Failing to Shop Around Results in a Loss of Savings

 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.

Should We Fear Black Outs This Winter?

This month the National Grid issued a notice to energy suppliers asking for a greater supply. This was the first time such a warning has been issued in three years. The request was for an additional 500MWs between the hours of 16:30 and 18:30 on Wednesday 4 November.

This amount of power is equivalent to the surge you would expect during the half time of a sporting event, when everyone rushes to boil the kettle at once. More power was requested after several plant breakdowns occured during the month of October.

A statement said: "National Grid has issued a notice to the industry...asking for more generation to be brought on to the system.