energy news

Business Electricity and Gas Prices,Tariffs and Suppliers, Switch and save!


29th December, 2009

British Gas Business

One of best things you can do for　your business　UK energy is to check　British Gas commercial electricity rates and prices because they really want your business and estimate that if you switch to one of their fixed price contracts that they can save your business around £850 per year in electricity costs alone.

If you don't currently use British Gas for your electricity then switching is easy as we will handle all of the paperwork and switching process and did you know that they supply electric to nearly 1 million commercial businesses already in the UK ?

Most business contracts are on fixed rates so if prices increase then yours won't. British Gas offers various contract periods and the minimum length is one year. So this won't tie your business into long term contracts that you can't get out of.

Other benefits of British Gas Commercial Electricity

Fixed price contracts

Fixed term contracts from one year

Estimated to save up to £850 per year

Dedicated account managers and UK call centres

You can opt for green only renewable energy

Access to energy efficiency advice to reduce your commercial business consumption even further

Online quote in 60 seconds

Switching handled by British Gas

Commercial gas contracts also available and dual fuel options

Larger businesses spending over £100,000 per year have more flexibility with their contract length and prices and you can get more information by requesting a call back and speaking directly with an account advisor. And apart from saving from electricity you can also save an estimated £850 per year if you switch to their business gas products as well. It's very easy to get a quote as you can get this instantly from our website or get one of their account managers to call you back to discuss your options.

Investment in renewable energy

As part of the government commitment to reducing the reliance on legacy fuel and increasing renewable energy British Gas is investing millions in wind technology which will be used to power commercial businesses in the future. Currently about 6% of electricity supplied is from renewables and this is set to increase in future years. The current mix of fuel type for British Gas is as follows:

Coal 15.3%

Natural Gas 61.8%

Nuclear energy 14.3%

Renewable energy 6.6%

Other sources 2%

Online account management

As with domestic customers commercial businesses can manage their entire account online and undertake tasks such as viewing their bill, changing the business address and submitting meter readings. The last item is essential to ensure your business doesn't receive over estimated bills and you can manage your cash flow better.

　

The Business First Tariffs

Once you have chosen the right type of meter it's time to choose your tariff. There are 3 tariff rates under the business first branding that EDF use.　 These all have services such as automated price review after your contract ends, a choice of fixed priced contract and terms, all have business advisers on hand to help you save energy and carbon emissions (key for the new legislation due to be rolled out by the UK government) and if you pay by direct debit an additional 2% discount will apply.

The types of business first tariffs on offer are as follows:

Business First Super Saver – is the standard method of billing with fixed price electricity at competitive prices and a choice of contract lengths. This tariff carries a standing charge each month.

Business First Energy Saver – is the same as the above except there are no standing charges so you only pay for the consumption your business actually uses.

Business First Green Saver – supplies electricity only from renewable sources and therefore your business will be exempt from the climate change levy that's to be introduced (where you pay a fee for each kg of carbon your business is supplied with from non renewable sources). EDF will also supply your business with a free certification and posters for internal and external communication to customers and suppliers of your commitment to the environment.

The meter types

With EDF the first thing to think about is when you are going to use most of your electricity and this is down to the type of business you run. It's a bit like the rates offered for domestic customers and their website makes it easy to choose. The types of meter on offer are:

Standard – which is suitable if you use most energy between normal business hours and EDF define this as between Monday to Friday 8am to 9pm GMT

Economy 7 business tariff – if you use most electricity during the night time period then you can save with the economy 7 rates. The time here is defined as between 12am and 8am GMT

Evenings and Weekends – again if you are a business that operates mainly during the evening period or the weekend then this tariff option could be for you.

Additional benefits　for EDF Business Customers

Like most other major UK energy suppliers EDF also provides help and advice to try and reduce the amount of electricity companies use and thus reduce the level of bills and the volume of carbon used. You can also get instant quotes online from their website and manage your account online so you can post your meter readings so your bills are accurate and not estimated.

　

Eon is one of the UK's largest energy suppliers and currently supplies over 500,000 business customers for business electricity and gas supplies. For small business owners with an annual consumption level under 100,000 KWH their tariffs are geared towards fixed priced annual or three yearly contracts.

Eon business energy

Eon supply all types of businesses with electric and gas energy services mainly on fixed price contracts. Here's our review on what's on offer for UK businesses.

　

Eon Business Electricity Tariff

Like most of the energy companies finding out what your quote would be for business energy supplies is a little harder than for domestic properties. Although with Eon you can get an online quote through switchit4u. For electricity they offer the following:

Fixed price electricity contracts

Guaranteed pricing for the length of the contract

One year or three year contract lengths

Additional discounts if you pay via direct debit

Access to energy savings advice website which could save an additional 10% to 20% per year

UK call centre's with business advisers

Eon Business Gas Tariffs

The same applies for Eon Business Gas tariffs in that you can obtain a quote via switchit4u website and their offer the same type of terms as with their business electricity tariffs.

Other Benefits when Choosing Eon

Every energy supplier in the UK wants your business as the volume is higher than from domestic customers and generally easier to service. So Eon helps you make an informed decision by offering the following additional benefits:

A named dedicated business account manager to manage your switching process from your current supplier if you choose to move to Eon

Competitive pricing

Access to an integrated energy provider as they generate and supply electricity in the UK

Access to green renewable electricity

Eon also operates what they call a price promise although there are quite a few exclusions and you have to be quick if you want any recourse from them, but overall they promise the following on pricing for your business electricity and gas supplies:

To offer your business the cheapest quote and if you get a cheaper quote from one of their competitors within 3 days you get £50 – this is no big deal really (if it were offered for domestic contracts then great, but for businesses it's not really an incentive – however, because they have this in place they will probably try and offer you the cheapest deals)

Offer you flexible dates to start and finish any contract you sign

Fixed prices which will not increase during your contract term

Eon Business Green Tariff

You can also access renewable energy for your business by choosing Eon's green tariff named "easygreen". Although not all energy supplied is currently 100% from renewable sources any energy you do use as a business customer from non renewables is offset via the climate care programme. This tariff is based on a one year contract at fixed prices.

Npower Business

Npower is committed for businesses to meet the new government legislation requirement to reduce the UK's carbon emissions where they will help you with their expertise and if required will install their comprehensive smart meters to collect and manage data and other options such as their encompass monitoring system.

Npower is owned and managed by RWE who supplies electricity and gas to over 350,000　businesses in the UK (when compared to British Gas's 950,000) and includes many household names including Marks and Spencer's, Ikea and British Telecoms. They have over 1,300 staff in the business section and the main head quarters are based in the West Midlands.

Npower business energy products

Apart from the standard electricity and gas supplies Npower have a vast array of services that will help you reduce your energy consumption to be more efficient but also reduce your carbon emissions at the same time. From a recent survey they undertook however they found that 97% of businesses were more interested in reducing costs at present rather than concentrating on the environment. However with legislation due to take effect in 2010 almost 20,000 businesses in the UK have no choice especially if they are on half hourly metering.

The carbon trust estimates that most businesses can save 10% of their annual energy costs with simple changes and many up to 20% in savings. And the Npower enlightened energy efficiency program titled e3 is designed to help businesses undertake this. They also have renewable fuel programs also.

Companies are on half hour meters if their peak load is above 100khw and this information is fed back directly to the energy company.

A rundown of the products:

e3 – designed to reduce your annual electricity and gas bills and carbon emissions by 10-20% and includes a free energy monitoring package

electricity or gas or both supplied

able to fix prices if required for up to 12 months

fixed term contracts offered including non-half hourly and half hourly customers;　 and gas – daily metered and non-daily metered customers

Flexible pricing contracts available under their branding of Mid Flex Power Purchasing, Enhanced Mid Flex Flexible Power Purchasing, Full Flexible Power Purchasing and Full Flexible Gas Purchasing.

generation services available for those businesses that want to generate power themselves

UK based call centre

Pay by direct debit and save a further 2%

How to compare Npower business gas and electricity prices

You can easily apply online or call our call centre to get everything moving along. Npower business electricity rates are a competitive product and with them supplying many hundreds of thousands of businesses in the UK are worth getting a quote from and using their range of monitoring services to reduce your annual energy bills. Call 0845 226 0035 for an instant quote.



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