Gas and electricity bills are amongst some of the highest costs that businesses face. If you are running a business, you may be wondering how to save on business electricity – for both environmental and financial reasons. Here are D-ENERGi’s top tips on how you can save money on business electricity: #Switch tariff at the end of your contract When your existing business electricity contract comes to an end, you will automatically be rolled over to a more expensive “out of contract” rate – which is why complacency can cost your dearly. Therefore, the best tactic is to compare business electricity per kWh tariffs between one and six months before your current contract is due to end. This is where D-ENERGi can help. Our expert team can easily compare electricity tariffs from a range of suppliers, to find the best tariff for you. #Check the age and efficiency of your business equipment Take a closer look at the business equipment you have, from kitchen appliances and IT equipment to items such as vending machines. Find out how old it is, and what its energy efficiency rating is. You don’t have to replace all of your business equipment as long as you take steps to improve its efficiency, such as: Cleaning it regularly – especially fridges Putting a maintenance timetable in place   #Make sure equipment is shut down when it is not in use Ensure you get all of your people involved in making sure all of your office equipment is turned off overnight, and over the weekend if it is not in use. Many people forget and leave items such as computers, printers, and photocopiers on standby instead of shutting them down completely. Each piece of equipment left on standby may only be costing you pennies, but when you look at how many pieces of equipment you have like this in your business it can soon add up. #Get a half hourly meter One thing you might want to look at as a commercial entity is whether you qualify for a half hourly meter or not. A half-hourly meter can help you to get smarter with your business electricity as it will show you exactly when you use the most energy. Your bills will also be based on the exact amount of electricity you use, which will be an added encouragement for you to get energy smarter. D-ENERGi is one of the longest established and well-respected UK independent energy solutions providers. So, if you are looking to compare business energy per kWh, you should get in touch with the expert team.

Half hourly metering (or HH metering) is a type of electricity meter that measures how much electricity is being used every half an hour. It then sends an automatic reading to your business electricity supplier via a phone connection. It is a bit like a domestic smart meter, it just uses older technology. With half hourly metering, your meter is automatically read, and so there is no need for you to remember to send your meter reading to your supplier – enabling more accurate electricity bills to be delivered to you. Half hourly meters also allow businesses to see exactly how much electricity they are using at different times of the day, helping them to become more energy-efficient and utilise them half hourly electricity tariffs to their best advantage. Half hourly meters also allow suppliers to correctly price the energy they are supplying as they will know how much energy is being used. This is the opposite of non half hourly meters which use generic load profiles to guess what demand will be. What kind of businesses use half hourly metering? You may be surprised to learn that there are around 100,000 half hourly meters in the UK – usually in businesses that have high energy usage. Half hourly meters are actually mandatory for all business electricity customers who have a maximum demand of 100 kW or more in any single half-hour period – and these are known as mandatory half hourly meters. Any business that has a maximum demand of more than 70kW can opt to have a half hourly electricity meter installed. Is half hourly metering different from standard meter prices? Yes, it is. Although the major benefit of a half hourly meter is that the accuracy of your pricing will improve dramatically, the actual cost of the metering is much more expensive than a non half hourly meter. However, this cost difference will be largely insignificant to the heavy commercial users of electricity that half hourly meters are aimed at, but it does make them unsuitable for businesses with low or medium electricity consumption. Can I switch to a half hourly electricity tariff? You can, but half hourly electricity contract negotiations can be complex and lengthy, due to the fluctuating wholesale market prices for energy, variable supplier hedging strategies, and the requirement for detailed demand data before you begin. If you would like to understand more about commercial half hourly electricity and get a half hourly electricity quote then call the D-ENERGi team – they would love to hear from you.

Most business owners are familiar with how domestic gas contracts work, as they will have been domestic gas customers for years. But, when it comes to business gas contracts they may not be aware of the key differences. In this guide, we will look at the differences between business gas and domestic gas, and how to make sure you are getting the cheapest business gas prices. Is business energy more expensive than domestic energy? A lot of business owners may be wondering if business energy is more expensive than domestic energy. This may seem like a simple question, but the answer is actually quite complex as there are a number of different factors that need to be taken into account. Although the actual electricity and gas supplied to both business and domestic customers comes from the same suppliers and is delivered through the same pipes and cables, energy suppliers will offer different contracts to business customers than they do to domestic customers. Domestic and non-domestic energy contracts operate in very different ways. Although domestic energy prices tend to grab more headlines, especially at the moment, it is important that business owners understand business energy contracts and supply so that they can ensure they are getting the best deal for their business. Average business energy rates vs domestic energy rates Electricity and gas rates can seem cheaper for business customers than domestic customers at first glance, but this is because business customers tend to use more energy over a shorter period of time. This means that commercial clients can negotiate with suppliers and choose the best contract for them based on their individual business needs. Domestic customers won’t be offered rates that are tailored to their personal needs, as they will just be charged the same rate as the rest of their region. What are the pricing criteria for business gas customers? Domestic customers are charged a set price for their gas based on their geographical location and payment method, whereas the pricing criteria for business gas customers take into account: Business type Contract length Credit score Demand profile Geographical location Payment type   Finding the cheapest business gas prices can be a time-consuming task, and can get confusing at times. If you are wondering how to compare business gas prices then D-ENERGI is here to help. Our team of business energy experts will guide you through the business gas price comparison process and help you secure the best deal for you.

You can’t have failed to notice that there is currently an energy crisis in the UK, with business electricity and business gas prices set to rocket. Here’s what you need to know. The energy price cap has helped to keep domestic energy rates low for the past few months, but this doesn’t apply to business energy, unfortunately. This is why there have been some wild variations in the business gas and business electricity prices that suppliers have quoted over recent weeks. The reason why there have been recent price hikes for both business electricity and gas is due to the fact that wholesale energy prices are currently at record high levels. This is not a new situation, energy market prices are always moving up and down, but the price we are currently seeing are really high and also quite volatile, making it difficult to predict what they will be from one day to the next, never mind in twelve months’ time. Why are wholesale energy prices so high at the moment? The rise in energy prices is a global issue and it has been caused by some unexpected, but far-reaching reasons, including: A higher than usual demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Asia has led to lower LNG availability for Europe An increase in demand for energy in general as lockdown restrictions have eased across the globe Delays and complications with the Nord Stream 2 pipelines, linking Russia to Europe and bypassing Ukraine Gas shortages across Europe in general, thanks to the prolonged cold winter of 2020/2021 which put a drain of gas supplies   What is affecting the UK in particular? These reasons have put us in a global energy crisis, but on top of this the UK itself is also suffering from: A fire at a National Grid site in Kent knocked out a power cable used to import electricity from France to the UK, which is not expected to be back up and running until 2023 Low winds mean less renewable energy generation Outages at some Nuclear Power stations mean a higher percentage of gas being used for electricity production than normal The fact that UK has some of the lowest gas reserves in the whole of Europe, so we have almost no way of stockpiling gas until we need it   With all of this in mind, what is the best way to make sure you are paying a fair price for your business energy? Well, the best way to find the best business energy deals is to contact the expert team at D-ENERGi. We just need a couple of details from you and then we can trawl the business electricity and business gas suppliers UK to find the best tariff for your business in minutes.