How to Get the Best Deal on Business Gas and Electricity Rates
With costs increasing from every angle, businesses are looking everywhere they can to find savings. One area that you can significantly reduce costs is your business electricity and commercial gas bills.
Whether you are a small, medium or large business, the cost of electricity and gas has increased significantly over the last few years, which has put pressure on businesses that are trying to maintain a positive cashflow. The good news is that it’s possible to reduce the cost of your utilities (sometimes by up to 55% per year).
In this article we’ll show you how to get the best deal on business gas and electricity rates, as well as some additional tips to help you save even more and increase your bottom line.
Without further ado, let’s dive in!
1. Compare all of the business electricity and gas suppliers
Scanning the market and comparing the rates offered by the various suppliers will allow you to find the best rate. As a starting point you should try to compare the prices of at least 5 suppliers, to get a good idea of the price per kW/h that the various suppliers are offering.
Ideally, it’s best to compare up to 10 of the suppliers in the Irish market. This can be a time-consuming process though, as you will need to check each supplier’s individual rates, and this may result in multiple phone calls and many hours spent trawling through each supplier’s website to compare rates.
The good news is that we will do all of this for you for free!
If you talk to our team, we’ll review your recent bills and current rates, we’ll then compare them with all the suppliers in the market to find the best rate and help you choose the best supplier for your business, we could save you up to 55% on your annual business gas and electricity bills.
Just get in touch, send us a copy of your most recent bill and we’ll take it from there. , it’s usually cheaper to focus on the daily standing charge rather than the price per unit of electricity. By analysing your energy use, you can find a plan that suits your business and keeps costs low.
2. Don’t fall out of contract
You might think that being in a contract is a bad thing as it ties you to a supplier, but securing a 12-month contract is actually the best way to ensure that you are receiving the lowest rate from your supplier.
As soon as you fall out of a contract your kW/h rate can increase by up to 65%, meaning your bills will also increase by that same amount. If you are currently out of contract, then you are definitely not getting the best deal on your business electricity and gas rates.
We can compare all of the suppliers in the market for you and get you the best deal on a 12 or 24 month contract, to reduce your rates.
Unsure of how to negotiate a new energy contract?
Procure.ie will help secure the best rate for your business. Get immediate pricing!
3. Choose between a fixed price or variable tracker rate
When moving to a new supplier and signing a 12-month contract, you can choose between 2 options:
- Fixed price rate
- Variable tracker rate
– Fixed price rate
The fixed price rate is just as it sounds – a fixed price for the duration of your contract. This option is usually the best option for small and medium businesses, and ensures you are getting the best rate available when signing the contract, so even if rates increase, you still pay the lower rate.
– Variable tracker rate
The variable tracker product tracks the wholesale market and, in some cases, can result in an additional saving of 35%-50% versus the fixed rate. This can be a riskier strategy as you are open to any volatility in the market, so if wholesale rates increase, your rate will also increase, but this can be an attractive option and help you save even more when wholesale markets rates are decreasing.
This option can be especially valuable for larger businesses who want to hedge their bets depending on the levels of volatility in the market.
When rates were at their highest in October 2022, we advised The Louis Fitzgerald Hotel to take advantage of this product. At the time they had a quote of 57 cent per kW/h from a leading supplier in the market. We advised them to switch to a new supplier on the variable tracker product and as a result, their average rate was reduced to 25 cent per kW/h, which resulted in a huge saving for their bottom line.
If you’re interested in learning more, check out the full Louis Fitzgerald case study.
4. Bundle electricity and gas together for a better deal
Some business electricity and gas suppliers will offer an additional discount when gas and electricity are bundled together. This can result in a further saving for your business.
Again, the good news is we’ll compare all suppliers in the market for you, so we’ll advise if you are better off to bundle your business gas and electricity together, or if you are better off using 2 different suppliers, ensuring you get the best deal every time.
5. Reduce energy consumption from the grid to save even more
While getting the best deal on the market is important to increase savings for your business, you can make even more savings by reducing your consumption. Here are 2 options to reduce your consumption and further increase your savings.
– LED retrofit
LED light bulbs use 80% less energy than traditional light bulbs, so by switching all of the lightbulbs in your premises to LED lightbulbs, you can reduce your light energy consumption by up to 80%.
LED lightbulbs also have a longer lifespan than traditional lightbulbs meaning you don’t have to replace them as often.
– Install Solar Panels
Installing solar panels is a great green energy solution that can reduce your business electricity bills by generating electricity for you, for free!
If we use a simple example, if your business typically used 1,000 units of electricity in a standard day and your solar panels generated 500 units, your consumption from the grid is reduced by 500 units, therefore you are only paying your supplier for 500 units and reduce your bill even further.
Again, with our clients The Louis Fitzgerald Hotel, we advised them to install solar panels on their roofs. As a result, they don’t need as many units of electricity from the grid and their bills are reduced versus before they installed the solar panels.
The good news is that there are grants available for both LED retrofits and solar panels. Talk to the expert team at Procure.ie today to learn more about what grants are available and if these strategies will help decrease costs for your business. We can come to your business and conduct a full audit to determine the best ways to save money on your business utility bills.
(P.S. If you want to learn more on saving energy, check out our blog on energy saving tips)
How Procure.ie can help you find the best commercial energy deal
Securing the best deal on your business and electricity prices can help you significantly increase your bottom line. By comparing the market to find the best deal, signing up to a 12-month contract and choosing between a fixed and variable rate you can experience significant savings. On top of this, reducing your energy consumption by implementing LED retrofits or installing solar panels can reduce your business energy bills even further.
These steps can help you save money and future proof your business against rising energy costs.
The good news is that we can do everything for you, so you don’t have to lift a finger and can concentrate on running your business. We’ll do all of the heavy lifting and find you the best deal, as well as showing you additional ways to increase savings.
Get in touch with Procure.ie today and we’ll help you make real savings across your business.
