Even before the recession hit many large businesses had professional buyers who could successfully negotiate lower and market leading prices on their energy bills just because they had years of experience in undertaking this task.
But for small business owners it's a completely different story.
Why, because they don't have the luxury of having a full time person looking after their energy needs so in effect have to find the best tariffs themselves. Indeed although most of us switch our home energy every so often to find the cheapest rates it's probably something most business owner don't do although it only takes a few minutes to find the best electricity prices for business and you can guarantee to save at least 10% by a simple switch.
This practice of rolling over contracts has been changed slightly by a recent ofgem ruling for smaller businesses whereby they must be informed when they are coming to the end of their contract
So how can you cut your business electric and gas costs?
(1) Checking your current contract
The starting point with either switching your current provider, getting a better deal from them or if you are taking a supply over from another company is to go and get hold of your current contract.
Most businesses will have a standard contract whereby it will be 'rolled over' once the current period has completed. These contracts only have a short space of time where you can notify your supplier that you want to change. If you don't make notice then you will be with that supplier for another year at least and they can increase your prices without having to ask your permission.
This practice of rolling over contracts has been changed slightly by a recent ofgem ruling for smaller businesses whereby they must be informed when they are coming to the end of their contract. But this is only for a new contract since January 2010 so most business owner should check the terms of their current contract before they can switch supplier.
(2) Getting quotes for electricity and gas
In much the same way as the domestic market place business owners can use price comparison websites although the prices are 'hidden' behind the site and you'll need your postcode and meter number together with estimated consumption data to get an accurate price. You can also get online quotes directly from all the commercial electricity suppliers from the various
websites. Watch out for all the deals and in particular British Gas who always have some very good offers for switching over to them for electric supplies. There are also specialist energy brokers who can also help get some of the better rates that are available.
(3) Reducing your costs even further
Almost without exception the energy companies really want business customers' energy business because of the revenue it generates and if you find a supplier you like (because many will offer you dedicated account managers who can improve the efficiency of the energy you consume and many other free add ons) it's then worth you telephoning their call centres to try and get your unit costs down even further. Also paying by monthly direct debit rather than when the bill arrives will often get you an additional 2% - 4% annual discount which can all add up.
(4) Switching your provider
Much like the switching process for domestic energy the process is very similar for business customers and works away in the background to leave you to running your business. Once you have selected a provider and tariff the new provider (or existing one if you are staying put) will prepare all the necessary paperwork for the switch. They will then make the switch on your behalf and there is no loss in your connection throughout the process. One final tip would be to take a meter reading for both gas and electric on the day of the handover just to ensure that all your invoicing is correct.
As all businesses can save money, perhaps into the thousands each year, just by checking the current tariffs on offer and perhaps switching to a new provider, it's something that everyone should undertake which in reality would take around 30 minutes of their time.
