What Happened at the Weekend?

The news this weekend tended to just focus around the latest price drops from four of the Big Six suppliers and whether or not these are a good thing for the business and domestic energy customers. A majority of the news from across the pond was centralised around the falling oil prices, spending cuts and moving towards creating a greater focus on energy efficiency.

Here's two highlights from the weekend, a bit of criticism about the price cuts, and an interesting piece revolving around the idea of helping to solve the planet's energy crisis.

Saturday, 24^th January

• Critics hit out as 4th energy firm lowers tariffs

Sunday, 25^th January

• Could a man-made star solve Earth's energy crisis?

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Have You Considered An Independent Energy Supplier

SMEs right to consider independent energy suppliers, says Energy Advice Line

The Energy Advice Line has urged SMEs to consider switching to independent energy suppliers following a report showing they enjoy higher customer satisfaction ratings than the Big Six.

Julian Morgan, managing director of the price comparison, switching and advice service, said Datamonitor’s new B2B Energy Buyer Customer Satisfaction survey showed small firms continued to be unhappy with the major suppliers.

“The findings reflect what many of our customers are telling us: switching to a smaller, independent supplier can be a sound business decision,” Mr Morgan said.

“Small suppliers won’t necessarily suit every business, but these findings should encourage firms that haven’t considered switching to them should do so.

81% of SMEs Don't Shop Around for Energy

Most small and medium-sized firms were missing out on savings by failing to shop around for their energy supplies, according to the Energy Advice Line following the release of a new report.

Julian Morgan, managing director of the price comparison, switching and advice service for energy users, said he was shocked by the findings of the survey by independent supplier Opus Energy.

The survey found that 81% of small businesses failed to shop around for their energy supplies, while almost one-quarter were paying out-of-contract rates for their gas and electricity.

Significantly, 12% of businesses had never switched suppliers, opting to stay loyal to their existing energy company.

“It’s very clear, and actually quite shocking, to see that so many time-pressed small business owners and decision makers are simply not prioritizing their energy supplies,” Mr Morgan said.

“There’s no doubt that most of these firms are paying more than they need to by not switching – and depending on the size of the company and the sector they are in – this could amount to hundreds of pounds in lost savings each year.

“Those companies that have never switched suppliers have lost out the most, probably by a significant amount.”

Mr Morgan said many SME owners wrongly believed it was not worth their while to switch suppliers, and that it would be a long and complicated process to shop around.

What Happened at the Weekend?

With the cold weather due to hit this week have you given any though towards your energy supply? Is the customer service that you receive good enough? Are your rates the most competitive? This weekend saw more probes into energy policies and price cuts with the forthcoming election, and some tales of woe from customer service. The New Year is still on everyone's minds and suggesting looking at price comparison services is at the forefront again to help people stick to their resolutions to save themselves, and their businesses, some money in the long run.

Despite Energy Costs Plummeting, Bills Stay High

The Energy Advice Line has backed calls by Ofgem for suppliers to explain why the benefits of falling gas prices have not been passed on to business and domestic energy users.

According to news reports, UK wholesale gas prices for November and December deliveries hit a record low at the end of October, which means the cost of buying natural gas dived by almost a quarter during 2014.

Julian Morgan, managing director of the price comparison, switching and advice service for energy users, said suppliers had not yet signaled any meaningful cuts to bills despite the falling costs.

“Some suppliers have made some changes to their tariffs, and there are some good deals available for consumers who want to lock themselves in to fixed-term deals,” Mr Morgan said.

“But generally, retail prices have remained static while the raw cost of energy has plummeted.

What happened at the weekend?

Welcome to the first of our weekend round-ups for energy news!

With the New Year under our belts, and the expense of Christmas still reeling, what better time is there to take a good, hard look at your finances. The trend of 'listicles' (articles in the form of lists) is as strong as ever with all kinds of guidance on how you can save money, and the one consistent point between them all is to check whether or not you are paying the most competitive prices - and a quick quote over at Energy Advice Line will help you to figure that out in seconds.

For this week we've found some articles away from this traditional 'New Year, New You' style, to see what else has been happening over the weekend. There's been a lot of focus on how our energy use and everyday life is affecting the climate, tales of customer service woes, the promises in the general election build up, and more focus on the falling oil prices.

Beware of Hidden Charges Before Switching Suppliers

Consumers shopping for cheaper business electricity rates should ensure that they compare like-for-like tariffs following changes in the way some suppliers itemise their bills, according to the Energy Advice Line.

Some customers could be signing up to deals unaware that a Feed-in Tariff (FiT) charge was payable on top.

The FiT scheme was designed to encourage homeowners and businesses to invest in green technology such as solar panels and wind turbines. People who install the technology receive a subsidy and a guarantee that any surplus electricity will be bought back by the national grid.

Suppliers can not longer absorb the costs... 

The subsidy is paid for by adding an extra charge onto the bills of those who don't install the technology. Up until recently, most suppliers just incorporated this into their unit rate so it was invisible. However, this is changing. The number of people taking advantage of the FiT scheme grew tenfold in 2012 and, combined with the fact that the subsidy is set high to encourage people to join up, there's heavy financial pressure on the system.

Average Dual Fuel Bill Is Around £1,265 a Year

Business electricity users and householders were facing difficult decisions about their energy contracts, with wholesale prices dipping and some suppliers offering longer than usual fixed-rate deals, according to the Energy Advice Line

Julian Morgan, managing director of the price comparison, switching and advice service for energy users, said lower wholesale energy prices and increased competition were creating opportunities for customers to lock in good deals.

But he said the trade-off for consumers who opted for longer-term price protection was potentially missing out on cheaper prices if energy costs continued to fall.

“Consumers are facing some difficult choices at the moment and they need to take expert advice,” Mr Morgan said.

Avoid Expensive Business Electricity Renewal Prices

Customers need to be wary of not ignoring their renewal letter when it arrives from their current business electricity supplier.

A number of suppliers in the UK will tend to offer a renewal rate that is 30-40% in excess of the current retail price with the primary objective that the customer will not act on the letter so that the contract can be rolled over onto more expensive renewal rates.

The suppliers renewal letter is very misleading... 

A supplier's renewal letter can be very misleading in the way that it presents the price to the customer by using terminology such as "Don't worry, we are protecting your business prices for a further 12 months". If this terminology is used in the subject header of the letter many customers will trust their supplier and assume that the electricity rates detailed within the letter are competitive and the supplier is offering their best price first time.