter damage. If the occupier has damaged an electricity meter, which is an offence, the law lets the supplier disconnect the premises and remove the meter. This power has no notice period written into it, but the supplier still needs your consent or a warrant to come in, except in an emergency. If you find tampering after moving in, Ofgem says the supplier should investigate before deciding who is responsible.
• Emergencies. The need for consent or a warrant to enter doesn't apply in an emergency.

If your supplier or network operator has disconnected your premises for unpaid bills or meter damage, it's an offence to reconnect the supply yourself without its consent.

Moving premises, reconnecting and switching

• Using energy without a contract. If you move in and use energy without arranging a contract, you're on a deemed contract automatically, and you're responsible for the energy you use before a new contract starts.
• Leaving premises. Tell your supplier the date you're leaving as soon as you can. Citizens Advice says that if you don't, you might be charged for energy the next tenant uses. A new tenant might have to pay a connection fee if the previous tenant was disconnected.
• Gas after a disconnection. A gas supplier doesn't have to reconnect premises until the person who owed the money has left or has paid, including reasonable costs.
• Switching while you owe money. Your current supplier may object to you switching, for example if you owe it money. Ofgem said in June 2026 that, under the current licence, a supplier can't object to a deemed customer's switch because of debt. Otherwise, a supplier can object only under a term of your contract. Ofgem's advice is to contact the supplier as soon as possible to find out what the problem is and how to resolve it.

Can business water be cut off?

It can be. In England and Wales, homes can't have their water cut off for unpaid charges, but business premises can, unless they're on a protected list.

• England and Wales. A water company can disconnect premises if the charges haven't been paid within seven days of a notice. A water retailer can ask the water company to do this if you owe it money under your agreement and haven't paid within seven days of the retailer's own notice. If, within those seven days, you serve a counter-notice disputing that you're liable, disconnection can only go ahead once the charges are enforceable against you, for example through a court judgment.
• Protected premises. The power doesn't apply to premises on a protected list, which includes homes, care homes, hospitals, doctors' and dentists' premises, schools, childcare premises, prisons, and police, fire and ambulance premises.
• Scotland. A licensed provider can ask Scottish Water to stop supplying a business, for example for unpaid charges, after giving at least 14 days' notice. It must follow a disconnection code, and the supply can't be stopped if that would affect water used at the premises for domestic purposes, such as drinking, washing and cooking, or the supply to any other premises.
• Northern Ireland. NI Water can cut off supply for unpaid charges after 7 days' notice, except at protected premises such as homes, hospitals, care homes and schools.

In England, Ofwat's code for water retailers says they must tell business customers whether a repayment plan is available and what happens if they don't pay or raise a dispute. CCW, the water consumer body, tells struggling businesses to contact the company they owe and Business Debtline.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, an electricity supplier can cut off business premises if charges are still unpaid 15 working days after a written demand, after giving at least 2 working days' notice. As in Great Britain, it can't do this over an amount that's genuinely in dispute.