The UK’s leading online price comparison and switching service for business electricity prices Energy Advice Line is keen to remind customers to be vigilant about serving advanced termination notice to their current commercial electricity supplier to prevent their contract being automatically rolled over onto expensive renewal rates.

Even with OFGEM intervening in January 2010 to try and standardise on termination notice rules for Micro Businesses, business electricity suppliers are still confusing their customers with different termination notice requirements. For example, EON, Scottish Power and British Gas at the moment require termination notice to be served within a specific window of time prior to the contract end date. Other suppliers will state that customers have to serve termination notice before a certain date to stop their contract being rolled over onto expensive renewal prices.

Julian Morgan, Managing Director of the Energy Advice Line said that all suppliers unfortunately rely on this confusing and tactical approach around renewal to assume their customers contract onto prices that can be 30-40% above the current retail price. The wording on renewal letters can also mislead customers into believing that they do not need to do anything and their supplier has their best interests at heart. This unfortunately is not the case and the supplier will be trying to assume renewal onto expensive rollover rates in all instances as this is where they tend to make their money!

OFGEM, the UK’s gas and electricity regulator is again looking into the confusing renewal practices adopted by the suppliers with the aim of enforcing much stricter regulations to help the UK’s small to medium sized businesses reduce their business electricity and gas costs. As a recent survey by the Forum of Private Business (FPB) reports, 80% of small and medium sized businesses surveyed consider the costs of electricity as critical to the on-going profitability of their businesses. The findings are part of the Forum’s Referendum survey Infrastructure for Growth, which examines SMEs’ views on various forms of infrastructure and the way these systems affect their organizations.

The UK’s leading online price comparison service Energy Advice Line helps 1000’s of businesses every year switch to more competitive price for their business electricity. They are dedicated to saving small and medium sized businesses in the UK as much money as possible.

Please contact your Energy Advice Line advisor FREE on 0800 915 1800 or visit www.energyadviceline.org.uk.

The UK’s leading online price comparison and switching service for business electricity prices Energy Advice Line has urged business customers to lock into an energy contract for at least 12 months to avoid expected future price increases. Centrica, the owner of British Gas, has said that despite its recent cut in prices, rising wholesale gas costs will make supplying energy to UK businesses and households more expensive this year.

It said gas costs would be 15% higher next winter, while other costs would add another £50 to the cost of supplying energy to the average home. The company is not the first to warn of rising prices. For example, Scottish Power warned that rising demand for energy would “inevitably lead to higher energy costs in the long term” when it cut prices earlier in the year.

Julian Morgan, Managing Director of the Energy Advice Line said that the trend for retail energy costs remains upwards. As reported in a previous blog from the recent energy summit the level of investment required to safeguard the UK’s energy infrastructure in coming years was very worrying. If we just look at the number of generators that are coming to the end of their life expectancy in the next 4 years, this will leave the UK with fewer generators than in 2009. This shortfall in some part is being met by investment in renewable sources. However, the cost of green generation is also an issue as it requires huge subsidies from the government. For example, just to install a deep sea pile for the actual off shore wind turbine mast costs upwards of £1 million. This is cost for just the preparatory ground-works and does not take into account the actual cost of wind turbine itself.

Unfortunately, since deregulation in 2000 little or no investment has been made in the transmission network to maintain and safeguard the UK’s electricity supply. This investment has to be made to improve the network and maintain continuity of supply but it will again mean that this cost will be passed through and UK businesses and householders will have to foot the bill!

We are unfortunately in for a rocky 4-5 year period and we advise business electricity customers to lock into a fixed price contract that provides as much protection as possible.

The Energy Advice Line is the leading business electricity price comparison and switching service dedicated to saving small and medium sized businesses in the UK as much money as possible.

Please contact your Energy Advice Line advisor FREE on 0800 915 1800 or visit www.energyadviceline.org.uk.

The UK’s leading price comparison and switching service for business electricity prices Energy Advice Line has urged the government and suppliers at the UK Energy Summit in London on 3rd May 2012 to create an energy infrastructure in the UK that is sustainable and with the primary objective of safeguarding UK businesses against future significant retail price rises.

The UK Energy Summit is taking place in London to discuss the major challenges facing the industry, with average business electricity bills up by 17% in a year. Energy minister Tim Yeo told Sky News that more investment in the industry was needed, stating that “tens of billions of pounds that need to be invested in the next five years,”

Julian Morgan, Managing Director of the Energy Advice Line said that the level of investment required to safeguard the UK’s energy infrastructure in coming years was very worrying and the question remains on who is going to pay for this. We hope that the government works closely with the big six energy suppliers who control 99% of the retail market in the UK to deliver the most cost effective investment plan so business electricity consumers are offered as much protection as possible from any future significant price rises.

The Energy Advice Line is the leading business electricity price comparison and switching service dedicated to saving small and medium sized businesses in the UK as much money as possible.

Please contact your Energy Advice Line advisor FREE on 0800 915 1800 or visit www.energyadviceline.org.uk.