Despite
the continuing rise in energy prices, led by the six largest energy providers,
and the increase in consumers making the switch to providers offering cheaper
tariffs and price freeze options, it seems that the business community are slow
to follow. This means that, even in times of economic uncertainty, many
organisations overlooked the fact that they could have made savings on their energy bills; instead turning
to other areas of their businesses where cost savings could potentially be
achieved.
According to Love Energy
Savings, one of
the main factors that holds businesses back from reviewing their energy
consumption and costs, in order to determine whether or not they should make a
switch, is time. Unlike consumer energy, where people are encouraged to switch
regularly and there are a number of energy comparison websites available to
provide information and facilitate the switch, this is not something readily available for businesses until now.
The other element, and this is something that plagues the consumer energy
market too, is the fact that energy companies make it difficult to understand
where savings are possible. Pricing tariffs for businesses are even more
complicated; couple this with the time issue of many accountants, facilities
Managers, business owners, and procurement professionals, and it's easy to see
why looking into and completing an energy switch, can fall to the bottom of the
to do list.
The reluctance of businesses to monitor their energy consumption and costs and
make a switch, whether this is to another standard provider or to a more
environmentally friendly and renewable source of energy, means that energy
companies don't feel the need to become more competitive. The result is that
business tariffs will remain complicated, prices will continue to rise, and
energy companies will feel no pressure to position themselves as being more
valuable to their business customers.
As well as switching providers to save money on their existing tariffs, it's
also worth businesses looking at energy comparison sites to see which providers
are offering added value through helping businesses monitor and reduce their
overall consumption. Providers are now starting to offer additional assistance
with this by providing energy monitors as part of the switchover process. This
will give businesses information over and above what's shown on their gas and
electricity meters and enable them to monitor consumption levels and possible
wastage.
By acting on the information shown on their energy monitors, businesses can
take steps towards reducing their overall consumption. This will lower their
bill and be beneficial to the environment, something that is becoming
increasingly important to businesses across all industries.
It's time that businesses make the effort to become more aware of their energy
consumption levels and how much it's costing them. Through the use of energy
comparison websites, such as Love Energy Savings who have switch services fully
tailored for business users, there are cost savings to be had. The more
businesses that begin to make the switch to cheaper tariffs and more
environmentally conscious providers, the more energy providers will have to
respond and become more competitive for their business customers.
You can also find lots of home and business energy resources on Charles Whitworth's Google+ Page.