If you are looking to compare new business energy providers, there are a number of things to consider in the steps before negotiating your new contract. At Energy Solutions, we put together some steps to guide you through comparing new business energy providers and choosing new electricity or gas suppliers.
If you want to compare your current Business Rates, prices or which rate is best for your business, you might first want to use a Compare Rates tool. A tool like this will help you identify the best energy deals every month based on price trends – getting notified of when the cheapest rates come online should be a useful trick.
By viewing GB breakdowns by region, tariff type and supplier ratings, you also have the power to check out what each provider offers in terms of customer service, complaints and billing accuracy.
Another thing for businesses to consider is their plans for the coming 12 months or so. Where will you get most of your energy from, and how much? Is it likely this will change? If so, by how much and in which direction? The second question is where would you like to obtain as much of your power as possible from – renewable or conventional sources? And thirdly, what price do you expect to pay per unit of energy consumed. All these questions need an answer before you begin shopping around – we’ll come back to them later on.
Now that you have the answers to those questions, it’s time to hit the web and start comparing providers. Start your search by typing “business electricity” or “commercial electricity” into a search engine of your choice. This will bring up several lists of relevant sites (usually with sponsored advertisements on top). Look around carefully, go from one site to another – compare prices for plans and offers side by side. If things get too complicated, ask customer support for help and they’ll point out important bits in each provider’s offer so you can quickly see what is important and what isn’t.
Business Rates
So far so good – but wait a second. Rates are not the only thing a business needs to pay attention to when considering changing energy suppliers. Supply and demand are the two things that play an important role when setting up a new deal. Rates are not always the most important factor to consider. For example, if your business consumes more power some months than others – you can be charged different rates for each one of those. Rates also vary depending on the time of day, so it’s key to choose a provider who offers flexible plans with various pricing options in order to avoid paying higher prices during peak times (which are usually 9AM-5PM, but this can be confirmed in your negotiation with a company).
Name Drops
One handy tool you should look out for is supplier names which are known industry leaders/providers such as Tangerine Power or Green Energy Supply. While these companies may seem overpriced compared to local providers from small business market places, they are in fact local companies that have gone on to compete in larger energy markets due to their clean reputation. For example, Niccolo Gas. Rates will always be high for the first few years a company is active – but once they’ve proven themselves over time, I would consider investing with them/
You should also look out for gas and electric providers which offer a free boiler maintenance plan. These plans can pay for themselves within a year of you signing up to them because they not only guarantee repairs at no extra cost if your boiler ever breaks down – but they guarantee supply as well! If your boiler does end up breaking down without sufficient funds saved up for emergency service, it can lead to huge costs or even having to close your business down completely if you rely on your boilers for heating.
For example, the boiler servicing plans we have been able to research as a commercial customer, coming from providers such as First Utility, are definitely worth it – and are bound to come in hand throughout time and save money in a long term successful business. By investing in boiler maintenance cover and/or free boiler breakdown cover, you’re actually protecting yourself from any expensive repair bills which could be potentially disastrous to small businesses or startups.
Energy Comparison Machinery is designed to help you cut costs and save money on your business energy bills, as well as helping protect your business from any potentially costly dangers that can harm or damage your machinery. Energy Comparison Machinery are dedicated to making sure each of their clients will have a more efficient and productive working environment while saving you money at the same time, but we also make sure to include vital components such as our boiler servicing plans so that you’re ready for any unexpected breakdowns which could cost you millions if it were left untreated. The most important thing is that all of these different services work in harmony with one another because they’ve been specifically created by Energy Comparison Machinery to work together synergistically.
But while comparison tools are a wonderful way to look at generic prices and keep up with changing rates, Energy Solutions also encourages you to reach out to us as a broker for your business energy rate comparisons. As an established business for a number of years, we have made connections and agreements that allow you to access rates that are not made available to view on comparison sites alone. These exclusive deals and offers are estimated to save you over £600.
If you’re thinking about switching providers, we highly encourage you to take the time to learn more about your options through our services. We have made it our goal to establish a platform for business owners – like yourself – to find the best solutions from the most qualified energy companies in the United Kingdom.
We want your small business to be as efficient and sustainable as possible while keeping costs down. In order to achieve this goal of saving money on energy bills and streamlining an area that has been difficult for small businesses, we created Energy Solutions. It’s here where you can learn about energy pricing and options in a matter of minutes, saving hours if you were to do this on your own.
Simply call us on 0131 610 1688.