After a year unlike any other, forecasting business energy prices has become something of a lottery for anyone other than the best-informed analysts in the market.

At Energy Management we have a team of highly-skilled and experienced energy consultants to assist customers in determining the length and type of energy contract that is best for their business.

In the last 12 months, it has all been about peaks not troughs with prices for gas and electricity at levels previously unseen.

And while the business energy markets are as volatile as they have ever been, having that personal experience and insight, as well as bespoke market analysis software, enables us to keep customers as well informed as they can be.

Having as much insight as possible into the way different factors may lead to bullish or bearish runs in the business energy price markets is essential to good energy procurement, which is why we pool those resources together to produce a free to download Market Intelligence monthly bulletin.

Available in PDF format, Market Intelligence helpfully breaks down the trends in the Gas, Oil and Electricity markets, whist giving updates on significant changes in areas such as legislation and compliance and information about Third-Party Costs (TPCs).

If you are a business owner or energy manager and want to feel more empowered in the energy procurement decision-making process, you can download Market Intelligence or have it delivered to your inbox for free.

Business energy markets are volatile at the best of times due to the plethora of factors that can drive up prices, and pretty much all of them are outside of a company’s control. But everyone working inside the energy industry would agree that the present UK business energy market is unlike anything we’ve seen before, certainly since the 1970s.

With prices rocketing to unprecedented levels and forecasts that they will climb again next year, getting the best energy price has never been more important for the financial wellbeing of any company, but even more so when it comes to energy-intensive companies.  

Energy procurement can be a complicated process, especially in the fast-moving environment currently being experienced. So it may be that you, as a company owner, managing director or facilities manager, decide to outsource energy procurement to a specialist energy consultancy.

If you choose to go down this route, what can you expect? We cannot speak for other companies but, at Energy Management, years of experience, high levels of customer satisfaction and business energy market-tracking software support are guaranteed.

Here’s a brief summary of what happens when you entrust your energy procurement needs with us …

• Key Account Manager appointed

Having a dedicated point of contact is vital to ensure customer satisfaction. We all know the frustrations that interacting with a faceless company can bring – if you can get hold of them in the first place!

Our Key Account Managers all come with vast experience and are dedicated to serving your best interests. Each customer is unique so our solution will be tailor-made to their needs.

• Two-way information exchange

It’s a simple statement but true, that you cannot make savings on your energy bills until you properly understand what it is you’re paying for, and how much.

Having all the facts and correct data to hand is vital in this. We’d need to establish the following information from customers:

– How much energy do you use per year?

– Is a dual fuel contract required?

– How many supplies are needed?

– When is the renewal date and do contracts renew at different times?

– Are the contracts fixed, flexible or something else (basket, energy-only for example)?

– What’s your attitude to risk – do you look for long term budget stability or are you more inclined to track the market?

– What’s your current energy procurement strategy – energy broker, energy consultant or in-house?

– If you use a broker or consultant, how do you pay and have you already issued termination?

• Letter of Authority

Having a letter of authority from you enables us to contact suppliers to obtain prices. Ideally, we’d also require a recent invoice for each supply. This allows us to check we have the right information and also use the existing contract rates to provide a comparison.

• Tender process

Once all the necessary information is to hand, we raise the tender to multiple suppliers (including the incumbent normally). This can take 10-15 working days.

• Contract decision time

On receiving the various offers, we present you with an easy-to-view analysis sheet. This shows the average p/kWh and total cost, compared to an existing contract. Options for different durations are also provided together with current business energy market conditions, to help with the decision-making process.

You choose the supplier and duration combination that best matches your unique requirements and a signable offer is then provided. We conduct thorough checks before sending the offer to you, to ensure what you’ve signed is what was tendered.

• Closing stages

Once the documents are signed by you and returned to the supplier, they will then confirm the contract is locked in.

This triggers an email to acknowledge this, and once that is done, prices are entered into our system for invoice validation.

Our team would also check with a new supplier that the contract has successfully started.

Once the contract has started, our commitment to you does not stop. Your Key Account Manager will always be available for dialogue about market conditions, and to assist you with any queries you have around energy procurement and energy savings opportunities.

With a client retention rate of over 95 per cent, our formula clearly works.

If you would like to discuss your energy procurement needs with us, please call one of our highly-skilled consultants on 01225-867722