Large Business Energy Comparison

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What is considered a large business?

A large business typically refers to companies with significant energy consumption. This can be due to the size of their operations, their premises, or the number of employees.

Large businesses have a substantial annual energy consumption of over 55,000 kWh for electricity or 200,000 kWh for gas. This could include companies like manufacturing plants, large offices, or retail chains with multiple locations.

If you’ve never switched business energy, you could be receiving out-of-contract rates or switched onto a rollover contract. For high-consumption businesses, this could mean your energy costs are significantly higher than they should be.

Find out how much you could save by comparing large business energy quotes today.

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Is large business energy different from SME energy?

Energy needs and contracts for large businesses differ significantly from small business energy deals.

SMEs with up to 250 employees often have a single site and are less energy-intensive, meaning that straightforward fixed-rate tariffs are a good option. Meanwhile, large businesses often have access to a broader range of options, including flexible contracts that allow them to take advantage of market changes.

So, whilst large businesses can often benefit from more competitive rates than SMEs, they’ll also require more complex energy contracts. This complexity makes comparing business energy particularly important for large businesses.

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What energy plans are available for large businesses?

Large businesses benefit from more options and flexibility in negotiating bespoke energy contracts than smaller businesses. The best energy contract for your large business will depend on several factors, including its industry, size, location, and consumption. Here is an overview of some of the most common types of contracts for large businesses:

Fixed contracts

Fixed contracts allow businesses to lock in a set price per unit of energy for the duration of the agreement, which typically ranges from one to four years. While costs can still vary depending on energy consumption, a fixed contract provides protection against rising market prices. This helps budgeting by making energy costs more predictable.

Part flexible contracts

A part flex contract offers a middle ground between fixed and fully flexible contracts. You can fix the price of some of your energy usage while keeping the option to benefit from market changes on the rest. This gives you some security while still allowing for potential savings with market fluctuations.

Fully flexible contracts

Fully flexible contracts give you complete control to take advantage of market fluctuations, providing the potential to benefit from falling prices but also carry the risk of price increases. They are suitable for businesses with a strong understanding of and eagerness to engage with the energy market.

Pass-through contracts

A pass-through contract separates the cost of your energy from the non-commodity charges, like network and policy costs, which are passed directly to you at the market rate. While the unit price for the energy itself can be fixed, the other charges can fluctuate based on market conditions. Like a flexible contract, it can allow you to benefit from market fluctuations but can also mean less predictability in your overall energy bill.

Green energy contracts

Some energy companies now offer green tariffs as standard, providing 100% green energy or blending renewable sources with traditional ones. Like traditional energy, green energy options are available with fixed, flexible, or pass-through contracts.

Which type of contract is best for my large business?

The most suitable type of contract for your large business will depend on factors like your typical energy consumption risk tolerance, budget prediction needs, and approach to environmental responsibility.

Our dedicated consultants can advise and guide you through the market, identifying the most beneficial contract type and energy suppliers for you. This advice is part of our award-winning service, enabling you to see market fluctuations for fixed and flexible contracts. Contact us today to find out how Utility Bidder can save you time and money.

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Compare renewable large business energy quotes

Large businesses with high energy consumption can significantly impact the fight against climate change, especially as regulations on carbon emissions and corporate responsibility grow stricter. Renewable energy deals are now more affordable, with many energy companies offering green tariffs as standard, making it easier to secure sustainable energy options. Here’s what businesses should consider when comparing renewable energy tariffs:

Supplier Options

Different energy suppliers offer tariffs with varying percentages of renewable energy. Some provide 100% green energy, while others blend renewable sources with traditional ones. Compare the exact composition of each supplier’s energy mix to ensure it aligns with your sustainability goals.

Cost Considerations

While green energy tariffs can sometimes carry a slight premium, they often provide long-term savings and stability, particularly as fossil fuel prices remain volatile. For large businesses, these contracts can protect against market fluctuations, contribute to predictable energy budgeting, and ensure significant savings down the line.

Contract Terms

Renewable energy contracts for large businesses can be tailored with fixed or flexible rates and varying contract lengths. When evaluating these options, consider your business’s financial strategy and energy consumption patterns to ensure the contract aligns with your long-term goals.

Certifications and Transparency

It’s essential to choose suppliers who are transparent about their energy sources and hold certifications from reputable environmental organisations. This guarantees that the renewable energy your business invests in is genuinely sourced from sustainable practices, enhancing your corporate responsibility profile.

Market Trends

The renewable energy market is rapidly evolving, with green tariffs becoming increasingly competitive as technology improves. For large businesses, regularly comparing deals ensures that you’re capitalising on the most current and cost-effective renewable options available.

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Do you need a different type of energy meter for a large business?

Due to the higher energy consumption and monitoring needs of large businesses, advanced energy meters are often required. Half-hour meters, multi-site meters, and smart meters are a few of the most commonly used.

Half-hourly (HH) meters

Half-hourly meters are commonplace in large or high-energy usage businesses. They send reading updates to your energy supplier every half an hour for more accurate monitoring and energy use management.

If your business has a peak usage of 100 kWh every 30 minutes, you must install a half-hourly meter. This is likely the case if your business is a high-consumption operation like a factory, distribution centre, or department store.

Read our Half-Hourly Meters Explained guide to learn more and find out whether your large business will require a half-hourly meter.

Multi-site meters

If your business occupies several premises, you’ll likely have an energy meter for each site. This can often mean your energy is provided by multiple suppliers through contracts with different rates and end dates.

A multi-site energy meter can save your large business time, money, and admin. Multi-site deals enable your energy to be provided by one supplier, on one contract, with one contract end date.

Our Guide to Multi-Site Energy Meters can help you understand if a multi-site meter is suitable for your large business.

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How can large businesses reduce their energy bills?

Managing energy costs is crucial for large businesses looking to maximise their energy efficiency. By adopting smart strategies, organisations can improve their energy efficiency, sustainability, and expenditure. Find out how to reduce your business electricity bills, and read our guide to business energy efficiency for helpful tips on cutting down your energy usage.

Regularly comparing and renegotiating your energy contract can ensure you’re always getting the best possible rates. When you compare online with Utility Bidder, you can access competitive quotes from the UK’s best suppliers, helping you reduce your energy bills by up to 65%!

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Compare, switch & save

Getting a cheaper business energy tariff is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Here’s how our comparison service works…

At Utility Bidder, ensuring your business is on the best possible energy tariff is our bottom line. Our team of analysts compare the industry’s most competitive prices from leading energy suppliers to provide you with bespoke quotes in a matter of minutes.

To get started, you’ll need:

  • Your business postcode/s
  • The name of your current energy supplier/s
  • Your current annual energy usage (check your most recent bill to find this)

So, are you ready to wave goodbye to costly rollover contracts and deemed rates? Find out how much you could save by comparing large business energy quotes today.

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How are large businesses affected by the Climate Change Levy (CCL)?

The Climate Change Levy, or CCL, applies to all businesses that consume over 33,000 kWh of energy per day, well below the average energy consumption of a large business.

The CCL adds an extra charge to large businesses’ energy bills, raising the cost of traditional energy sources. Meanwhile, energy generated from renewable sources is exempt from the CCL.

This provides a financial incentive for large businesses to switch to green energy contracts or consider using a blend of renewable and traditional sources.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a P272?
All businesses that use electricity meter profile classes 05 – 08 will be upgraded to a half-hourly meter. This will change the way you are billed for electricity usage and bring in some additional charges. Chat to our team for more information on this.
What’s a kVA charge?
Managing your business’s energy costs effectively means understanding key components like kVA (Kilo Volt Amperes) within your business. kVA represents the amount of electrical capacity your system draws through the meter, making it a crucial factor in your energy bill. Contact us to find out more about how we can help your business do a kVa review and make big savings on your business energy bills.
Are fixed or flexed contracts best?
Unsure which is better for your business? What are the pros and cons of these agreements, and which would be most effective for each of your meters and supplies? We have expert account managers that will advise and guide you through the market, identifying the most beneficial large business electricity suppliers for you.
Who will manage my large business energy accounts?
If you are a large business, your priorities will differ from small businesses . All businesses need to be treated differently, which is why supply contracts need to be chosen specifically to reflect particular business needs. Our approach is to offer a fully managed account. With over 10 years’ experience and a bespoke approach to working with our clients, we are fully equipped to ensure you get the best from your business energy. Should you need any advice or direction, your account manager can offer resolution and progression on all aspects of energy procurement and monitoring. As part of our service, we will help to recover any over-charges, so you won’t be paying any more than you should be. Included within the service: -Conducting all supplier communication on your behalf -Offering expert advice and resolving any issues you may have -Recommending additional products and services which could benefit your business -Conducting bill validation, including comprehensive statement analysis -Recovering any over-charges (which are frequently missed by businesses themselves)
Which meter do I need?
The type of meter that you have installed is no small detail in the energy procurement process. With many options to consider, selecting the correct meter can save you thousands of pounds on your large business electricity rates. Make a wrong choice and disturbances can ripple through many different channels, creating energy chaos. As part of our commitment to you, we offer complementary expert advice on meters, contracting and installations, not to mention arranging and managing any meter changes by liaising with all parties concerned. That’s right, we do it all for you. Thanks to our unique, broad-ranging knowledge of all areas of the energy market, complemented by our established relationships with the key players, we are able to implement any required changes on your behalf.
What are MOP agreements?
A Meter Operator agreement is a legal requirement for all half-hourly meters. The agreement covers the maintenance and rental of the meter itself and the technology used to communicate meter readings to large business electricity suppliers. This element may be included within your business electricity bill as a separate charge, or you may be charged annually. If you need a MOP agreement organising, then your Utility Bidder account manager will be able to look into this for you. We have partnerships with accredited meter suppliers that can quote for your half-hourly meter.
How can corporate companies can save energy in winter?
During the winter temperatures plummet, while our energy bills begin to rise. For large organisations with bigger outlays to make on their energy bills, this can run into thousands of pounds. Here are some energy saving tips for businesses: – Make use of ‘smart heating’ Corporates who haven’t made the switch to intelligent or ‘smart heating’ are potentially pouring money down the drain. That’s because smart heating makes use of thermostats that can be programmed for your work schedule each day, and can even shut down your heating when the space isn’t occupied. You should be wary of placing your thermostat anywhere it could give a misguided reading, such as in direct sunlight or a draughty area. – Effective insulation For large organisations, making a number of seemingly small tweaks around your workspaces can add up to form big corporate energy savings. Energy efficiency can be improved by ensuring that there are no ‘leaks’ through which heat can escape during winter. It could be around windows, doors or ducts – so ensure that any small weak spots in your insulation do not add up into a large energy bill for your business. – Get the right equipment Are you in the market for a new set of computers this winter? For corporates, this is an important procurement decision which will take into account a number of factors – from price to compatibility – but don’t forget to look out for energy-efficient equipment. This can be done by identifying the ‘Energy Star’ logo on computers, which indicates an energy-efficient piece of kit. It’s also important to consider that laptops typically consume a lot less energy than PCs. – Consider ‘work from home Fridays’ You can give your employees are a special treat on one Friday every month, by offering them the opportunity to work from home – you also stand to slash your energy overheads in the process! In the digital era, there is more chance than ever for staff to work from the comfort of their own home, so it can be a mutually beneficial option for corporates. Those are some ways in which you can save energy during the coldest time of year. Try some of them and then compare what you pay with the corresponding bill from last year – you might be amazed what you have saved!
What is corporate renewable energy?
Greener energy use is essential in the current business landscape. Most companies, no matter their size, are looking for ways to maximise their use of renewable energy. With global initiatives as well as national ones to be aware of, the end goal is always going to 100% renewable energy. However, a more bespoke approach is required. This is because all business models are different and will require a range of approaches that factor in the context of their energy use, the resources they have available, and their planned energy use throughout their growth strategy. As a result, for companies that are asking the question of “what is corporate renewable energy and how can we adopt it?”.
Do I need to validate my bills?
It’s widely believed that the proportion of identified, incorrect billing is vastly outweighed by those that haven’t noticed (and probably don’t check their statements with any regularity). The truth is that manual bill validation can be a painstaking task. Bundle this with the complexity of multiple sites and half-hourly metering, and the end result is that validating all large business energy statements can be an enormous strain on company resources. If a billing issue is identified, those resources can be further burdened by the sheer frustration of contacting and chasing the amendments. If you are unsure about your billing accuracy, then our bill validation service could prove to be an extremely valuable resource. Enjoy peace of mind, safe in the knowledge that energy statements are being scrutinised in the background, but also gain critical advice on areas that could be addressed to maximise your savings. A thorough bill validation ensures that all supplier calculations and charges are correct, on each and every statement you receive. It helps to avoid: -Duplicate billing -Incorrect government charges -Incorrect unit measurements -Invoice doesn’t match profiling
What is corporate carbon footprint?
Businesses will always be higher users of energy than domestic users. However, the challenge when it comes to arranging energy for businesses is ensuring that sustainability targets are met while also keeping ongoing costs down. This can often be a challenging balancing act to get right and will require a step-by-step integration of sustainability into your existing business processes. However, there are some simple ways to have an immediate effect on your brand’s carbon footprint such as: -Using energy suppliers that are REGO (Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin) certified -Ensuring your business waste processes are set up for recycling -Using food waste bins in eating areas -Swapping light switches for automatic switch-off -Going paperless -Telecommuting rather than travelling to meet suppliers and clients –Insulating workspaces -Only buying office equipment and resources that have been sustainably sourced With a more proactive approach, businesses can easily start making steps that will dramatically reduce their carbon footprint. However, as the climate continues to dominate the news and the economies of the world grow increasingly unpredictable, it’s no longer enough to focus on simply reducing your carbon footprint. The need for more renewable practises at home, at work, and even in between, is directly linked to the costs of living. When you want to take more control of how much you spend on energy bills, but also have a positive impact on the world around you, then reducing your carbon footprint is essential.
How do I improve my corporate energy procurement strategy?
As the private sector continues to move towards renewable energy use, a more in-depth renewable energy program is essential. While all corporate structures will vary, there are a number of approaches to consider. Key elements of an improved corporate energy procurement strategy will include renewable energy certificates and power purchase agreements. However, the primary factors that will need to be planned in advance of any energy transition include: -Business strategy alignment with the goals of renewable energy adoption -Thorough research into options for alternative tariffs and profile classes as well as suppliers -More use of reporting metrics to gain a clearer understanding of how you use your energy and how much you pay for it -In-house corporate integration that maximizes business operations Energy use is a vital component of running a business of any size. With clean energy goals and a consistent need to keep operating costs as low as possible, without negatively impacting efficiency, paying close attention to energy is critical. The question is no longer “what is corporate renewable energy?”, but rather: “how can I make corporate energy procurement greener and more cost-effective?”.
What is the Energy Intensive Industries Scheme (EII)?
With rising energy costs impacting UK businesses, the government-backed scheme for Energy Intensive Industries (EII) has become more vital. Introduced in 2016, the EII relief helps businesses with high energy demands by offsetting costs from carbon pricing and emissions schemes. In 2017-2018, it was replaced by the EII exemption scheme, offering more long-term stability and greater cost savings. Eligible businesses can receive up to 85% off charges for renewable energy policies like Contracts for Difference (CFD), Renewable Obligation (RO), and Feed-in Tariffs (FiT).

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