Business Electricity From First Utility Review
A new company in the business energy market is a group called First Utility who offer electricity and gas supplies around the UK. Here’s our review of this new start up company.
First Utility is a new company that buys energy in the form of electricity and gas from other providers on the wholesale market and supplies that directly to business customers. With this company your business can also benefit from having a smart meter installed so that your meter readings are sent automatically to First Utility Group and you can analyse and read the information either via their website or other software options such as the new Google Power Meter (which means you can access the data from your desktop via your Google Account – First Utility are currently the only company in the UK to partner in this manner).
Types of Business Contracts
There are two main types of contracts you can have from this group rather like other business electricity suppliers and they are either for one or three years with fixed priced terms.
- One or two year fixed priced standard contract – this means your prices are fixed for one year. The standard terms for this contract are to pay monthly by direct debit although other payment options are available but you’ll pay a premium.
- Three year contract where prices are fixed for 3 years
Both of these come with a free installation of a smart meter so your readings are read automatically every 30 minutes and the data is available in your online account to analyse. Once you have been with First Utility for 12 months then other potential tariffs are on offer that may have one, two or three different rates depending on the time you use the electricity. You’ll also get the services of an account manager and this company is based in the UK.
What Else about First Utility ?
Their fuel mix is slightly different from other energy companies in that they rely a lot on nuclear power stations and less on renewable energy supplies so if this is an issue for your business you may want to look elsewhere. The smart meters are installed within 60 days of your initial contract so you won’t get data about your consumption figures straight away. These require a strong signal to be able to transmit the data back to First Utility so if you are in a weak signal areas some modifications may need to take place. Power to your offices will also be switched off for about an hour whilst the installation takes place.
First Utility is a new company and there is some concern on the internet forums about customer services interaction with customers but this appears to be more with domestic use. It is always worth getting a quote for electricity and gas to compare with the other suppliers and perhaps discussing options with your business colleagues if they are a First Utility customer so they can give you first hand experience of this company and ask if they would recommend them for business electricity.
Save on Business Energy
Find the cheapest business electricity prices online.
Other Articles of Interest