When it comes to choosing an energy supplier for your business, it is not necessarily a difficult thing to do, although it is one that you do need to be careful in doing, as making the wrong choice can have a big impact on your wallet. This is because there exists a large disparity between the prices of
business energy providers, with some having rates that are as much as 20 percent more expensive than their competitors.
This is why it is important for businesses to do lots of research before signing up to a contract with a business energy provider. However, as you will soon find when looking into the different providers and their tariffs, price is not everything and there are, in fact, many other things that need considering. Some of the things that you should look for when deciding on a business energy provider are listed below for your information.
How suitable the tariff is
When it comes to tariffs for businesses, there are 3 main types. These include rollover / flexible, variable, and fixed. Whilst some energy providers will only offer some of these types of tariffs, there are some that do provide all 3 types. With a fixed tariff, the price that you pay per kWh is fixed for a specified amount of time. A variable rate sees the price per kWh changes in line with the wholesale price for energy. Rollover / flexible is a variable rate but with no specific time period contracted, meaning that you can terminate the contract at any given time should you ever need to.
What other customers have to say
There are various review based websites out there which will give you a direct view as to what customers of any energy provider in the United Kingdom think of the services that they are given. Look out for those companies that have the best reviews, although you should not automatically disregard those with bad reviews, as unhappy and disgruntled customers are always more inclined to leave a review than what happy customers are. This is why it is best to read them all with an open mind and try to gauge an understanding for yourself.
How they handle complaints
How an energy provider handles complaints from customers is a good indication as to what the company is really like and how they will respond should you ever have an issue with the services that they provide. According to the latest data from
Citizens Advice the best energy providers within the United Kingdom include British Gas, Contract Natural Gas, and Utility Warehouse.
What their green credentials are
Since 2005, all energy providers in the United Kingdom are legally obliged to tell their customers what mix of fuels they use in order to produce their energy and can include things such as
nuclear, coal, and gas. This is known as the Fuel Mix Disclosure. There are a number of providers out there that actually produce their energy using nothing but green fuels.