What Price Energy?

On 18th January this year Ofgem introduced a series of measures designed to protect SMEs from the actions of energy companies.

And not before time.

For quite some time now, SMEs have been paying disproportionately more for their electricity and gas than larger companies.

The measures will affect the way energy is sold and marketed to SMEs and will limit the use of expensive 'rollover contracts' that tie them to a particular supplier. As of January 18th, energy companies will have to ensure that their business customers are made aware of Contract changes, and give them a minimum of thirty days before the end of their notification period to switch to another supplier.

The measures also prohibit unjustified differences between tariffs and payment types - and give businesses more flexibility to switch suppliers.

Best practice - take the time to shop around. And don't allow contracts to 'roll over' and leave you with huge - and unnecessary - utility bills.

You might also want to consider joining the Forum of Private Business . Members of the FPB can take advantage of a free service from a utilities consultancy, which monitors when utility deals are up for renewal, will shop around to secure the best price possible, and negotiate detailed contracts and service agreements.

That isn't only reason that joining the FPB is an excellent idea - there are lots of other benefits - but when you consider the possible savings on energy alone, then the small membership fee can look more than reasonable!