Business energy security is designed to give business owners peace of mind about the state of their energy. From fraud prevention and data protection to ensuring organisations get a fair price, energy security is essential for profitability and to support business growth.
Nowadays, business energy security is more important than ever. With a fresh energy price cap rise on the horizon, and the threat of hidden business energy commission coming to light, businesses need effective energy security more than they ever have before.
Energy price caps are rising
Ofgem recently announced a rise in energy price caps, designed to help suppliers make back some of the profits lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of households will be hit with higher energy bills this winter as a result, but the rates increase will also likely impact many business owners.
The price hike is set to kick in at the start of October, and anyone on a standard variable rate tariff will see their bills rise by £139 per year, to £1,277. This is the price cap’s highest level since January 2019.
Those who run their business entirely from home may not have even switched to a business energy deal, meaning your rates will increase as a direct result of the price hike. But even if you have bespoke business gas and business electricity deals in place you could still be indirectly impacted as suppliers rarely fail to seize an opportunity to put their prices up. New energy deals may well come with higher rates.
The importance of business energy security
The key difference between domestic energy contracts and business energy deals is that, in the case of business energy, security measures are virtually non-existent. Business energy rollover contracts and commercial deals aren’t regulated by Ofgem in the way that domestic contracts are, meaning brokers are free to miscommunicate, withhold information, and set fees without any guidelines or rules in place. This makes choosing an energy supplier and deal difficult for businesses looking to avoid paying too much for their gas and electricity.
Because of this, businesses and organisations across the UK are finding themselves at risk of hidden business energy commission, becoming trapped in deals that leave them paying more than they should be.
Ofgem reports that small businesses in particular are being conned out of more than £2 billion by rogue energy brokers, who lock their customers into long-term, bad-value contracts that are hard to break.
Among these organisations are churches, care homes and charitable organisations, who have found themselves paying far too much for their business gas and business electricity. Brokers promise the best energy deals at no charge, then go on to offer poor-value deals picked because the suppliers offer the most lucrative terms for the brokens, costing organisations significant amounts of money over time.
Could you need to pursue a business energy claim?
It should be stated that businesses aren’t powerless when it comes to business energy security. In fact, taking proactive steps to change to the best contracts and, in the case of mis-sold energy, pursue business energy claims can help to mitigate the damage done by unscrupulous energy businesses.
One claims management firm states that organisations are owed pay outs of up to £1 million. Meanwhile, no win, no fee specialists Winn Solicitors have helped clients claim rebates of between 10-20% of their energy costs through a mis sold business energy claim. This is a must for any organisation that feels it may have paid too much for its energy.
If you think that you may have been mis sold a business energy contract, get in touch with Winn Solicitors today by visiting https://www.winnsolicitors.com/energy-mis-selling-claims
