Even now most business owners simply let their contracts roll over each year and are paying far too much for both electricity and gas even if they are a small business never mind if they are a large commercial organisation.

The market has certainly improved a lot over recent years and it’s easy to get an online quote to reduce your tariff rates sometimes by up to 70% – which is what some of the large comparison websites will have you believe. You can get an instant business quote online here from British Gas who guarantee to beat any current quote you already have.

Finding the best energy rates for your business

There are certainly a number of websites around that can provide up to date information on rates and prices from all the energy suppliers including british gas business electricitybut all the others including Eon, Edf, Scottish Power, npower and Southern Electric who can all provide online quotes. Much like the utility comparison sites for home use the business websites undertake the same task. All you need is your business address and postcode plus estimated consumption data for the last quarter or year and then you’ll get a quote.

You’ll receive a more accurate quote if you provide your meter number which you can find on your meter. This is because all the large energy suppliers record all this data in a central database so you don’t need to find an old invoice to provide your consumption. There are plenty of tariffs that will be offered to you from regular rates to green energy options. You can find more about business electricity and gas prices from the website businesselectricityprices which have excellent information on business energy tariffs and all of your options.

Further reducing your rates

Other ways to find the lowest tariffs is to use a specialist broker who may have access to lower pricing. If you are a micro or small business it’s unlikely you’ll be able to get anything other standard pricing which works out as a fixed price for a fixed period of time, normally a one year contract. However of course if you have a larger commercial business you will be able to negotiate lower prices because your consumption will be higher.

No matter how large your business it’s always best to check pricing online first because for most businesses these will certainly be the cheapest option. Once you have found a provider you want to go with it’s always worth giving the customer services call centre a ring to see if you can get a different tariff or perhaps you want to fixed your rates for a longer period of time. Most energy companies will allow two or three year terms although the prices per kwh for electricity and gas may be a little higher because it is forecast for prices to increase over the coming years.

Additionally you can also get further discounts by paying your invoices by fixed monthly direct debit – normally you can receive an additional 2% to 4% discount and if you take both gas and electricity as a business dual fuel tariff additional reductions are usually provided for these types of contracts for business owners.

Earlier in the year the demand for electricity for UK customers was around 5% lower than last year mainly due to people cutting back. And although electricity prices have remained stable for a couple of years now the wholesale price also reached the highest level since 12th February 2009 according to new research just published.

Demand for air conditioning fuels demand and prices

Normally peak demands for electricity and gas occur during the cold winter months because of the need for additional lighting because the day light hours are shorter and the need to heat homes and businesses but this year has seen a big demand for air conditioning and fans as the hot summer weather has continued.

There are additional issues in France – because most of their power is generated from nuclear power the water used to cool the power plants is warmer than normal so these generators are not operating at their maximum potential and thus demand for other sources has increased as well as their pricing which is the highest since March.

Consumers need not worry – for now

Although the wholesale prices have peaked this week it is not thought that this will directly affect home users and businesses because it’s unlikely that this demand will continue for much longer and the wholesale prices will likely reduce. However, if the demand for electricity and the warm weather continue into the beginning of the winter period where demand starts to pick up in any case then we may see increases in tariffs from the UK power companies.

What should you do with your current tariff ?

If you are already on one of the special deals from one of the main energy companies it’s still probably got some months or years to continue and many of these have penalties for exiting early in any case. If you are at the end of a contract and are looking to compare electricity prices then now may be a time to fix your rates if you can find a fixed tariff that has prices that are comparable with some of the discounted rates.

Generally there aren’t many fixed rate tariffs in the market place currently and most are on variable rates although these haven’t increased much over the past few years although there were big increases a couple of years ago. If you are wondering what to do our advice at the time of writing is still to stick with a discounted variable rate tariff at least for the coming months. Keep an eye on the press on what is happening to prices to see if the wholesale price continues at this level. As the warmer weather is less hot currently these rates are also likely to fall over the coming weeks. Energy companies only increase (or decrease) their tariff rates after a sustained period of higher (or lower) prices in the wholesale market and at the moment this has not happened.

This new tariff squarely aims at British Gas customers who are on the standard tariff with BG but only provides a 2% discount. British Gas themselves have their own discounted standard tariff called websaver which provides a 6% discount off these rates for similar periods of time. So really there is no reason to move if you are on the websaver deal because it offers three times the discount over the Scottish Power deal.

Scottish Power Price Tracker Tariff Rates at a Glance

So what do you get if you opt for this tariff from Scottish Power ?

• Guaranteed 2% discount from British Gas standard tariff
• Rates and discount guaranteed until October (30th September 2011 to be precise)
• Additional £15 discount for dual fuel tariffs
• Another £15.75 discount if you manage your account online
• Fixed monthly direct debit payment mandatory
• Can take either gas or electricity or a dual fuel tariff
• Early exit penalties of £30 for electricity and £20 for gas if you exit the tariff before the end (although the penalties do not apply if you move home within this period)
• Estimated saving for average energy user over Scottish Power standard tariff for dual fuel customers is set at £45 per year

Other information on this tariff

This is a flexible pricing tariff so rates move up and down if the price of the British Gas tariff change. There are no standing charges on this tariff. Although you can not take this tariff with you if you move home you can still re-apply for your new property.

Applying for this Tariff

You can easily apply for this tariff online or over the telephone. The easiest method is to visit the Scottish Power website and key in your information to check if this tariff is the cheapest option for your home (as pricing varies around the country and the rates will be different depending on where you live). You can also check out general energy price comparison websites which will provide you will all the options for your postcode and show all the energy tariffs including the cheapest one for you.

Once you have decided which one is right for you then the switching process to a new provider is undertaken on your behalf. You’ll receive correspondence from your new and current provider letting you know what’s going on at any one time and a specific date for the switch over. All of this happens in the background and so long as you take a meter reading on the day of the switch just to ensure your invoicing is correct then you’ll be switched over to a new tariff and enjoy the savings. You are most welcomed to check out the new scottish power price tracker october 2011 on their website.

The new npower sign online 19 tariff replaces the previous sign online 18 tariff which offers a flat 2% discount against the standard npower tariff until 30th September 2011 and is currently the cheapest option for npower customers. This deal offers the cheap prices for both new and existing customers and could save you up to £317 per year versus a standard tariff that is paid by cash or cheque rather than direct debit.

Npower Sign Online 19 Tariff Features at a glance

Here are the features of the new sign online 19 tariff from npower :

• Guaranteed savings of 2% against npower standard tariff for the duration of the contract
• Prices and rates guaranteed until the end of September 2011
• Direct debit discounts applied after 12 months of the account being opened
• For gas and electricity supplies
• You must sign up online via the company’s website
• You must pay by fixed monthly direct debit
• You are also entitled to lower rates on home central heating cover and a 50% cashback if you don’t call the home team out for repairs
• Manage your account online and send in your own meter readings so no more estimated bills

This is a very popular tariff for npower customers and for those switching from other suppliers and is constantly in the best buy tables for gas, electricity and dual fuel tariffs.

How do you apply for the sign online 19 tariff ?

It’s very easy to get a quote and to switch to this tariff whether you are already an npower customer with a previous version of sign online or are thinking of switching from another provider. The easiest method is to visit the npower website and get a quote and then follow the instructions to switch you account over to them.

If you have never switched before then it’s very easy. Once you have provided your details on the easy to complete online form then they will handle all of the paperwork and switching process on your behalf. They will provide a date for the switch or upgrade from another tariff and your energy supply will not be interrupted. Once you know the date of the switch it’s best for you to take meter readings on that day just to ensure that all the billing is accurate and up to date.

This is a recommended tariff from electricityprices.org.uk and you can see just how much you can save right now by getting an online quote and you’ll see your savings against your current energy supplier and current tariff. For 60 seconds of your time you could be saving up to £317 per year by switching to the new npower sign online 19 tariff.

What is British Gas Websaver 8 Tariff ?

In essence this is a discounted tariff where you receive a 6% discount deducted from the standard tariff which is already one of the cheapest main tariffs on offer in the energy market. The popular websaver tariffs from British Gas have always provided excellent value for money and this saves an average user £184 over the standard rates.

Websaver 8 Tariff at a glance

If you are thinking of switching to British Gas or are already a customer and want to change to this tariff here are the basics of this account at a glance :

• 6% discount off standard tariff saving £184 per year for an average customer
• It’s the cheapest British Gas tariff online
• Discount applied up to 1st October 2011
• Dual fuel discount of £15 on top of the 6% discount
• If you are a British Gas customer and pay by cheque or cash and then opt to pay by monthly direct debit you save a further £73
• Limited time offer
• You must pay for this tariff by fixed monthly direct debit
• An early cancellation fee of £30 per fuel type will be charged if you move from these prices up to 1st July 2011
• Average annual dual fuel bill is £899

How to Switch to Websaver 8 tariff

You can easily upgrade your existing British Gas tariff or switch from another provider to websaver 8 just by visiting the British Gas main website. Just select electricity, gas or dual fuel and get an online quote and if you are happy with the rates and prices then follow instructions to join up on these cheap rates. The switching process is undertaken by British Gas themselves so you don’t have to do anything. Just ensure you take a meter reading on the day of the switch to ensure your invoices are correct if you are moving from another supplier.

How much will I pay ?

The prices for websaver 8 will vary depending on where you live in the UK and regional pricing applies for all energy companies but here are some examples of what you would pay based upon standard figures for consumption as supplied by Ofgem the industry regulator :

• Gas supply only – low energy user £350, average energy user £602, high energy user £782
• Electricity only – low energy user £194, average energy user £312, high energy user £454
• Dual fuel contract – low energy user £538, average energy user £899, high energy user £1,221

The gas and electricity only fuel contracts are generally only available for existing customers only whereas the websaver 8 dual fuel tariff is available for new and existing customers.

The prices quoted above are as follows : low energy consumption of 10,000 kwh for gas and 1,650 for single rate electricity, average user consumption of 20,500 kwh for gas and 3,300 kwh for electricity and for high energy user the consumption figures have been based upon 28,000 kwh for gas and 4,950 for single tariff electricity.

So why not get an online quote right now for the new British Gas websaver 8 tariff directly from their website and see justhow much you may save.

You may not realise it but the prices for electricity and gas either as a single fuel or under a dual fuel contract vary greatly just depending on where you live in the UK. This has long been standard practice amongst the energy providers and the difference between the most expensive town (or city) and the tenth is £71 per year.

The survey by uswitch who have been in the energy switching business for years now compared the energy bills for dual fuel tariffs for what is considered an average annual bills (which equates to 3,300 kwh of electricity and 20,500 kwh of gas usage each year). Although this won’t be standard for many customers it’s an industry standard as defined by the energy watchdog ofgem. Here are the top 10 cities based on the research around the UK – is one of these yours ?

1. Cardiff £949
2. Aberdeen £924
3. London £920
4. Bristol £913
5. Liverpool £906
6. Brighton £894
7. Edinburgh £893
8. Southampton £893
9. Birmingham £881
10. Manchester £878

How can you reduce your costs ?

Well if you live in Cardiff then you know you are going to be paying more than the average electricity bill for someone in Manchester and that’s a fact and nothing will change that but to get close to that lowest cost figure the one thing you should do is either go to all the energy websites and get individual quotes from each one or use a price comparison service where you just need to enter your postcode and electric and gas consumption data the once to see a list of all the tariffs that are on offer to you.

You can switch providers as many times as you wish to get the latest and lowest rates (although some fixed term contracts may have termination fees which will be shown during the switching process). There is no real need to be loyal over one company or another because at the end of the day all you need is the cheapest provider so you can pay the least amount.

Switching made easy

No matter how many times you switch these days it’s very easy and the new supplier will handle all the paperwork and switching process on your behalf. All you need do is choose the tariff you want to be on which offers the lowest rates and is right for your circumstances (ie: you want to pay by direct debit, or manage your account online so you can enter accurate meter readings yourself or even opt for one of the new renewable energy contracts that provides green electric to your home) and everything is done for you.

As we say there is no limit to the number of times you switch providers and new deals are being put onto the market all of the time (but watch out for any termination fees if you opt out of a contract earlier than the overall time period that any discounts may be applied to the prices you sign up for). You can also enter your information into the price comparison sites each week just to ensure you have the lowest rates for your property at any one time. It only takes around 30 seconds to get a quote so this may be something to undertake today.

Fix Online 8 at a Glance

This Eon energy tariff allows you to fix your rates online up to 1st July 2011 and has a huge 18% discount against a standard tariff and is Eon’s cheapest dual fuel tariff. You must pay be direct debit and manage your account online. Although Eon says you can save around £200 per year by switching over to fix online 8 the rewards may be greater if you use more fuel or are on another standard tariff from another energy company. Here’s what you get :

• Fix on cheap tariff rates until 1st July 2011
• Pay by monthly direct debit
• Free energy monitor under their energy fit programme
• Manage your account online and provide meter readings
• No early termination penalties but you will lose the fix online discount if you move away before the end of the contract

How do I get this tariff ?

If you are already an Eon customer and go to one of the price comparison energy websites they will say you are not eligible for this tariff but that is not the case. Simply log into your Eon account (if you don’t have one then register and log in) and go to the area for switching tariffs. The fix online tariff and all the details are shown to you right there (on the home page under “switch or view your product and tariff” and you can choose to be switched onto this immediately. If you don’t see the options then call the customer service centre and they can do it for you.

If you are not an Eon customer then either sign up via an energy price comparison website or go directly to the Eon energy website and look for the fix online tariff. You can actually undertake a price comparison on their site as well.

What are the rates ?

Here are the rates for the fix online 8 tariff :

• Electricity
  Normal units up to 900 kWhs per year 21.294 pence
  Normal units 10.1115 pence per kWh
• Gas
  Normal units up to 2680 kWhs per year 6.5247 pence
  Normal units 3.1584 pence per kWh

• 6.00 % Direct Debit Discount
• 2.00 % Dual Fuel Direct Debit Discount
• 18.60 % Online Discount

• 6.00 % Direct Debit Discount
• 2.00 % Dual Fuel Direct Debit Discount
• 18.60 % Online Discount

Other information about this tariff :

E.ON FixOnline 8 is our their cheapest Dual Fuel product available and also provides the benefit of fixed prices right up until 1 July 2011. Fix your energy prices, receive an additional FixOnline discount and see how much you could save. A contract cancellation fee of £30 may apply if you move from this plan before the end date. Tesco Clubcard points are not available with this product.

Our view of Eon fix online 18

With this being one of the cheapest tariffs on the market, if you want to take advantage of the low prices and don’t mind fixing for just over a year then it’s worth checking out by going to their website and seeing how much cheaper it is against your current energy provider.

The new solarsaver product from Eon energy group not only helps you produce your own electricity from the sun but also take advantage of the new government feed in tariffs where you get paid for the energy you produce and have the option of selling the electric you don’t use back to the national grid. And the government will pay you for both of these.

At a glance the actual pay back is not such an investment where you make much money on the intial cash you put down because the costs of installing solar panels is so large, but if you have decided to go down the Solar photovoltaic (PV) route and want to generate your own electricity from the sun then the new Eon SolarSaver product could be something to investigate.

How does Eon Solar Saver work ?

Eon will supply and fit you with solar panels on your home and install a smart meter that automatically reads the electricity you are producing and using and sends that data back to them (so you’ll never have to take a meter reading again). The panels are estimated to last around 25 years and Eon believe that you should get your upfront investment costs paid back after around 12 years based on average consumption figures and current feed in tariff numbers.

The figures are based on a 2.1kw sharp solar photovoltaic system, with an average annual output of 1,588kWh, performing at 90% at year 10, and 85% at year 25. Year one output is projected at 1,750kWh (based on industry-standard SAP calculations). Assumes FiT subsidy at 41.3p/kWh and electricity supply cost of 10.086p/kWh, with both increasing in line with inflation. Inflation is assumed at 2% over the 25 years. Excludes cost of any inverter replacements needed over the lifespan of the system, which may cost around £1,000 (if outside of manufacturer’s warranty).

Assumes a south facing roof with 30^opitch in Sheffield (average UK weather conditions). Households are assumed to use Ofgem average annual amounts of electricity (3,300kWh), consuming 50% of the electricity generated from the system and exporting the remaining 50%. Assumes network voltage remains within standard tolerances. No discount is applied for the time value of money

How do feed in tariffs work ?

The feed in tariff system introduced in April (also know as the clean energy cashback) is a system the government initiated to incentivise people to generate their own renewable energy sources. The payments you receive are also currently free of any tax.

You get paid for the amount of electricity you product no matter if you use that or export it back to the national grid (which is set up automatically under this scheme). You’ll also get an additional payment for the electricity you do send back to the national grid that you don’t use yourself. The current feed in tariffs rate are published by the government and are set for a specific lifetime. You may also be interested in the free eonenergyfit energy monitor which allows you to monitor your electricity usage in your home today.

So if you are thinking of installing solar panels then check out the Eon solarsaver option to see if their costs are right for you.

What is in the energy fit package ?

The most essential item is the energy monitor which tells you how much electricity you are using at anyone time and is able to provide additional data over a longer period. You also get software so you can monitor this data over longer time periods and see how your home efficiency programmes are having an effect on your bills. Of course you also get an installation and user guide. You can get more details from eonenergyfit.com website

For all customers, almost

If you are already and existing Eon energy customer and pay by direct debit then you can get your free energy fix monitor and software simply by logging into your account. On the top left of your account menu there’s a link to “energy fix” – simply click on that link and accept the terms and conditions (if you agree to them) and press register. That’s it. And within 28 days the whole package will be delivered to your home so you can start using it.

The monitor itself is worth around £45 but you get this and everything else absolutely free. If you do not pay by monthly direct debit then unfortunately you don’t qualify for this offer. New customers can also get this package once they sign up to a tariff that’s on direct debit. You’ll also need to manage your account online.

What does the monitor show you ?

Once you have set up the transmitter part from your meter your monitor will start collecting data automatically. The easy to read LCD display shows 6 main items of data and these include :

• the amount of energy you are using right now in kWh
• the cost to you per day or per month in £
• an “up” or “down” amount shows you how much energy you use by switching on a new appliance – you can test this out yourself just by switching on a light or electric kettle for example
• a graph showing how much energy you have used from 7am yesterday to 7am today in 3 blocks – night, day and evening
• the amount of energy you have used in the last 7 days and the last 30 days in kWh
• the time and temperature

Research has shown that simply by knowing your own electricity usage you can reduce it by around 10% because you will be wary of how much each appliance uses and perhaps change them for more energy efficient items as time progresses. This is not a smart meter so won’t transmit meter readings etc back to Eon but rather just monitor what is happening from your usage.

The monitor itself is very easy to install and runs on mains power so you don’t need batteries. The software is currently only suitable for windows type computers so is not Mac compatible.

This is a great free offer from Eon energy so why not check out their tariffs for more information on how much you could save on your gas and electricity and become part of the new energy fit programme yourself ?

The financial results from British Gas showed that they had added an additional 200,000 residential accounts in the first four months of this year taking their total to 15.9 million of the energy households in the UK. They also reported that gas usage had increased by an average of 7% during one of the coldest and longest winters on record with electricity consumption also increasing by an average of 2%.

As British Gas goes head to head with the other big 5 energy companies such as Eon, EDF, Scottish and Southern and Npower they said in their results that their residential supply is likely to perform strongly in the remainder of the year.

Smart Meter Roll out Gathers Pace

The roll out to customers of so called smart meters has also begun in earnest. The UK government has set targets so that every home in the UK will have a smart meter installed in their home so that they can monitor and analyse their electricity and gas consumption on a regular basis. The cost is down to the energy companies themselves so British Gas is installing meters in homes where they would have to be replaced in any case. So far in the first four months of this year 80,000 homes now have one of the new modern smart meters installed in their home.

Customers will now never have to take a manual meter reading again as the data is automatically transmitted back to British Gas or their subsequent energy provider via mobile phone signals. This data can then be seen either by using the energy provider’s websites or one of the new software packages that are now becoming more commonly available such as google power meter. This data gives an instant and accurate measure of when energy is being used at any point in the day so home users can see for example if they are using a lot of power during the night where in reality most appliances should be switched off. Estimates range anywhere from 10% to 20% on the amount of energy that can be saved simply by knowing what energy is being consumed and is another tool to help home owners reduce their electricity and gas bills.

Low Wholesale Prices not yet fed into Cheaper Tariffs

Throughout the past 12 months wholesale prices have been at low levels and although all the energy companies reduced their gas prices in the early part of the year these have not really fallen low enough. And although all companies are committed to massive investment programmes to reduce CO2 emissions and for the smart meter roll out most analysts agree that some further price cuts are likely to be announced later in the year. All the other big energy companies generally wait to see what British Gas comes up with so are waiting for their lead. It is envisage that some further cuts may be announced in the summer if profits continue for this company.

British Gas actually made a profit of £299m for the first 6 months last year which was a massive 80% increase on the same period in 2008