Large business electricity and gas

Business energy suppliers categorise their customers by size, based on the amount of energy that they consume in a year. The reason suppliers differentiate their customers like this is because every business will have differing needs when it comes to energy, and understanding their customer’s business ’size’ will help them create a quote that properly meets their needs.

To ensure that you’re getting a fair quote, you should provide your supplier with accurate information about your business - such as size, location and operations - to help them run a precise business electricity or business gas quote. With this information, the supplier is able to better tailor what they offer you.

If your business consumes more than 55,000 kWh in electricity, or 200,000 kWh in gas per year then it’s likely that energy suppliers will consider you as a large business, or enterprise. The good news is that high demand businesses can be offered a number of unique tariffs and certain energy meters to help them accommodate for the additional gas and electricity that they consume each year.

Large business electricity and gas contract types

There are a number of different types of contracts that can be offered to high electricity and gas users, depending on their circumstances. Typically the most common type of contract is a fixed, or flexible rate. Below we take a look at these, and some alternatives that may suit the needs of your business better.

• Fixed contract

A fixed rate energy contract is good for customers, such as new and small businesses, who enjoy the security of knowing roughly how much they are paying each billing period for their energy.

• Flexible rate contract

A flexible rate contract is the better choice for businesses who aren’t averse to a small amount of risk in order to benefit from electricity and gas price fluctuations on the wholesale market.

• Large site peak day demand

A large site peak day demand contract limits the amount of energy that your business can receive each day. This is good for businesses looking to limit the amount of energy that they consume. But, if you exceed the defined amount, then suppliers may issue heavy fines.

• Interruptible contract

Large business gas and electricity users may be offered an interruptible contract. This allows the customer to pay less per unit for the energy that they use, but as a trade-off, the National Grid can temporarily cut-off your supply during periods of high demand.

Large business energy meter types

When running a larger business, there are a number of different types of meter that may benefit your higher consumption habits.

• Half hourly

A half hourly meter automatically provides your supplier with meter readings every 30 minutes which means they can provide you with more accurate billing.

• Multi-site meters

A supplier can also cater for businesses who operate from multiple different locations by providing one energy contract to cover all of their meters.

• Multi-rate meter

Allows for a customer to be charged multiple different business energy rates, typically, this includes cheaper rates through the evening.

The type of meter that is best suited to your business will depend entirely on your own circumstances. For example, if you run a business that operates throughout the night, then an economy 7 tariff may be the best fit for you, which would require a multi-rate meter. This will allow you to secure slightly lower rates during the evening when demand for energy is not as high.

If you’re not sure what meter type is best for your business, why not give uSwitchforBusiness a call and one of our dedicated business savings experts will help you make a decision.

How to reduce the amount that you pay for energy

Most businesses need energy to operate, but do you really need all of the energy that you’re paying for? Here are some ways that you can reduce the amount of energy that your business pays for.

The Climate Change Levy

The Climate Change-Levy (CCL) is a charge introduced by the government to all businesses who consume over 33000 kWh worth of energy per day. However, there is an incentive to make your business more environmentally friendly, and in return you can reduce the amount that you pay in CCL up to 100%.

If you would like to reduce the amount that you pay in CCL, then you should sign up for a government Climate Change Agreement (CCA). This is a government agreement that outlines:

• The ways that you will reduce the amount of energy that your business uses.
• The ways that you intend to make your business more energy efficient.

By signing up to a CCA, your business can reduce your CCL payments by up to 90%.

Another option is to source all of your energy from renewable sources, and this can make your business completely exempt from the CCL charge. Although, this may be unfeasible, depending on how high your business’s consumption habits are.

Business energy efficiency

There are also changes that you can make around your business premises to help reduce the amount of energy that you’re using. On their own, these changes will have little impact on your bills, but together you will start to see the amount that you spend on energy fall.

• Lighting

Every business premises uses lighting to some degree. By maximising the use of natural lighting in your business premises, installing dimmer switches and motion sensors, as well as replacing standard lighting with energy efficient alternatives, you can reduce the amount of energy that is used to light your building.

• Heating and cooling

Taking measures to control the temperature in your business premises is another way to help reduce how much you’re spending on energy. Why not try installing draft excluders and overhead door closers to help maintain the temperature within frequently inhabited areas of your business premises.

• Refrigeration

If your business operations rely on refrigeration, then you could be wasting energy unless you carry out regular maintenance. You should frequently check refrigerator seals, temperature settings and ensure you regularly defrost your freezers to prevent wasting energy on refrigeration

• Technology

When was the last time you upgraded the technology in your business? Technology has come on leaps and bounds in recent years when it comes to energy efficiency. It may require some upfront investment, but your business’s bottom line will see the benefits in the long run.

Large business gas and electricity broker

Ultimately, the best way to reduce the amount that you’re spending on your energy is to switch regularly, and a large business energy broker can help. Give uSwitch for Business a call and our savings experts can quickly return wide variety of quotes, and even help you decide which best meet the needs of your business.

For more information on how else we can help you save on your business’s overheads, contact us on 0800 188 4930.