Diaries. They’re hard to keep on top of. Even with reminders on your BlackBerry, Outlook calendars and all the wonders of modern technology to help you to remember important dates, it’s all too easy to forget things. That’s especially the case with such dates as business electricity and gas contract renewal dates, which don’t come around so often. However, they are vital to remember if you are going to get the best deal on utilities for your business.
Business electricity prices are not getting any cheaper. Read any newspaper or news website, turn on the television or radio and there’s scarcely a day goes by when there isn’t a story about energy companies putting their prices up. Although mostly the mainstream media focuses on domestic energy prices, only a fool would think that business utilities are not going to rise – and rise substantially – too.
Comparing business gas prices and business electricity prices is, therefore, vital. When it comes to contract renewal time, you have by law to be given notice so you can shop around and find the best prices for your gas and electricity contracts.
However, many companies forget, or don’t get the reminder in time to actually put plans to shop around into action.
That’s why using an impartial energy comparison service such as The Energy Advice Line can be very helpful: not only do they take the pain and man hours out of contacting all the different business energy suppliers, but they can also keep a note of your contract renewal date and remind you when it’s time to start shopping around.
Business electricity and gas contracts differ from household utility bills – be sure you are aware of this. You must make sure that you know exactly the dates of the window for notifying your business energy supplier of whether you want to sign up for another contract with them or switch to a new supplier.
If you don’t switch or sign a new fixed-term deal with your current business gas and electricity supplier, as a micro business you could find yourself being rolled over into an expensive new contract that lasts for up to a year – and if you are a larger business then this period could last even longer than a year, and end up costing your business a lot of money.
For that matter, as recently pointed out by Ofgem, you must make sure you have a copy of your contract – this will make keeping on top of renewal dates a whole lot easier. Micro businesses must by law be sent a copy of their contract terms and conditions. Larger businesses must be able to see their terms and conditions – in practice it is best to request a copy.
When your contract is up for renewal, contacting an independent agent such as The Energy Advice Line can really help you compare the myriad of business energy prices and gas prices on the market.
