Business Gas and Electricity News

Farm Energy Saving Tips - Why and How to Compare Business Electricity Prices

21 April 2017

Farm Energy Saving Tips - Why and How to Compare Business Electricity Prices

Another way to reduce the cost of energy on your farm is to make sure you get the best possible price for your electricity. There are a lot of steps involved in achieving this, but the crucial element is to compare business electricity prices.

Why Compare Business Electricity Prices

The commercial electricity market in the UK varies from day to day – offers available today might not be available tomorrow. The only way you’ll know what is available when you’re ready to buy is to compare the market.

In addition, the price differences between suppliers and tariffs can be significant. In fact, making sure you’re on the right tariff with the right supplier could save you hundreds or even thousands of pounds per year, depending on the size of your operations and what you use electricity for.

You do have other options, of course. For example, you could stay with your current supplier, even though you’re at the end of your contract. This would mean going onto an out of contract rate or starting a rollover contract. In both situations, you will almost always pay more compared to researching what’s available on the market and, if necessary, switching supplier.

How to Compare Business Electricity Prices

Start the process by reviewing the terms of your current contract. Key questions you should find out include:

• When is the end date?
• What are the termination terms and how much notice do you have to give?
• What rates do you pay for electricity?

Next, review your bills to find out how much energy you use on your farm. This will mainly be to operate equipment, pumping, and lighting. You should also think about your plans for the future: over the next one to three years do you have plans for your farm that will either increase or decrease the amount of energy you use?

The next stage is to compile a list of electricity suppliers you will contact. The amount will depend on the time you have available, but you should aim for at least five plus one of the online price comparison tools. It’s important you do both as you can sometimes get better deals by going to suppliers direct, plus some suppliers do not offer prices on the comparison services.

Then you need to contact each supplier to get quotes. You will often have to do this over the phone but some give you the option of getting a quote online. You should always phone the suppliers giving you the best deals, however, to see if you can get better terms or a larger discount.

The things you should compare when looking at the quotes you have is the rate offered, the length of the contract, and any discounts that are available.