News

Have you planned your business’ New Year’s Resolutions for 2016? January is a great time of year to step back and get some broader perspective on where your business is and where it is going. It might be tempting to use this time grappling with value propositions or brainstorming new sales strategies. But your time would probably be better spent on tasks that add concrete value to your business. Slimming down energy bills is a fantastic way of increasing your profit margins month after month. And you will probably be surprised by how much money you could save. So for the first few months of 2016, Utility Helpline is offering a quick quote service to businesses of all shapes and sizes. Simply get in touch with a member of our award-winning accounts team, we will put your requirements out to tender and negotiate the right possible price on your energy.

Get in touch for a quote today. Telephone: 0800 043 0423 or fill in the contact form to the right hand side of the page to request a call back.

Big energy companies still failing to drop prices

In what is becoming a familiar story in the energy press, the big energy companies have come under scrutiny from consumer groups and watchdogs who believe that energy prices are not falling quickly enough. According to ICIS’ Power Index, the cost of wholesale energy fell to its lowest point in five years towards the end of 2015. Large energy companies are purchasing energy on the wholesale market at the lowest rates seen for years, but these savings are not being passed onto consumers. A mild start to winter and a continuation of the downward trend in commodity prices contributed to the falling wholesale price that saw electricity prices and gas price fall 23% and 34% respectively in 2015. Today, energy industry regulator Ofgem said that they were concerned that energy companies are still “overcharging” the majority of their domestic customers. Here it is important to clarify that not all businesses purchase energy on the domestic market. But as a rule of thumb, the farther away your business is from purchasing energy on the wholesale market, the more likely it is that you are being overcharged. Energy UK, a trade body representing the major energy companies insists that the 34 energy suppliers that make up the market are competitive between each other. They suggest that customers need to switch to get the right deal. This position is backed by Ofgem who say that 70% of consumers still remain on standard variable tariffs that have hardly changed since early last year. A lot of small and medium sized non-domestic energy customers are being overcharged because they are not sensitive to market changes and rarely look around for the right deal. However, searching through the various tariffs of 34 suppliers takes time. Even when you use energy price comparison websites, some business tariffs remain hidden or negotiable based on your situation. It is in these instances when using an energy broker can become really profitable.

Benefits of using an energy broker

• Specialist market information
• Saves you time searching the whole energy market
• Experienced negotiators that can squeeze an extra few percentage points out of any deal.
• Able to advise on when to buy and when to hold out for a better deal

Using an energy broker takes the hassle out of your energy search. If you don’t know where to look o who to speak to then comparing different suppliers energy prices can take days. Choose to spend less time on the phone to energy companies. Choose to spend less time in fron of your email inbox. Choose to take advantage of a brokers knowledge, experience and contacts in the market and we will help you choose a supplier that offers everything you are looking for at the right possible price.

Choose Utility Helpline. Telephone: 0800 043 0423 and speak to a member of the accounts team.