The new £15 million investment is a first in the UK and each school that qualifies for the scheme will also receive a free British Gas smart meter so they are able to monitor and analyse where they use electricity through the day and night and be able to make changes in how energy is consumed (eg: to see if computers are left on during the night time period). Each school will also get access to a special website where they can share tips and advice with each other.

Generation green from British Gas

The new scheme called generation green also enables schools and teachers to learn more about helping the environment and rewards schools for so called “green actions” where they can also win additional prizes including energy efficient light bulbs.

If you want to be part of the scheme you simply need to register your interest at the generation green website and parents, pupils and teachers can nominate their school. The scheme is for the current academic year through to 2011.

It is anticipated that the scheme could save around £1.3 million in electricity over the next 25 years and in addition these will qualify for the new feed in tariffs. These tariffs pay homes and businesses including schools an amount for each unit of electricity produced from renewable energy sources as well as any unused electricity which can be sold back to the national grid for others to use.

A spokesperson for British Gas Katie Alloway said: “A school is the hub of a community, used by so many people, so the opportunity to have a solar panel and showcase that technology will really help them to understand more about the technology and how they can cut energy use and save money.”

British Gas also said that at least half of the investment programmes will be aimed towards schools in low income areas and that the scheme is to work in conjunction with the Government’s community energy saving programme (CESP). It is estimated that the generation green energy programme will save around 1,400 tonnes per year in reducing carbon emissions as well. So well done for British Gas for this free offer of solar panels for the UK’ schools.

The recent hot weather in the UK is something that we all enjoy but a few conditions has seen the wholesale electricity price jump to the highest levels in the UK not see for the past 17 months. The issues in the UK are because more people are using electrical air conditioning systems and fans to cool themselves in offices and in peoples homes. In France they have other issues because most of their electric power is generated from nuclear power stations and these need water to cool the systems. Of course with higher temperatures the water supply is warmer so the nuclear power stations are not operating at their maximum capacity.

Will this increase affect business energy tariffs ?

Although the wholesale price has increased it is not thought that this will have any impact on general business energy tariffs for gas or electricity or business users in the short to medium term. It really comes down to demand but if this trend continues (for long periods of hot weather and more and more people and businesses using air conditioning) then the rates may rise.

The wholesale prices normally peak during the dark and cold winter months when the demand for heating and lighting is at is greatest which would normally happen during January and February. The wholesale prices and demand have been flat or even reduced recently because economic demand during the recession has reduce because manufacturing has not required as much power to run machinery.

Should I renew my electricity contract now ?

We always advise businesses to get new quotes each year when their contracts are coming up for renewal as it is thought that as many as 80% of businesses simply allow their tariff to roll over to the next year. This will happen automatically if you don’t renew and for most people this will see increased rates.

As business users have fixed term and fixed rate prices in general a wholesale price rise now will not affect your contract. You may want to undertake additional research into having a longer term contract. Certainly for some of the big energy companies you can opt for two or three year contracts although the prices may be higher than a one year contract.

Longer term it is forecast that energy rates and prices can only rise and with the additional charges for renewable energy legislation commitments also included now may be a good time to look at a longer term fixed rate contract. It’s easy to renew or switch your supplier if you want cheaper rates and the best way to start is to get an online quote from British Gas (see the special offer below). This only takes around 60 seconds as you just need your postcode and some other basic details about your business. You’ll then be presented with the tariff options that are available for your business at the consumption levels you are predicting. Do you have a minute now? Why not get a quote and see how much cheaper the rates are from what you are currently paying ?

The civitas reports cites legislation and reports undertaken under the previous labour government saying that due to green commitments under the climate change act 2008 and the EU renewables directive 2008 surcharges made to consumers amounted to 14% of their electricity bills and for businesses 21%.

These surcharges are there on all of us in an effort for the UK to meet these legal targets whereby the UK must cut greenhouse gas emissons by at least 80% by 2050 and the more pressing one from the EU whereby the UK must have at least 15% of its energy consumption from renewable sources in just under 10 years time by the end of 2020.

Currently renewables was just 1.3% in 2005 although that figure it thought to be around 5% in the current year and gradually climbing. However the pain does not stop there and the department of energy and climate change (DECC) has a sobering report.

Climate change surcharges set to triple for business customers

The DECC report under their renewable energy strategy which was published in 2009 and although widely available the small print has stark warnings about surcharges for electricity customers :

• for homeowners they believe the surcharge will rise from 14% to 33%
• and most worrying for businesses the surcharge will rise from 21% to a massive 70%

As always it’s business customers who will bear the brunt of all these green initiatives that were developed and signed up to from the labour administration. In tough times where businesses need to cut their costs sometimes just to survive this warning could not have come at a worse period in the economic cycle.

Manufacturing thought to be hardest hit

Of course most businesses just need electricity for heating and lighting but the report authors from civitas highlight the issues with manufacturing industries who rely heavily on electricity power to supply their machinery. Where the UK once shined for its manufacturing recent decades has seen a decline mainly through the non competitiveness of the cost of supply so having a legal obligation to increase one of their main costs is certainly not going to help these businesses get the UK economy rolling once more.

The report author Ruth Lea hits the nail firmly on the head when she says

The economy desperately needs a competitive and thriving manufacturing sector if it is to prosper. Competitive energy prices are vital to the success of manufacturers, especially energy intensive users. Government energy policies are, however, remorselessly driving up energy costs thus risking the ‘migration’ of manufacturing plants to economies where the costs are lower.

Of course the UK needs to develop its renewable energy sources to replace the existing power supplies and to cut its emissions greatly but to hit businesses the hardest at these times is not the right answer. Hopefully the new coalition government can come up with an alternative plan. The civitas report can be found here on their website.

The market for business gas supplies is still very competitive and most people will have their gas prices provided by British Gas because they have serviced most small business and commercial owners for many years. And this is still the case today although if you haven’t compared prices and rates for some time now may be a time to undertake this even if you are with British Gas they can still ensure you are on the most competitive tariff available for your business.

• Click here to get an instant online gas quote

Certainly although less companies have this fuel those with both business gas and electric supplies can easily get a business gas comparison quote from all the major provider by either using a specialist broker, using one of the independent online comparison services, going to each gas provider in turn and getting an online quote from their website or by simply calling their account manager or the general customer services telephone numbers.

Reducing your gas costs even further

Much like the domestic market for energy supplies business owners can reduce their costs even further by making a few small  changes to the way they conduct their utility management. Firstly of course like all costs in a business you should seek out new prices each year just to ensure that you are on the latest competitive tariffs. Like electricity rates you’ll likely be placed on a fixed term contract (for at least one year) together with fixed prices (although there are many tariff options that you’ll be presented with when you compare the prices online). Just choose the tariffs that are most suitable for your business.

Other ways to save money are to pay by fixed monthly direct debit much like you do with your home expenditure. This can save you between 2% and 4% each year on your gas and electric costs and is easy to set up and monitor. Most of the major gas providers also provide additional discounts if you take both fuels as a dual fuel contract and your account manager can help you with this.

The energy providers are also keen to reduce the amount of energy your business consumes each year and provider a lot of help and guidance if you are willing to work with them. Their energy efficiency advisers can help you save on electricity and gas consumption by around 10% each year which will in turn reduce the amount your business spends on energy each year.

Getting a quote a switching your gas supplies

As mentioned above it’s easy to get an online quote for gasfor business users then once you have the prices and tariff that is suitable for your commercial requirements the new company will undertake the switching process on your behalf if you are moving providers. If you are staying with your current supplier (for example British Gas) then they will simply send you out a new contract for the new prices and rates which you have agreed to. If switching your supply will be uninterrupted and all the paperwork and processing will be undertaken for you. It’s really easy so why not see if you can save money for your business gas supplies by getting an online quote today.

One of the biggest commitments made under the Labour government was to the EU which said that the UK would generate at least 15% of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2020 – now under 10 years away. The current levels reported in the UK are still in low single figures at around 5-6% depending on what reports you read and with the current recession and cutting back on investment some commentators were wondering exactly how these targets would be met.

New National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP)

However, the new government has been very busy in its first few months and has already submitted a report entitled the new national renewable energy action plan from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) which is a requirement from the EU to detail exactly how these 2020 targets would be met.

Only the UK, Holland, Denmark and Sweden have now submitted their reports out of all the EU members and the UK government says that it is confident of meeting the 15% target.

The overall make up of the renewable energy sources is as follows and totals a massive 38.2 GW and this won’t be all as the report suggests that “we want to go a lot further” :

• Onshore wind farms 14.9 GW
• Offshore wind farms 13.0 GW
• Biomass 4.2 GW
• Solar panels 2.7 GW
• Hydro water power – 2.1 GW
• Wave and tidal power 1.3 GW

One of the interesting facts from the report states that there are no installations producing this kind of power that are waiting to be connected to the national grid although there are projects in development that are seeking connection.

Part of the plans to instigate further investment in these programmes by the government and the private sector is to ramp up the introduction and adoption of feed in tariffs which although are out there are not heavily promoted as yet. This is a scheme where private individuals and businesses get paid directly for the amount of renewable power they generate whether they use it or not. Certainly when you look at the available business electricity suppliersthat are around some of them may produce the green tariffs you are after but recent work looking at carbon offset schemes suggests that you can’t actually say that business A definitely gets their energy from green sources as it simply comes from the national grid rather than directly from a wind turbine (although some of the newer green energy suppliers can guarantee this).

Additionally there is the possibility of extending the projects to run along side the current renewables obligation contracts. The overall plans calls for the following proportions of energy to be from renewable sources; 30% for electricity demand, 12% from heat demand and 10% from transport demand (with the introduction of electric cars and alternative fuels this could certainly be achieved).

But as can be seen from the initial breakdown of where most of this new green source of energy is going to come from it would seem the relentless investment and generation of offshore and onshore wind farms is certainly set to continue and the document goes further in the detail to say that this is a key area for investment and development. There are also many emerging technologies in this section which the government is set to exploit and although these will at first generate very little in the way of renewable energy (such as anaerobic digestion) these may be developed so many years in the future there is a base to work from.

In general (as you would expect) the prices for business commercial premises and cost per kwh are generally higher than if you are a domestic customer trying to get the best tariff for your home. Unfortunately that’s just the way it is but what prices can you expect for electricity and gas supplies for your business ? Here’s a run down of what will affect your kwh cost apart from the supplier you are with but it also depends heavily on your annual energy consumption and where your business is based in the UK :

The costs do vary greatly by :

• The type of business you own
• How much energy you use in a year (the greater volume the better the price)
• If you are a small business or large corporation
• If you have both electricity and gas under a dual fuel contract
• Your current energy provider
• The region your business is within the UK because prices vary around the country

So what kind of price levels should you be looking at ? Although some of the price comparison websites online state you could be getting a contract as low as 2p per kwh for gas and 4p per kwh for electricity this is rarely the case and only the largest of businesses will be able to negotiate low tariffs such as these.

In general for a small or medium sized business it’s going to be anywhere between 7p and 21p per kwh for electricity (because all businesses have an electric supply) and between 2p and 6p for gas.

How do I find the rates and cost for my business ?

The easiest method is to get online quotes and you can get an instant 60 second quote here from British Gas who guarantee to beat your current electric quote by at least 10% – they really want your business so check them out – even if it’s just to rule them out – for a minute of your time you may save your business thousands in energy costs over the next year.

All the other providers except for Southern Electric also have online quoting systems so as long as you have your meter number and your business postcode you can get quotes right now and see the types and range of tariffs they have to offer.

Changing your supplier

You need to be able to change your contract and the terms and conditions contained within it will say when you are able to do this. Check your contract and see if you qualify (although there is no harm in getting quotes today). For micro business owners the rules have slightly changed with a new ofgem rule for new contracts taken out after 18th January 2010 which means your provider must inform you your contract is coming to an end 60 to 120 days before it does and then provide you at least 30 days to switch or renew.

This change came about because of what is know as roll over contracts where providers would let your existing contract expire then put you on a new one without notice and normally at higher rates. So this practice is slowly changing.

If you get your cost per kwh and are not happy with the rates you have been provided with then it’s always worth calling the provider and seeing if you can negotiate the prices down further. Certainly you will have success if you are moving from your existing supplier to a new one as the old “new customers only” discounts generally apply.

If you have never switched your business electricity or gas supplies then now may be a time to do this and choosing a trusted and professional organisation such as British Gas who have many awards and the Crystal Mark accreditation for their services you can not really go wrong. 

If you have been searching around and got some quotes then British Gas will guarantee to beat that quote by at least 10%. You can get an instant online quote here from the British Gas website to see what their prices and rates are no matter what size your business is. They can provide tariffs for micro and small business owners as well as larger corporations.

Switching Your Supply to British Gas

If you are currently under contract from another provider or even have electricity from British Gas at the moment then it’s always wise to check the current prices of all energy companies and you can do this yourself by visiting all the various providers websites or use a broker / price comparison website service. Once you have your quote then it’s easy to switch and British Gas will do all this on your behalf and it doesn’t take long.

Getting an online quote just takes the time to key in your company information so make sure that you have your electricity and gas meter numbers to hand as well as your postcode. Once these are entered you’ll be shown the various tariff rates on offer and have an opportunity to sign up online there and then. There are many types of tariffs that you will be offered and these will include the new green renewable energy contracts where all your electricity is powered from sources that produce no CO2 and could exempt you from the climate change levy on businesses as well. Just check with British Gas to see if these tariffs qualify.

Your new contract

You will only be able to switch from your current contract if you are able to terminate it within the terms that are contained within it. Usually there is a small notice period that you have to adhere to and if you are in this time limit then you are free to change. And as British Gas offer some of the cheapest tariffs and prices on the market place this could be a good time to check to see if the rates they offer are better than what you are already provided with.

British Gas actually pride themselves on delivering first class customer service to its business customers and offer a vast array of services apart from standard energy supplies. These also include boiler maintenance and repairs, energy efficiency solutions, smart meter management and free reports on your own usage and how to save more money and help with generating and earning your own energy. As part of their overall service their dedicated business account managers will also help you save around 10% of your annual energy consumption thus saving even more money for your business. So check out their rates online from their website and get a quote in under 60 seconds today.

The headline news is that excellent progress has been made and out of the original 100 commitments contained in the plan 62 have already been achieved. The biggest headlines from this announcement is that the overall company energy efficiency has improved by 19% and they have cut their carbon emissions by 8%.

Marks and Spencer Plan A

The Plan A programme which was launched store wide and saw in-store advertising informing customers of the overall aims of the scheme started in 2007 and is a 5 year plan until 2012. Other headlines from this interim report from Marks and Spencers include :

• waste sent to landfill sites each year has fallen by 33%
• green renewable electricity tariffs make up 40% of the energy sourced
• overall packaging on garments has reduced by 36%
• 72% of wood used in products is recycled or Forest Stewardship Council
• refrigeration emissions reduced by 18%

And that’s for the environmental elements of the program but this also covers the healthier aspects of our lives and the project achievements for this side include :

• 38% of the food product range is made up of healthier foods
• 91% of all food products meet the FSA salt reduction targets
• community projects marks and spencer are involved in received £13.2 million last year

How does the Plan A work day today

The programme is all encompassing and covers a huge range of issues that the staff and management of Marks and Spencer are now achieving. Since the launch of the plan in 2007 the overall floor space for sales has reduced by 20% which comes from a variety of efficiency measures including the efficiency of delivery vans and lorries.

M&S also launched their Marks and Spencer energy program where they sell gas and electricity onto their customers and over 300,000 of their customers have signed up. The beauty of this particular tariff is that each unit of electricity used is matched by purchasing a unit of renewable energy which is given back to the national grid to use for other customers. In addition there are incentives for customers to reduce the amount of consumption they make.

Moving on from this all M&S employees were offered the chance to receive free loft or wall insulation for their homes and the M&S energy product also offers insulation services to their customers.

Reducing waste is also top of the agenda under plan A and they now have a zero waste to landfill simply food store in Bristol and over 33% of landfill waste has been reduced from all stores. In addition they have re-used 76% of their coat hangers and recycled the rest. Overall non glass packaging is also reduced by 20%.

The world’s most sustainable retailer….

Sir Stuart Rose the current chairman is not standing still either. The plan A has recently been expanded with a further 80 commitments added with the ultimate goal of being the world’s most sustainable retailer by 2015. Added to this in 2009 M&S were certified by the Carbon Trust for the standard of measuring, managing and reducing its carbon footprint. We wish Marks and Spencers all the best in continuing this excellent work on energy efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions.

So many large businesses around the UK quite rightly have stand by generators at the ready to come into play if their main power fails to keep their company operational for IT systems or other key manufacturing plants. These are vital to most businesses but for many they just sit and do nothing because the energy supply is stable and dependable so most companies don’t use their back up generators at all.

So what if you could plug these into the national grid for others to use when there’s a national requirement for emergency power ?

Well now you can as a new company Flexitricity Limited based in Scotland can hook you up to the national grid and pay you if your generating power is utilised.

Why is this different and why does the national grid need these ?

The balancing of the requirement for electricity is a tricky business because it can not be stored and needs to be generated at the time of requirement. Having coal generators on standby is a costly business and CO2 emissions are always there even if the electric is not needed so this new method sees perhaps thousands of mini generators on standby and they get started if there’s a national or local requirement for immediate power.

Because local generators are in effect just sitting idle no CO2 is used just because they are there. And to be honest if there were just a few in this scheme they would not make any difference so having one company such as flexitricity combining many thousands of generators together and connecting them to the national grid this scheme really can make a difference.

The services on offer

There are two main and other services that flexitricity can offer your business as follows :

• short term operating reserve or STORfor short is the national grid’s short term key reserve pool – this is manages for securing the UK’s demand for electricity in real time and is manage from all the sources available. Most requirements from this system occur during standard peak hours of 7am to 10.30pm during the business day and evenings. This is the most popular and common type of contract with demand from your company running at around 60 minutes at any one time. Of course the agreement can be tailored but this has the largest incremental revenue with the lowest impact on generator run hours
• Triad management – is a system for triad charges typically during system peaks in the cold winter months during 4.30pm and 6.30pm and are not known in advance although can be forecast. A triad charge simply means electricity usage at peak times and the charges are passed onto the business by the energy supplier. Because these peaks occur there is a requirement for additional load from the national grid and your company can opt into the triad management scheme but would need to opt out of the STOR scheme
•  There are of course other opportunities available not covered by the two options above

The flexitricity system is at the moment unique in the UK so if your business generates it’s own electricity from either new renewable sources (which have their own feed in tariffs in any case) or has stand by generators or CHP systems then this may be a method to unlock a new revenue stream.

The last 10 years saw massive investment of nearly £1billion into the renewable energy sector and with higher taxes on vehicles and other polluting structures in an effort to reduce emissions and hit EU targets.

There were two main targets to hit – one to have 15% of all energy to come from renewable energy sources such as water, solar and biomass and to reduce carbon emissions by an eye watering 80% by 2050. The new report from the new national audit office now says these are completely unrealistic and unachievable.

Between 2000 and 2009 there was £265 million spend in direct aid and a further £1 billion in regulatory and fiscal action but even so the method of collecting the data to see if this investment has paid off is poor and may be difficult to see a real return on investment in any area.

The new conservative and liberal democratic government is reviewing how investment is being targeted and the results to date to see even if the European model of subsidies is the right way forward and whether changing policies at this stage may make any targets achievable. Currently the model used in Europe pays above market rates for electricity that is derived from solar power or wind farms.

The latest data from 2008 suggests that the UK generates just 2.3% of its electrical energy from renewable sources so the target to have 15% by 2020 looks completely over optimistic.

However changes in the UK economy through the recession has marginally helped as the demand for energy is forecast to reduce by around 1.5% by the end of this year with the reduced use of coal powered electricity which is one of the most expensive to produce. A report from Cambridge Econometrics predicts that the UK will also miss its legal target to reduce CO2 emissions by 34% by 2020.

In another report published today by the British Property Federation in conjunction with Taylor Wessing and research firm Spada who surveyed over 7,000 individuals they also say that the government’s current zero carbon targets for the development industry are realistic. The report titled “hitting the green wall, and beyond” key findings also say that :

• the sector is sceptical of the governments green policy objectives
• that 73% of the respondents believe the plans to make the commercial property sector zero carbon (neutral) by 2019 are unrealistic
• and 76% think the overall plans by the government to make all new housing zero carbon neutral by 2016 are also unrealistic

Of course people in the industry would say this but if there were no targets or incentives to make change nothing would happen. Building carbon efficient homes is just one way in which to reduce CO2 emissions and this is just one segment in the whole case for reducing overall emissions from the UK.

But Liz Peace, Chief Executive of the British Property Federation, said: “With an industry that is sceptical about carbon reduction targets, closer collaboration between Government and the industry is essential if these are to be met. Government will need to work with all sectors to understand fragmented views and identify why certain sectors feel the targets are more achievable than others.

“Government faces a huge challenge in striking the right balance between ‘carrot’ and ’stick’ in order to secure its sustainability objectives, whilst the industry must engage as much as possible and attempt to meet and exceed targets. An inconsistent approach to regulation and its implementation, or the setting of targets that are perceived as unachievable, is likely to impact negatively on the delivery of the sustainability agenda by the industry.”