A Short Review of our Accessible Energy Solutions
Small business owners are incredibly busy people
From managing staff and stock, to looking after bills and profits, there’s always an endless amount of work. There might not be time to optimise each component of your business operations. But it’s still important to know that you’re not massively overpaying. We’ll look in particular at how you can prevent this through your energy costs.
A volatile energy market
The energy market itself is currently experiencing volatility as a result of global events in 2020. In just the last 12 months[1], wholesale costs of gas and power have varied by 47% from the highest peakload price at 62.60 GBp/MWh. It’s a record high, especially when compared to 36% variation in 2019[2] – another record at the time. This was caused by a series of factors, including over– and undersupply of energy, a surplus of renewable energy, and global events including a now-famous power play between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Add a global pandemic to the mix and you have all the ingredients for an unstable energy market.
Disruptive forces
The disruption caused by COVID-19 almost certainly affected your business. You may have had workforce and staffing issues caused by tiering, lockdowns or self-isolations. Or possibly supply chain issues caused by global restrictions on travel. Or even finance and cashflow setbacks caused by the long-term closure of your business. There was one consistent element in the business world throughout most of 2020. Unpredictability.
With the economic recovery fully underway, it’s now absolutely vital that businesses regain the control and predictability of as much of their operations as possible.
Even without COVID-19 disruption, the energy market is prone to volatility. Changes occur through seasonal price fluctuations, increased demand on the network, weather conditions or non-commodity factors to name a few. It’s a complex market.
Moreover, 62% of SMEs and microbusinesses describe energy as a ‘significant cost’ to their business. This can make both short- and long-term financial forecasting more difficult than it needs to be for businesses of all sizes, especially with the vast majority of small businesses receiving no additional energy services from their provider.
What do small businesses want and what solutions are available?
For current deals, the top three factors for small businesses choosing their energy tariffs are price stability (75%), finding the cheapest possible cost (65%) and spending minimal time and effort (47%) when choosing their energy providers.
At Global Procurement Group, our energy solutions provide innovative solutions which respond to each of these factors.
Price Stability
As the UK’s largest energy consultancy – with over 20,000 clients and over 30TWhs of energy under management – the group employ almost 800 energy specialists worldwide. The group headcount is expected to rise to 1,000 by the end of 2021, providing more energy support to more businesses. That means we are well served to tailor our expertise to specific client needs right across the globe.
With this level of expertise, as well as relationships with more than 40 business energy suppliers, we’re well-positioned to provide specialist advice on the state of the energy market, helping businesses make informed decisions with good outcomes. If suitable for businesses, we can secure long-term fixed rate business energy contracts when commodity prices are low, allowing companies to capitalise on the market and save on energy costs through our industry knowledge.
We also provide Account Management services for each of our customers, ensuring they are fully satisfied with their suppliers. Our services are extensive, ranging from Bill Validation to bespoke reporting. Our customers are kept aware and informed of any instability within the market and are advised on any actions to be taken through their Account Manager.
Cheapest Cost
As any company would, most SMEs and microbusinesses want to find the cheapest business energy tariffs. However, there has never been a swift, seamless and convenient method to shop for deals. It meant that businesses had to phone suppliers individually and negotiate the lowest prices for their business energy. It was an untenable method which is now modernised with the introduction of technology in this sector.
Our proprietary Price Comparison Website (PCW), BusinessEnergyQuotes.com, is the only UK pricing platform which has access to the UK Gas and Electricity Grids. It means that we can identify the precise consumption of a business gas or electricity meter to ensure that you’re getting the most accurate quotes.
BusinessEnergyQuotes.com is a 100% online service aimed at making business energy switching faster and easier for SMEs and microbusinesses, allowing them to focus on the things that really matter to them. After entering a postcode and monthly spend, the engine takes 10 seconds to search the market for quotes from 22 business energy suppliers, including Green energy providers. The user-interface displays the deals with the biggest savings – and can be filtered by term or supplier.
Minimal Time and Effort
Time is certainly important for small businesses. 47% of SMEs and microbusinesses say that their priority is spending minimal time and effort on choosing their tariff. Small businesses need quick access to the energy market, which is precisely what BusinessEnergyQuotes.com provides.
With BusinessEnergyQuotes.com, businesses can take advantage of the energy market live, by searching for quotes in only a matter of seconds. If savings are found, they are able to seamlessly switch between contracts, whilst our in-house Service department takes care of the administration between suppliers.
Take control of your energy
Reducing the administrative burden is almost a luxury for business owners. Reducing time and effort for your business is precisely what our energy services are designed to do.
If you’re interested in seeing which of our services could supplement your business, or you have any questions on our energy services, please get in touch with Northern Gas and Power here.
Alternatively, for a quick, accurate check to see if you could save on your business electricity or gas tariffs, please visit BusinessEnergyQuotes.com for your 10 second quote today.
[1] 09 February 2020 – 09 February 2021
[2] https://energymarketprice.com/