The Government in the shape of Nick Clegg announced a landmark deal with the UK’s big six energy suppliers following talks in which customers will be guaranteed an offer of the best tariff open to them depending on their needs and energy use.
The new best tariff ‘guarantee’ by the energy industry is one aimed at domestic clients’ not commercial ones. So don’t expect the industry to do you any favours in your business…you need to be pro-active or ask for help from a broker.
Commercial contracts are where the industry makes it profit and are less politically sensitive than the domestic market. You and I vote at home …we don’t vote in our businesses. I think that is what our politicians believe!
So next time your renewal rate hits your desk get it checked. All commercial businesses have a contract associated with their gas and electricity meters. Towards the end of the contract the energy supplier will issue a written renewal for the next period of supply. That supply period will be equivalent to the length of contract the customer has been in i.e. if you’ve been in a 12 month deal your renewal will be for another 12 months.
But how good is that renewal rate. By using commercial utility broker Utilitrack the saving you can achieve on a renewal can be significant. A recent example illustrates the point: one of my client’s, a motorcycle parts company, received their renewal from their current supplier; it showed a 34% increase or £835.00. My accounts team investigated the renewal and tested it against the market rate. As a result of our intervention we’ve been able to keep the client with the same supplier with only a minor increase of £58.00…a huge difference in a business with very low margins.
If you’d like me to check your renewal please call me on my direct line 01234-267883.