Our Blogs

Whether you run a start-up or a small firm, you’ll need to appreciate how an effective business energy comparison for SMEs can help to reduce overheads and boost profitability. Whether you need electricity for powering equipment or the lights, most organisations will need a good electricity deal. This also extends to sourcing a quality gas deal for your firm’s needs and though it may be a smaller bill, there are potentially big savings to be made. However, the energy procurement process can appear to be complex but you still need your energy needs to be affordable without having to fork out on massive gas and electricity bills. Business electricity comparison exercise Along with sourcing quotes from traditional electricity suppliers, growing numbers of firms today are looking at their carbon footprint and may be tempted to undertake a business electricity comparison exercise between green providers. Essentially, accessing a greener, cleaner energy deal not only improves your environmental credentials but you will be supporting energy providers who are dedicated to providing green energy. The other issue to bear in mind, particularly for start-ups, is the question of scalability when it comes to energy contracts. For many reasons, small businesses may not remain small forever, so you need to sign up with an energy provider that can keep up with your firm’s growth – a big issue if you have fast expansion plans to kick in soon after your firm launches. Also, you may need to find an energy provider that can supply a business with a higher energy demand at various times in the year when you strive to meet orders or provide a service – and the supplier should keep their bills low during these peak periods of demand. Undertake a business gas comparison The main aim for those looking to undertake a business gas comparison, as well as electricity, is the issue of flexibility. The energy supply market is variable and prices fluctuate on a daily basis in the wholesale market. While you could sign up to cheaper rates for a contract of two or three years, it may be worthwhile opting for a one-year contract and then searching the marketplace for a cheaper deal on an annual basis. If you would like more information about how to undertake an effective business energy comparison between providers for meeting the needs of SMEs and start-ups, then you need to talk to the experts at D-Energi who have the expertise to explain this and search the market for a cheap deal.

Having to source cheap electricity and gas every year is a major concern for many firms, but getting a business electricity quote and then switching providers is a straightforward process. However, since most small firms and microbusinesses may not have the resources to engage in energy saving and searching the marketplace of providers, you may need to rely on experts. If that’s the case, then you need to contact the D-Energi team who will be able to search the marketplace and find a cheaper and better deal that meets your needs. Since most small firms in the UK are considered to be microbusinesses, there are specific regulations for you to appreciate. Ofgem, the energy regulator, states that firms with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover of less than £2 million will be considered as a microbusiness. But this may mean there’s no dedicated member of staff to deal with energy procurement so it’s usually down to the business owner or an office manager to find the best energy deal they can. A cheap business energy quote for your firm’s needs If this description applies to you, and you’ve been tasked with sourcing a cheap business energy quote for your firm’s needs, then you’ll need to appreciate that there is a big difference between domestic and business energy contracts. Whereas energy contracts for our home tend to be the type that rollover without having to be renewed, for a business, your energy contract will be set for a fixed term. Also, when agreeing to a business energy contract, there’s no cooling off period so you need to understand the terms and conditions before signing up and the contract becoming valid. While it may be a hassle for a busy business owner or office manager to search the marketplace to find a new provider, you also need to appreciate an issue that may be costing you more money than you realise. And it’s this: if you don’t switch to a new provider and remain with your current supplier they may roll you over automatically onto a new business energy contract which may have ‘deemed’ rates and these contracts tend to be dearer as a result. Sourcing a cheaper business gas quote There’s no need to be spending more money than is necessary on energy supply and this also extends to sourcing a cheaper business gas quote for your needs. Again, the switchover process for both the business gas and electricity is straightforward and you’ll need to act before your current contract comes to an end, though under Ofgem’s rules a microbusiness is free to switch providers if they’ve been rolled over onto a new contract. There’s a big financial incentive to ensure your business keeps its energy costs as low as possible and with ever-growing energy bills, this could be time well spent for a busy business owner to reduce overheads and boost profitability. While you could contact business energy suppliers directly to negotiate with them, it may be easier to use experts who understand how this market works and can search for the best deal and tariff that will meet your needs. In this case, you need to discuss your firm’s needs with the friendly team at D-Energi who will be able to find a cheaper and better deal on your behalf.

If you run one of the country’s many microbusinesses, then you need to appreciate that when you need to move to a new business gas supplier, the process is easy. There is more freedom for small firms to arrange a better and cheaper business electricity and gas contract than it is for other larger businesses. Essentially, if you want to arrange a new deal and you have more than 30 days left on your current business gas or electricity contract, then you can do so. If you don’t know when your current energy deal comes to an end, your supplier is required to contact you with details of how your current deal will compare with any proposed deal they offer. Negotiating with a new business gas or electricity provider The aim of this information, the energy regulator of Ofgem says, is to help small businesses gain an advantage when negotiating with a new business gas or electricity provider or to gain a better offer with their current supplier. For those firms on a fixed term contract, the contract notice and date and the relevant notice period will be detailed on your bill. You can tell your supplier that you want to switch providers at any point before the contract notice period begins. One of the big positive of these rules is that a microbusiness is not restricted by a short timeframe to arrange a new energy deal that larger firms will have. Organisations looking for cheaper business gas rates Larger firms and organisations looking for cheaper business gas rates will only be able to do so within a window of opportunity before they are automatically rolled over onto a new contract; this is not the case for a microbusiness. One of the big issues with the situation is that this window of opportunity varied in length between suppliers and could be anything between 60 days and 120 days. Also, to confuse matters, different suppliers would open their switching window at different points in the contract’s life. This meant that businesses were being rolled over onto an automatic contract and they then found that their deal was more expensive and would run for at least 12 months. For many firms, this could be a costly mistake to make. If you are interested in a move to a new business gas supplier and to enjoy cheaper business gas bills, then you need to speak with the experts who understand how the market works and can search all potential providers to get a better deal for you – so contact the D-Energi team today.

For the most part, access to cheap half hourly electricity prices will be restricted to big users of energy, but other firms can have the meters installed too. They will need to know what their maximum demand is to see whether they need a half hourly meter – if their supplier has not already done so. All firms with at least 100kWh of demand will have them and firms with a maximum demand of 70kWh in a 30-minute period have the option to get one installed. The first step is to check whether you have a half hourly meter installed already and this will be indicated on the meter. There will be a plate with the letter ‘S’ followed by ’00’ and then other numbers, but the 00 indicates you have a half hourly electricity meter installed. Half hourly electricity suppliers The meters are provided by half hourly electricity suppliers so they can record your electricity usage more accurately. They do this by sending the usage data every 30 minutes to the provider, which means the business will receive accurate bills and they don’t have to worry about taking readings on a regular basis. The data will also provide a potential new supplier with details about your peak periods of demand and they can then tailor their tariffs to suit you. Switching to a new provider is a great way to reduce business costs and there are beneficial contracts available. Sourcing a new half hourly commercial supplier is more involved than for non-HH providers but having experts look at your usage to see whether there could be substantial savings to be made could be a sound business move. Search for a new half hourly electricity provider It will be a good idea to use the D-Energi team in the search for a new half hourly electricity provider to help you reduce overheads and boost profitability. While you could search the market place to find a new provider, you can also use a comparison website for this purpose but they may not be searching all of the providers interested in your business. It’s a simple process for D-Energi to take a few details and then with their knowledge and expertise search all of the providers to see if there are better rates and tariffs available for meeting your everyday business needs. If you would like more help and information about lowering your half hourly electricity prices to boost profits, then you need to speak with the friendly D-Energi team today.

There are several reasons why reading a business electricity meter on a regular basis will save your business money and the main one is that you will receive accurate bills. While larger firms will have a special half hourly meter installed that monitors and sends their usage data to the supplier every 30 minutes, every other firm and organisation will have a different type of electricity meter installed. Your energy provider will have someone collect the readings from the meter and they are known as the meter reader or data collector. There may be times when they cannot gain access to your business premises or they may not take a reading for one quarter. These are the issues that may occur particularly if your business is located in a remote area, so you’ll need to submit your own electricity meter readings. Check your business electricity supplier Also, it’s a good idea to keep a record of your meter readings, even if there is a meter reader visiting regularly, so you can check that your business electricity supplier is charging you correctly. To keep an accurate record and to submit your own meter readings to a provider, it’s crucial that you understand how to read the meter correctly. Should you have a digital electricity meter installed, then you need to read the numbers on the meter from left to right. You need to ignore the last red number. For those firms that have more than one tariff, such as a day rate and a night rate, then you need to keep a record of these readings. For those firms with the traditional dial electricity meters, then you read from left to right again and also ignore the red number. Access cheaper business electricity rates In addition to keeping track of accurate electricity bills, you could use this information to access cheaper business electricity rates from another provider. That’s because they will have access to your usage details so they can put together a bespoke offering. Alternatively, you could get a team of experts to search the market on your behalf to find a cheaper electricity rate that will meet your needs and reduce overheads. This will mean contacting the friendly team at D-Energi who can use your business electricity meter data to help you save money with a different provider and deal with the switchover process too.

There’s no doubt that switching to a new business energy deal can be an effective way of saving money and the process is easy. For all the questions that you and your business may have about switching your energy supply, then this article will help. There are some big differences when it comes to switching energy suppliers between businesses and for our homes; the main one being that businesses are tied into a fixed term contract and you have to wait until this comes to an end. Before it does, your current supplier will get in touch to tell you of your next year’s deal, which is the time to search the market place and find a cheaper provider. However, you will need to tell your current supplier that you are intending to switch to a new business energy provider and issue them with a notification of termination. This can be done up to three months before your contract ends. Switch business energy supplier When you switch business energy supplier, the process should not take longer than 28 days, if you’ve given a termination notice. You also need to appreciate that there’s no cooling off period with a new business energy contract, so be careful when calling potential suppliers. Also, while dual fuel contracts are popular for domestic energy users, you won’t be able to access these contracts as a business since you need separate providers for your business electricity and your business gas supply. However, you can have the same firm delivering both. Compare business energy prices The best way of finding a new energy provider is to compare business energy prices that are on offer. While you could contact suppliers directly, it may be a better business decision to use an energy broker who can benchmark your firm’s needs to find better prices. This method is also a quick and cost-effective way to search the market place to find a new provider. They can also deal with the switchover process without any hassle, so you can focus on your everyday business needs. Essentially, if you’re looking for business energy tips to switch your current supplier then you need to speak with the experts at D-Energi who will help you find a cheaper and better deal and take care of the switchover process too.