Why should you use a Business Energy Brokerage?

Most businesses, especially those with multisite requirements, will consider their energy bills a major overhead for their businesses. Energy brokers estimate that energy costs are often the second or third biggest expense in a business operation. It’s a good financial decision for these businesses to consider ways to keep energy costs low.

For many businesses, a simple solution to reduce energy costs is to switch business energy supplier. A switch to a new supplier often provides better tariff rates than your previous business energy supplier.

But the business energy market is complex, and rates with suppliers can vary day-by-day. This is why it’s common to instruct an energy broker with established links to suppliers to act on your behalf.

Working alongside energy suppliers, energy brokers are able to help all businesses, from those who are new to the market, or those who are large-scale multisite corporations. There are always many different variables to consider in an ever-changing industry and finding the most suitable deal requires a significant time investment – something most businesses simply cannot afford.

What is an energy broker?

Energy brokers work with energy suppliers directly, using established relationships to help customers receive a better energy deal than they would have achieved on their own.

To make sure that the customer receives the best energy deal, an energy broker will communicate and negotiate on a customer’s behalf, and in return, will receive a commission from the total energy consumed.

Do energy brokers work with businesses?

Yes. A business energy broker helps businesses compare business energy prices from a wide range of business energy suppliers with whom they have established relationships. This then helps the customer receive more favourable terms than they could have achieved independently.

It’s common for businesses to use a business energy broker to save on time and money when securing a new energy deal. Brokers also help to speed up the process of switching, especially for businesses with complex meter requirements or businesses with half-hourly meters installed

What specialist services do business energy brokers offer?

There’s always a range of different services available through an energy broker. Businesses can receive specialist advice on anything from managing energy consumption to guidance on new energy legislation.

But what are some of the specialist services offered by energy brokers?

Reducing Energy Cost and Energy Consumption

In the current state of the energy market, with variation in energy supply and a globalpandemic to contend with, commercial energy procurement and purchasing can be complex and hard to navigate.

Energy brokers can provide professional and experienced procurement strategies for bespoke requirements, giving you access to a huge network of business energy suppliers.

Working on established relationships within the industry, energy brokers are able to find solutions to help businesses cut cost, consumption and carbon.

Other professional energy services range from the negotiation of energy supply contracts, evaluation of supply proposals, development of energy procurement and risk management strategies through to on-going account management for the life of your secured contract.

Instant access to a broad market

When you’re comparing offers through an energy broker, you’ll have instant access toa wide range of business energy suppliers which cannot be aggregated elsewhere. This gives you the confidence to know you’re getting the best access to the market. It also means that your business won’t need to endure the time-consuming process of calling each supplier individually to obtain and compare business gas and electricity rates yourself.

Easy administration and paperwork

Once you’ve instructed an energy broker to oversee your business energy switch, they’ll also handle the administration and paperwork too. You won’t need to actually communicate with your supplier as your handover will be managed by your broker.

Once you’ve instructed an energy broker to oversee your business energy switch, they’ll also handle the administration and paperwork too. You won’t need to actually communicate with your supplier as your handover will be managed by your broker.

Larger energy consultancies even go a step further and provide your business with its own Business Account Manager who will work with you throughout the duration of your energy contract. They’ll be your main point of contact if you ever have queries about business energy.

Industry knowledge and experience

Sometimes it’s difficult to break down your energy bill. Jargon, numbers and codes are all used frequently on bills, all leading to confusion. When trying to contact someone to speak about your energy bill, the process can be quite long-winded. All of this is eliminated with an energy broker.

If you use an energy broker, you’ll have immediate access to industry knowledge, and if you have a Business Account Manager, you’ll receive expert advice immediately. They’ll be able to validate your bills, answer your questions or even contact your supplier to resolve any issues you’re having.

Renewal reminders

It’s all too common for businesses to forget their renewal date and move into costly rollover contracts on their business energy. According to the Federation of Small Businesses, 46% of businesses don’t even consider cheaper energy options when their current business energy contracts expire.

By using an energy broker though, you’ll receive a timely reminder of your renewal, be given guidance on the market at that time and most importantly, receive options towards the end of your business energy contract. This service prevents costly rollover rates and means you never have to overpay for your business energy.

Energy management advice

The landscape of the energy industry has long been without technology. But in recent years, there has been a profound technological awakening resulting in complex energy metering, monitoring and management systems which are helping businesses make transformational changes to their energy cost and consumption.

It’s a necessary step for businesses to evaluate where they are with their net zero ambitions. It’s vital to modernise their approach to energy management through innovation

Using an energy specialist like Global Procurement Group, of which BusinessEnergyQuotes.com is a subsidiary, you get the benefit of energy brokerage and energy management technologies for your business. You could benefit from a range of cloud-based non-intrusive software, along with IoT connected metering devices which allow you to analyse your energy consumption down to per second granularity.

It’s perhaps the most impactful solution for high intensity energy users, and the solution which provides the greatest opportunity for energy and cost saving.

How to compare business energy brokers

It’s much faster to use an energy broker to compare business energy suppliers than it is to find quotes independently. It saves you from having to contact each potential supplier and negotiate over the phone.

When you start your comparison with an energy broker, you’ll need to share a few details to begin:

• Your current energy supplier
• Your average monthly bill

Using this data, your business energy broker will then provide you with a wide range of energy contract options from their panel of business energy suppliers. Larger consultancies will give you greater supplier choice, which increases the potential for greater savings.

Your energy broker will get in touch with you once they’ve compared offers and found your best deal.

You’ll then be asked to sign a Letter of Authority (LoA), which gives your energy broker the ability to handle the administration of the switching process between your old and new suppliers.

The pros and cons of using business energy brokers

It’s possibly the most commonly asked question regarding business energy brokers: what are the pros and cons?

Pros

Understand the market

If you’re working closely with a business energy broker, they’ll help you navigate the market. You’ll learn about your business energy profile and get a thorough overview of the industry when it comes to finding the best energy prices.

Industry knowledge

When you’re connected to an energy broker, you’ll be given advice and feedback throughout the duration of your contract. You’ll also be made aware of industry specific best practices, allowing you to make energy and cost-efficient savings

Contract securely

Running a business is a very time-consuming endeavour. It doesn’t always leave time to stay on top of admin, especially when it comes to contract end dates. Energy brokers make this a priority. It’s their job to know when your contract is ending and to protect you from costly rollover contracts. Your energy broker will be able to provide you with options for your renewal ahead of time.

Save money

Energy brokers, depending on their size and reputation, will work with a wide range of suppliers. These relationships give energy brokers access to favourable prices on Unit Rates and Standing Charges. it’s because of this that it’s often cheaper to go through an energy broker than it is to be independent.

Whether you’re a start-up or an established company, your time is valuable and is better served driving business growth than comparing energy prices. By working with a business energy broker, they’ll do all the legwork for you, finding you the best deals while you focus your attention where it needs to be.

Save time

Time is a valuable asset for any business, from local start-ups to multinational corporations. Your time is more valuable when it’s spent on your business. You don’twant to be calling energy companies to look for the best price on your renewal. An energy broker can do this for you, giving you time back for your business.

Cons

The full picture

While it’s true that the larger energy brokers can give you access to a wide range of suppliers, no single energy broker can work with every energy supplier in the industry. Some suppliers only provide very bespoke fuels and so you’ll need to ensure you give your energy broker the full picture of what your requirements are before going ahead with them.

You still need to decide

You’ll still need to make the final decision on how you get your energy. Even though a good business energy broker can compare favourable energy prices, the final decision on which energy broker you use, or don’t use, rests with you. You’ll need tomake sure you’re happy with your broker before you go ahead. It’s best to ask for the additional services you will receive with your broker. More additional services is usually a good indication that your energy broker will be working alongside you to help you cut your costs.

Our energy broker services

BusinessEnergyQuotes.com is a sister company of Northern Gas and Power, the UK’s largest energy consultancy. Northern Gas and Power provide energy services to over 20,000 customers, and contract a huge 30 TWhs of energy, more than the total annual consumption of Ireland

Northern Gas and Power has extensive experience in delivering first-class aftercare and customer services. Our ethos is to make business energy an effortless and efficient process to help business energy customers secure the best business energy deal.

With Northern Gas and Power’s experience and expertise, we’re able to offer our customers excellent terms on energy contracts, as well as a wide range of additional services ranging from energy audits to flexible purchasing.

Part of the Global Procurement Group portfolio, Northern Gas and Power is able to provide a range of support above and beyond our core competencies, to help your business better understand, control and use its energy.

Over the last decade, we have built the in-house expertise over a range of services including auditing, energy efficiency and legislation, that can be tailored to help your business with a range of energy strategies.

Get in touch with us today to find out more.