SME Business Energy: Which Energy Provider Is Best For My Business?
At the time of writing, several energy suppliers have ceased to trade due to the unprecedented volatility in the energy market.
There are a multitude of SME energy suppliers that can cater for the needs of smaller sized businesses, since their energy consumption is typically much lower than larger organisations. Trying to sift through all these suppliers to find those most suited for SME business energy is a minefield to say the least!
The UK energy market was encouraged to stimulate competition and therefore many smaller energy suppliers were created over the past few years. Energy prices had been on a downward spiral in recent years until the Brexit vote when the trend of reduced prices was reversed. This spiralling of prices has continued ever since, though there was a period of decline at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown. The result is that newer entrants to the energy market have been under pressure just to survive.
With the above in mind, what should SME energy suppliers be able to offer you?
Suitable Costs
First and foremost, you would be wanting a competitive price for your SME energy supply because in the modern era such costs can be a significant portion of your business running costs, especially if they are not regularly monitored. Generally, the larger players in the energy market will be able to provide the lowest prices because of their purchasing power. There is, in theory anyway, no difference in the quality of the SME energy supplied between one supplier and another so price has to be a key consideration.
Reliability
Reliability is another important consideration. As we have seen, some energy supplies have gone out of business leaving their customers to find new SME energy and at higher rates too, resulting in higher costs for the customer. The supplier should be easily contactable when things go wrong or there is a query that needs answering. There is nothing more frustrating than being on hold on a phone call for an hour!
Appropriate Contract Lengths
Other considerations that SME business energy customers may want to look at include length of contracts offered (not all SME business energy suppliers offer longer term contracts say 4 or 5 years for example), offering green eco-friendly products and also whether they offer the choice of an online account or only paper based billing.
The golden rule is not to procrastinate when it comes to renewing your SME business energy supply. It’s easy to fall into the trap of just renewing with the same SME energy suppliers time and again. Use a business energy broker to help you find the best deals, especially if you don’t have the time to do it yourself.
If you are unsure whether you are paying the right amount for your business electricity, give Central Power a call on 01746 335346 and we can discuss how we can assist you. We are an established electricity broker for over 25 years and our clients have been with us for many years too, a testament to the services we provide!
Image Source: Unsplash