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 [1], 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.Charles Whitworth's Google+ Page [2].