Independent business energy consultancy
Independent business energy consultancy
Home FAQs
The questions we are asked most often, answered without the sales gloss. If yours is not here, phone us and ask.
We do the parts of business energy that most companies have neither the time nor the market visibility to do well. That means reviewing what you currently pay and why, testing the market at a sensible point in your renewal cycle rather than at the last minute, presenting the options with the trade-offs made explicit, and then staying involved to check your bills and handle the supplier. The decision stays yours throughout.
Before you commit to anything, we set out in writing how we are remunerated in connection with your contract. If you would rather have that detail at the very start, ask us and we will give it to you before we approach the market on your behalf. You should expect that of any consultant or broker you deal with, and you should be wary of any who will not put it in writing.
We are not owned by an energy supplier and we are not tied to selling any one supplier’s contracts. When we review the market we compare the suppliers we hold agreements with, and we will tell you plainly which those are. If your existing arrangement is already competitive, we will say so rather than move you for the sake of it.
UK organisations across a broad range of sectors, from single-site operations through to multi-site portfolios. The common thread is not size but circumstance: a renewal approaching, bills nobody has the time to interrogate, or consumption that has crept up without explanation.
A recent bill for each supply is usually enough. It identifies the supplier, the rates you are on, the meter numbers and, in most cases, the contract end date. From there we can tell you whether a review is worth doing. If we need anything further from the supplier, we will explain what a Letter of Authority covers before asking you to sign one. Start with a free energy review.
Earlier than most businesses do. Suppliers require notice before your end date, and the best moment to buy is rarely the week your contract happens to expire. Having your renewal dates on record means the market can be watched over a period and a decision taken when it suits you, not when a deadline forces it. More on procurement.
With fixed purchasing you agree a unit rate for the whole contract: your budget is predictable, but you cannot benefit if the market falls after you sign. With flexible purchasing your volume is bought in tranches across the term, which spreads the risk of buying on a single bad day but requires active management and leaves your costs less certain in advance. Neither is universally better; it depends on how much budget certainty you need and how much variability you can absorb.
Yes, and it is usually worth looking at them together. The two often sit on different end dates, which is a common reason businesses find themselves managing energy continuously rather than reviewing it periodically.
Yes. Multi-site portfolios carry the heaviest administrative load, usually because sites acquired at different times sit on different suppliers, rates and end dates. We map the estate and then bring contracts into a pattern that can actually be managed, aligning end dates where there is a commercial reason to do so.
No. Changing supplier does not affect your physical supply. The same wires, pipes and meters serve your site before and after; the only thing that changes is who invoices you. There is no interruption and no work required at the premises.
Yes. Bill validation means checking each invoice line by line against what you actually contracted: unit rates, standing and capacity charges, meter readings and estimates, levies and non-commodity costs, and the VAT and CCL treatment for your type of site. Where something does not reconcile we raise it with the supplier and pursue the correction ourselves. More on bill validation.
You are assigned a named consultant who holds your contract details, end dates and site records, checks invoices as they arrive and handles supplier queries. This is the standard arrangement rather than an add-on you have to request, and it is where most of the value of using a consultant actually accrues.
Consumption over time, cost trends, site-by-site comparison, and usage that looks out of pattern for the time of day or season. The value lies less in the data itself than in somebody reviewing it regularly and asking why a figure has moved.
Yes, once a Letter of Authority is in place. That permits us to request data, query invoices and resolve account issues directly with the supplier, so your team is not the one waiting in a phone queue. We will explain exactly what the authority does and does not cover before you sign it.
Yes. We assess whether generation stacks up for your particular site and demand profile, and set out the commercial case alongside the carbon case. We advise on the decision rather than supplying the equipment, which means the recommendation is not tied to selling you a particular system. More on renewables and efficiency.
Not necessarily, and it depends which route you take. A renewable-backed tariff may sit close to a conventional contract, whereas on-site generation is a capital decision with a payback period rather than a straight price comparison. We would rather show you the figures for your own site than offer a general answer.
That is normally what we recommend. Every unit you stop wasting is a unit you never have to buy or generate, and reducing demand first means any system you subsequently install can be smaller and cheaper. Efficiency measures also tend to pay back faster than generation.
Ask us directly. There is no obligation, and if the answer is that your current arrangement is fine, that is what we will tell you.
