Comparing business utility suppliers is a common practice that companies do to help them take advantage of the best tariff rates and find a suitable service suited to their needs. Any well-established business would advise a new entrepreneur to consider doing the same and compare deals from several suppliers and never get tied down with only one provider. If you are new to the process of comparing business electricity providers, here are tips to guide you.

Enquire directly from suppliers 

The first step in the process of finding the best business electricity prices is to contact your current supplier and enquire if there are better deals than what you are currently on. If your company’s energy consumption is based on a default tariff, your supplier is obliged to inform you about other offers and available contracts which may be advantageous to you.

Take regular meter readings 

Meter readings done regularly will help you track your company’s energy consumption over some time. Historical information such as this is crucial when you are shopping around for a new tariff so that you can ask the supplier for specific tariffs and they can quote a price according to your company’s average energy consumption. You will also need to take note of two numbers from your electric meter which is the MPAN and the MPRN. When you compare suppliers and decide to switch to a new one, you’ll need to provide both these numbers to proceed with the switch.

Be familiar with your contract 

Before you consider switching from one supplier to another, you need to familiarise yourself with the details of your current agreement. Some information you should be looking for is the amount of time you have in your contract to notify the supplier of your intended switch. It is possible for suppliers to indicate a grace period and expiration date, otherwise you will be locked in for another period under the same contract or a higher tariff if you don’t notify them in time that you are switching to a new supplier.

Another thing to look out for is the cooling off period 

It is common for business utility accounts to not have a cooling off period, unlike residential tariffs. What a cooling off period means is the amount of time you have to cancel a contract before it takes effect officially.

If you do find a supplier you are happy with, make sure that you also scrutinise the new contract in detail. Understand the terms and conditions carefully and ask all the questions you can think of before agreeing to the new deal.

Are suppliers allowed to object to a switch? 

Some companies fear that their current supplier may decline when they decide to switch to a new provider. However, there are only specific circumstances where a supplier can decline. For example, if the company has any outstanding debt or if the company is still within a fixed-term contract, the supplier may reject the transfer. Nonetheless, if you can extinguish these obligations, your company is free to transfer to a new supplier anytime.

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