What a business energy broker actually does (and how a good one earns its fee)
Independent, transparent energy procurement for businesses with serious energy spend.
A business energy broker buys energy on your behalf. Instead of you ringing round suppliers, decoding tariffs and trying to time the market, the broker does it, using buying relationships and market data you do not have access to on your own.
That is the simple version. The honest version is that brokers vary enormously, and the difference between a good one and a bad one shows up in two places: how hard they actually work the market for you, and whether they are open about how they get paid.
Catalyst is an independent business energy broker. We are not tied to any supplier, we tell you exactly how we are paid before you commit to anything, and we put it in writing.
What a good business energy broker should do for you
Securing a rate is the easy part. The value is in everything around it.
Work the whole market
Compare suppliers properly on price, terms and billing quality, not just a headline unit rate. Not a small panel.
Time the market
Knowing when to go out to tender and when to wait can matter more than the supplier you pick.
Read the contract
Standing charges, capacity charges, exit terms and pass-through costs are where bills quietly inflate.
Manage switch & account
Handle the supplier, the billing and the queries so you are not chasing them.
Be straight about payment
Tell you the commission or fee, in full, up front. No surprises buried in the rate.
Broker, comparison site, or going direct?
Three ways to buy business energy, and they are not the same thing.
Going direct
Gets you that one supplier’s price. No comparison, no negotiation, and the renewal quote is rarely their best.
Comparison site
Shows a panel of prices fast, but it is a transaction, not a relationship. It does not read your contract, manage your account or come back to you at renewal.
A broker (us)
Works the market for you, structures the deal around how your business actually uses energy, and stays with you through the contract.
How we are paid (the part other brokers go quiet on)
Most business energy brokers are paid a commission by the supplier, built into your unit rate. There is nothing wrong with that in itself. What is wrong is when it is hidden.
We tell you exactly how we are paid before you sign anything, whether that is a commission inside the rate or a transparent fee. You see the number. Ofgem now requires far greater commission transparency from brokers, and we welcome it, because we have always worked this way.
If a broker will not tell you plainly how they make their money, that tells you something.
Who we work with
We work with multi-site and energy-intensive businesses where contract structure matters as much as price:
If your energy spend runs into six or seven figures, or you run several sites, that is where we add the most. See examples in our case studies.
Questions worth asking before you appoint
A few direct questions separate brokers who know their market from those who are primarily salespeople.
How many suppliers are on your panel, and are you paid differently by any of them?
This surfaces conflicts of interest. A broker working from a panel of four or five suppliers is not showing you the market, and some brokers receive higher commissions from certain suppliers, which can influence which quotes get presented most prominently.
What is your process for advising on market timing?
If the answer is effectively “we renew when your contract is up”, that tells you something. A broker who monitors the market and has a view on when to act is meaningfully different from one who simply processes paperwork.
How will you manage my account between renewals?
Energy costs do not stand still between contracts. Billing errors, meter disputes, consumption changes and changes in site circumstances all warrant attention. Knowing whether your broker will be proactive or reactive in the intervening period is worth establishing upfront.
Do you offer advice beyond procurement?
Some businesses benefit from broader support: consumption analysis, energy audit recommendations, or help structuring reporting obligations. A broker who can also provide that context is more useful than one whose involvement begins and ends with the contract.
What a good broker relationship looks like
Businesses that get the most from their energy broker treat the relationship as ongoing rather than transactional. They share consumption data and forecasts, they have conversations about market conditions before decisions are made rather than after, and they expect proactive communication when notice windows approach rather than a scramble once the contract has already rolled. A broker should be able to demonstrate a clear process for each of those things. Not promises, but a process.
Business energy broker FAQs
What does a business energy broker do?
Compares the market, negotiates and secures your contract, then manages the supplier relationship and billing on your behalf. A good one also advises on timing, contract structure and ways to cut consumption.
How are business energy brokers paid?
Usually a commission from the supplier built into the unit rate, sometimes a direct fee. The important thing is that it is disclosed. We tell you in full before you commit.
Is a broker cheaper than going direct?
Usually, yes, for any business with meaningful energy spend. Brokers access deals and contract structures you cannot get directly, and the time saved is significant.
Are you independent?
Yes. We are not owned by or tied to any supplier, so we recommend what suits you, not what suits a supplier.
Find out what a transparent broker can save you
No obligation, and we will tell you exactly how we are paid before you commit.
Further reading: Business electricity quotes covers what a business electricity quote actually contains, what suppliers need before they can produce one, and the charges that sit outside the headline rate.