Micro Business Definition

THE DEFINITION OF A MICRO BUSINESS

A non-domestic consumer is defined as a microbusiness if they:

• employ fewer than 10 employees (or their full time equivalent) and has an annual turnover or balance sheet no greater than £2 million; or
• uses no more than 100,000 kWh of electricity per year; or
• uses no more than 293,000 kWh of gas per year.

Your business will qualify as a micro-business for both gas and electricity if it meets the employee and turnover or balance sheet criteria. If it doesn’t meet those criteria but your business uses no more than that the defined usage for either gas or electricity, it does qualify as a microbusiness for that fuel. If it uses no more than the defined usage for both fuels, it qualifies as a microbusiness for both gas and electricity.

Suppliers must take all reasonable steps to identify whether you are a micro business. Your supplier may ask you for the number of employees (full-time equivalent), the turnover and energy consumption of your business if it does not have this information. Alternatively, they may decide to automatically treat you as a micro-business, for example based on your consumption.

In some cases, a Microbusiness will have extra protections compared to Small to Medium enterprises (SME) and Large businesses.

 

Please feel free to contact USAVE should you require any further clarification in relation to your Micro Business status