Energy Brokers Industry News

Commercial Smart Meters:

A business smart meter could change your view forever on your business energy.  With long term commercial electricity costs set to increase, as the economy slowly creeps out of recession, and the impending start of the government’s carbon reduction scheme in April, it’s never been a better time to consider the benefits of smart metering.

Typical  Smart Meter Customer

Smart meters in their simplest format can bring an end to estimated bills for businesses.  Currently commercial energy suppliers are only required to obtain a meter reading once every two years, and if you are unfortunate enough to have an over or under estimate, it could have a serious impact on your business cash flow.

If you have been underestimated you could be asked to pay the outstanding balance immediately, or in some cases you may be required to set up a payment plan.  This could also prevent you from transferring to a different supplier if there was an outstanding debt on your account.

Overpaying during these two years, could mean that the supplier could owe you a considerable sum of money.  This could have been better utilised within the business or earning additional interest, as the supplier will credit any overpayments within a matter of weeks, but they won’t give you any interest on this amount.

To avoid the pain of estimated bills you can always provide your supplier with regular meter readings, or you could replace your current electricity meter with an electricity smart meter.  As well as the benefit of accurate billing you could also benefit from the ability of understanding how your energy has been used and by identifying simple changes companies can often save up to 10% of their energy bills, which would offset the original purchase price.

Smart meter suppliers have recently reported a large increase in smart meter orders this year.  The increase has been attributed to companies preparing for the Carbon Reduction Commitment energy efficiency scheme (CRC), which comes into force next month.

Under the scheme, organisations such as supermarkets, hotels, hospitals, local authorities and central government departments and others that typically spend £500k on electricity, must monitor their energy consumption levels, and then calculate their total carbon emissions. An annual league table will then rank all participants, according to their energy efficiency performance.

The installation of a smart meter which can then provide half hourly reports on your energy consumption levels, will earn businesses extra credits under the CRC scheme, which will assist them in moving up the CRC league table.

Technology has improved and the cost of smart metering has come down again over the last 12-months making it viable for even the smallest of companies.

To learn more about smart meters and how they can benefit your business, contact a member of our business smart metering team today or subscribe for news updates on smart meters here.

Commercial LED Light Benefits:

10 Benefits of Commercial LED Lights

Energy efficiency has become a priority for small businesses and large corporations with many investing big in new highly efficient technologies that can help them reduce their energy costs as well as their carbon footprint.

When we talk about energy efficiency nowadays we can’t go by without mentioning LED lights. Over the past few years Commercial LED Lighting has become the most cost effective commercial lighting system capable of generating savings of up to 90% on business electricity bills.

Today we will list some of the major benefits that LED lighting can bring to your business.

Commercial LED Lighting Benefits

1.    Reductions of between 60% and 90% off your current electricity lighting bill.
2.    Reduction in annual maintenance costs of between 70% and 90%.
3.    Low Energy Consumption
4.    Helping your business to achieve your Carbon Reduction Commitments.
5.    Improved performance of your lighting with reduced noise and heat output.
6.    Potential to secure zero interest funding for the purchase of our solutions from The Carbon Trust.
7.    Efficiency: LED light produce more light per watt than incandescent and halogen bulbs
8.    Lifespan: LED lights last on average 50,000 hours, that is 5 times as long as the best fluorescent bulbs, and up to 30 times longer than halogen bulbs
9.    Shock Resistance: Incandescent and fluorescent bulbs are very fragile; LED lights are made with solid state components making it difficult to break with external shock.
10.    Toxicity: LEDs do not contain mercury, unlike fluorescent lamps.

UK Commercial Gas Prices:

With UK commercial gas prices at a current low, and on the day that E.ON announced that its going to cut gas prices to its residential customers following significant drops in the price of wholesale gas.  We decided to take a quick look at the current commercial gas prices and the current key market drivers effecting commercial gas prices.

Gas is a daily traded futures commodity, and much like the stock market, the price of wholesale gas is very unpredictable and can be extremely volatile as demonstrated in the last few years.

Current business gas prices are at a low, mainly driven by excess supply, and with the market coping so well during the recent high demands for the coldest winter in 31-years, there is a likelihood that it will do the same next winter, when it is likely not going to be as cold.  This has led to growing optimism over future supplies for next winter and with further LNG gas imports expected throughout the year, this has given the market plenty of confidence now ready for next winter.

With current UK day ahead gas prices hovering around the 33p/therm mark, and with summer 2010 prices around the same level, winter 2010 at the 40p/therm mark,  it’s in stark contrast to previous year’s gas price history.  But as we already know the market is highly volatile and small things can make a big difference in this market place.

With industrial action at the South Hook terminal postponed until the end of March and potentially further bouts of winter weather due,  will the current low stock levels cope if there is a sudden high demand again.

As the UK economy recovers, there is a growing feeling that future gas prices will begin to trend upwards, with increased demand factors.   With this increased demand will come increased volatility, further increasing the risk for businesses buying commercial gas.

To combat any future price rises, you may think that it would be sensible to buy early and as far forward as possible at this stage.   But with new flexible ways of purchasing gas, this may not be the best thing to do.

With new risk managed approaches to commercial gas purchasing direct from the wholesale market,  this allows you to fix prices upfront, but still have the flexibility to improve them as the market moves.  These new flexible gas products are great, but this is of course still no guarantee to the getting the lowest gas price.  But unlike a traditional contract you do get the opportunity to try.

Of course, no one has a crystal ball but we do have the benefit of hindsight, which is important in benchmarking what could happen in the future.  It’s therefore important that your commercial gas is managed ongoing in order for your business to make informed decision in the future.

Commercial LED Lights:

Despite the huge benefits of commercial LED lights – namely long life, high efficiency and a 60 per cent energy saving on conventional lights, the UK has proved a slow adopter.   But takeup is accelerating and with  energy efficiency high on the agenda, we expect the demand for LED lighting to increase significantly over the coming years.

Eco Specialists becomes Catalyst’s preferred energy partner

In our continued bid to help our customers benefit from reduced costs and meet their Carbon Reduction Commitments, we are delighted to announce a new strategic alliance with Redditch based company Eco Specialists.  Eco Specialists specialise in the provision of the latest in energy efficient LED lighting that is proven to significantly reduce commercial lighting costs and improve your carbon footprint.

The solutions provided by Eco Specialists enable businesses to benefit from immediate cost savings and in many cases there is absolutely no capital outlay because loans can be secured from The Carbon Trust.  If your business has lighting on for more than 12 hours a day, Eco Specialists solutions can help your company to benefit from:

• Up to 90% saving on your lighting bills
• Reductions in annual maintenance of your bulbs of between 70% and 90%
• Complete Installation service
• Assistance in securing a zero interest Carbon Trust loan
• No capital outlay
• Real cost savings from day one
• Reduction in your businesses carbon footprint

Eco Specialists have recently helped PJS Mouldings to make savings of £160,000 over the next five years.  The implementation took just 3 days and thanks to a loan from The Carbon Trust PJS has no capital outlay, in fact they were cash positive on day one:

“PJS Moulding is a forward thinking, growing business.  We continually strive to drive down running costs, improve our processes and consider the impact we have on the environment.  Engaging Eco Specialists to replace our existing outdated lighting was a simple, hassle-free process.  We are now benefitting from new sustainable lighting, long term lower running costs and without having had to find any cash to do it.  It’s a win-win situation!”

Phil Smith, Managing Director of PJS Mouldings

LED LIGHTS THE FACTS:

• 80% reduction in lighting costs
• Saving £14,000 in energy bills in year one
• Savings of over £57,000 in energy costs over 5 years
• Savings of over £12,000 in maintenance costs
• Cash positive of £12,800 by end of year one
• 212 replacement tubes using the latest energy saving LED lights
• 3 days to install
• Interest free loan secured from The Carbon Trust ensured no capital outlay
• True daylight colour enabled more accurate colour recognition for machinists
• PJS lighting used 18 hours each day
• Supply, installation and maintenance all provided by Eco Specialists

To find out how your company can benefit from similar savings call Paul Maddox on 0845 366 6969, email catalyst@ecospecialists.co.uk or click here for further information on our commercial LED lights.

UK Energy Brokers:

UK Energy Brokers could have a brand new product to market soon to the commercial energy market, because on the day that British Gas gets rapped over record profits, a brand new energy saving product is released in the United States.

A Silicon Valley based company called Bloom Energy, has finally launched its new commercial energy brokers product the Bloom Energy Server, that could change the way companies buy business energy in the future.  The Bloom Energy Server is a large metal box about the size of a small van, which can generate electricity from a wide range of different fuels, and at the same time producing very low greenhouse gas emissions.  This could be a new type of renewable energy source, and unlike traditional renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar panels, each solution produces a constant source of energy for years, which could allow companies to be self sustaining or even disconnect themselves from the national grid.

What Is The Bloom Box

The product that has been dubbed the “power plant in a box”, is in fact a new type of large fuel cell, capable of generating 100 kilowatts of electricity, which uses solid oxide fuel cells, which generate electrical power through an electrochemical reaction between oxygen and an additional fuel such as natural gas, ethanol gas and even landfill gas, which causes electrons in the cell to flow through the ceramic materials which in turn generates an electrical current to power businesses or homes.

The Future Market – The shape of things to come

Will this new product be the start of the end for traditional forms of energy generation, and could this lead eventually to every business and home having there very own mini power plant on site.  Well only time will tell, for the time being this product remains out of the price range of most small businesses, and its long term viability and reliability remain to be seen.  

We would like to see how the market takes to this new product over the coming months and what rival competitors now bring to the market following this launch.  This new technology, like anything will develop over time and once mass produced, we will see the cost point come down to a level that makes it viable for everyone.  We don’t expect this to ever be a perfect solution but it could make a big difference to future generations and go along way to a reliable and sustainable form of energy.

In Summary

With the pending introduction of the UK carbon reduction commitment scheme, it is highly likely that we are going to see a big uptake in these new types of technology as business energy brokers look to advice clients on reducing their overall carbon emissions in the future.  Many questions on the reliability and the long term value of this product remain to be seen.  However we look forward to seeing what happens in the future, and what additional technology breakthroughs bring to the market.

Identifying a Half Hour Meter:

How to find out if you have a half hourly meter –

So how do you know if you have a half hour meter?  It’s actually quite straight forward, and all you will need to find this out is a recent copy of your electricity bill.  It doesn’t have to be the latest half hourly electricity invoice, any recent bill will do.  Then on your invoice you need to find your meter point reference number or MPAN for short.  This is a numerical version of your tariff and supply point details, and is unique to your supply.

This is how half hourly suppliers’ mange to identify your supply details and price up your electricity requirements.  The MPAN is a series of numbers, normally in a box and usually identified with a large S at the front.  In nearly all cases theses number are split up into two lines with 8 numbers at the top and 13 numbers at the bottom.

Youtube - How to find out if you have a Half Hourly meter?

The bottom line is the part that’s unique to your half hour supply, and this is how your supply details are used by a supplier.  It’s actually the top part that allows you to identify if you have a half hourly meter.

And you need to look at the first two digits of this top line, if these two digits are both zeros then you have a half hourly supplied meter and you will need to speak to a specialist half hourly supplier such as Catalyst in order to obtain comparative quotes.

If these two numbers are not “00” then it will be one of these – “03,04,05,06,07,08” which indicate that you have a non half hourly meter or NHH supply.  In some cases if you have a very small supply then it may fall into a domestic meter profile which is indicated as a “01 or 02” on your bills.

The thing to note here is that if your not sure if you have a half hourly supplied meter, then you can always just ring your supplier and ask them.  Some suppliers deliberately don’t show the top line on invoices any more for exactly that reason.  As it offers a reason for you to engage with them, and gives them the ability to up sell additional services.

If you want to compare half hourly suppliers or need help in identifying if you have a half hourly meter, please feel free to contact a member of our team.

UK Business Gas Suppliers:

UK business gas suppliers will be happy today after the announcement from Ofgem that it has issued the first ever license to build a new gas storage facility under the Irish Sea.  It is reported that over twenty redundant salt caverns will be used to store UK gas supplies for future use. 

Each one will be approximately the size of the Royal Albert Hall and will go along way towards increasing the storage capacity for the UK gas market.  It is estimated that the caverns could hold about five days of gas consumption, which would add about a third on to the existing 11-days current capacity.

They are a common geological feature naturally filled with salt, which will be leached out, leaving space for gas to be pumped in. Such caverns are already used on land.

Recent supply and demand situations such as the recent cold weather have helped to highlight the issues regarding the lack of gas storage in the UK.  And with more dependence on abundant healthy gas supplies to supply gas fired power stations it couldn’t have come at a better time for large commercial gas users.

Business Gas customers have been recently been effected by the lack of storage when their gas supplies were cut off last month to divert the supply to energy generators to ensure we had enough supply of electricity.

The government along with the regulator Ofgem, have been aware that the lack of gas has been one of the biggest threats to the UK’s energy security.

This project may help to encourage other companies to invest in long term commercial gas storage which would help to ease supply and demand factors that have a strong influence on uk gas prices.

Do you think we should have more gas storage in the UK?

UK Business Gas Prices:

Business Gas Prices can be difficult to understand, as there are many different types of pricing structures available.  You could simply ring around and obtain gas prices direct from suppliers, but it can be difficult to compare gas suppliers once you have the offers in.  They all operate on different time scales, and because the prices vary daily, it can be very difficult comparing business gas suppliers.

To make sure you get the best gas and electricity prices and to enable you to do a gas price comparison it can be easier to employ the service of an energy broker.  They are able to provide prices from a wide range of suppliers and deliver these on the same day, allowing you to make an informed decision.  They will also be able to provide practical advice on the type of contract and the length of contract that best suits your business gas requirements.

While the recent nationwide freeze has dominated the headlines it has also highlighted the fact that gas is increasingly being promoted as a clean fossil fuel and the best way to cut emissions.  Gas fired power stations; for example, emit approximately half the carbon emissions of equivalent coal-fired ones.

But politicians are worried that the ongoing increasing reliance on gas imports from countries such as Russia is threatening our own security of supply.  Perhaps additional gas storage in the UK would help ease any further concerns. 

But one thing is for certain, and that UK gas prices will remain volatile driven by key market drivers that effect gas prices such as supply and demand, geopolitical tensions and the weather. By engaging the services of a UK gas broker, will help you obtain a better understanding of these factors and allow you to limit your exposure to these markets.

What do you think about the UK’s lack of gas storage?

Half Hourly Electricity Suppliers:

Half hourly electricity meters are large commercial electricity supplies that have an average peak electricity demand greater than 100kW in any three months of the previous year. And it is very simple to check if you have a half hourly electricity meter, simply refer to your most recent copy bill and look for your meter reference number, if this begins with “00” then you have a half hourly electricity meter.

Most half hourly meters will have a communications link so that meters can be read remotely on a daily basis by your supplier.  This provides what is known as half hourly data, and half hourly data provides a good source of information for energy management.

We can provide our half hourly customers with free online access to their data and with over 150 free reports we can present this in a format that will help any business identify potential energy savings and help you to produce your company carbon reports.  Monitoring energy consumption is vitally important for businesses that want to cut their costs and environmental impact by saving energy.

Having your half hourly data won’t help you get the cheapest gas and electricity supplier, but it is used by the suppliers to help them determine how you use your energy.  To get the best gas and electricity prices we would always recommend using an energy broker such as Catalyst.  This can help your business do an effective gas and electricity comparison against your current charges. 

Although there are many half hourly electricity suppliers, there are only a limited number of companies that will be able to give to a complete overview of the market.

In summary half-hourly meters and half-hourly data is very common throughout the world, but it is particularly prevalent in the UK, where half-hourly metering is mandatory for all electricity customers with a maximum power demand (peak load) greater than 100 kW.  This means that UK buildings which, over any single half-hour period, draw an average power of 100 kW or more from the grid, will almost certainly have a half-hourly meter, and limited access to their half-hourly data through their electricity supplier. 

Commercial Gas Suppliers:

If you are a business owner, finding a cost effective commercial gas supplier can be difficult.  Comparing commercial gas and business gas prices doesn’t have to be complicated, particularly if you use an independent expert such as Catalyst to guide you through the process.

However there is a tendency for some commercial energy suppliers to use jargon and acronyms, which mean nothing to the average businessperson simply looking to compare British gas suppliers.

All gas is bought wholesale by the array of suppliers operating within the UK market and then distributed commercial premises via these suppliers. Gas bills are calculated on the basis of how many units of energy are consumed, usually alongside a standing charge. Gas meters measure the volume of gas used in cubic feet or cubic metres and the gas companies convert this into kilowatt-hours.

Among the wide range of energy suppliers there is an equally wide range of gas prices, which are organised through an array of pricing plans. These plans provide a different set of benefits to different consumers, depending on the energy needs of the business.

Most suppliers offer standard or default plans but there are a range of specialist gas suppliers within the UK market that can offer fixed price or flexible products.

The process of switching commercial gas suppliers is less complicated than people think and is completely free when using our service.