Micro Business Electricity Prices and Tariffs
If you run a very small business now termed a micro business it’s easy to get cheap electricity from the major energy providers in the UK.
For all intents and purposes a micro business is defined by the EU as one having less than 10 employees or a turnover less than £1.8 million (actually defined as €2million) so that would cover most small business in the UK. Recently ofgem made changes in the contract terms that energy suppliers provide to these micro businesses so that the renewal and switching of contracts is now made clearer and the energy supplier must communicate that a contract is coming up for renewal.
Previously and with non micro business contracts the time for switching or negotiating a new contract may have been hidden in lengthy terms and contracts would be automatically renewed for another year so it was difficult to switch. The change made is for new contracts and is not retrospective.
Micro Business Electricity Tariffs Available
All tariffs mainly termed SME or small business contracts and tariffs are available from the main 6 gas and electricity providers in the UK and that would include British Gas, EDF, Eon, Scottish and Southern and if you are in Wales SWALEC.
Most micro business customers will probably have their electricity and gas already supplied by British Gas and it’s worth getting an online quote with BG even if they are your current provider. Additionally no matter what quote you receive (and even if you have received a contract for next year) telephone their account managers and attempt to get the pricing down.
To do this you should get quotes from the other energy companies and BG will normally bring their pricing in line if they are cheaper.
Brokers or online quotes ?
There are many website brokering companies offering to guarantee you the lowest quote but beware they that may simply be a pushing customer service telesales operation and they will do anything to get you to sign up to a contract because they receive fees from the energy companies to undertake this.
You can easily get online quotes yourself by simply selecting the business option from the energy companies websites and keying in a few details about yourself, your business and your energy usage. You’ll need your meter reference number so that the online systems can see what your consumption has been for the previous years so you can receive the right quotes.
Choosing the right tariff for your micro business
Once you have got quotes from the energy companies you are ready to choose. You’ll have likely received a fixed price quote for a fixed term as this is how most business energy prices are calculated. Depending on what is happening with wholesale prices it can be difficult to decide how long to commit a contract for. Our advice is probably to go for a one year contract length although most providers can offer up to a 3 year contract with fixed pricing.
Some tariffs may come with a standing charge which means you will pay a fixed amount no matter how much electricity you use whilst others will have a split tariff so that the initial units are charged at a higher rate then once you have used those a reduced unit price comes into effect. It really depends on how much electric your business uses as to whether a standing charge or not is right for you.
You will probably also be offered a green tariff whereby electric comes directly from renewable sources such a solar or wind power. Currently these will be a little more expensive but you will know that your electric power is not producing carbon emissions and you could be exempt from the carbon offset tax which can save more for your micro business (although most small businesses won’t fall into the brackets because of the low usage).
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