It is important to thoroughly look for an energy supplier that offers the best tariffs for your business, not only to save on costs but also to meet your business energy needs. 

Utility Bidder offers different types of energy tariffs to help you find the right one for all your business energy needs. You can also use their energy comparison tool to help you compare energy rates from different utility suppliers as well to ensure that you are getting your value for money.  

Below, we will discuss the different types of energy tariffs and how you can find the correct one. 

Types of Business Energy Tariffs

Business energy has many differences in comparison to household energy. Listed below are the differences that you can take into account when looking into getting a business energy supplier.

• Business contracts are longer, whereas household energy contracts are much shorter. 
• Business energy rates are much cheaper.
• Business energy deals are single-fuel, whereas household energy can be a joint supply of gas and electricity. 
• There are no cooling-off periods for business energy contracts. 

There are three types of energy tariffs to choose from for your business needs. 

Time-of-use-tariffs 

These rates are charged at different rates depending on the time of day or day of the week for the energy used. 

Pros of time-of-use-tariffs 

• Lower energy bills as you only pay for the energy that you use.
• Helps save energy by using less energy during peak hours and switching to cheaper off-peak hours. 
• Lowers utility costs by using energy during off-peak hours. 

Cons of time-of-use-tariffs

• You may pay more if you are unable to move your energy consumption to off-peak hours. 

Variable rate tariffs

These rates will be charged according to the costs of energy in the market. 

Pros of variable rate energy contracts for business energy

• You are eligible for reductions in costs when wholesale prices are cheaper
• No exit fees- can end the contract at any time.
• Can easily switch to a different energy plan.

Cons of variable rate energy contracts for business energy

• Energy prices can increase rapidly over time.
• Can be difficult to work out an energy budget.

Fixed-rate tariffs

This electricity pricing is set over a period of time, regardless of how much the energy costs fluctuate within the market. 

Pros of a fixed tariff term contract for business energy

• These rates are cheaper.
• Your business is not affected by wholesale energy price inflations.
• You can budget each month’s energy costs. 
• More options when looking into a business energy supplier. 

Cons of a fixed tariff term contract for business energy

• If prices are reduced at wholesale, your business will still pay fixed rates.
• There are exit fees involved if you decide to change tariffs or suppliers.
• Once the contract expires, there is automatic rollover onto a new energy plan which can be expensive. 

How to understand Business Energy contracts?

These terms may be on your business energy contracts, to help understand when looking into getting your business energy supply. 

Unit Rate: This is the price of energy per kilowatt-hour (kWh) that your business uses. The lower the unit rate, the cheaper the cost of energy will be. This is important to keep in mind when looking into energy suppliers. 

Standing charge: A standing charge is the fixed daily cost for maintaining your meter, which is included in your energy bill. 

Agreed Supply Capacity: This is charged to energy bills. Since businesses will use energy at a high consumption rate, this agreement is based on the maximum amount of energy used by the business from the supplier at a set price. Any extra usage will result in excess charges or power cuts. 

Billing Period: This refers to the time frame when the energy will be charged. 

Tips to choose the right energy tariff for your business

There are several factors that affect the way you choose your business energy tariff. These factors include sustainability goals, business energy needs, and budget. 

• Conduct energy audits: To help identify efficiency needs and if there is any energy wastage happening within the business. 
• Analyse the energy consumption: You can analyse the amount of energy used within the business, especially during peak hours. 
• Switch off energy-efficient equipment: Switching to energy-efficiency equipment such as energy-saving measures such as LED lighting. 

In conclusion, knowing and understanding different energy tariffs will allow you to make an informed decision when choosing an energy supplier for your business. 

The above-mentioned tips and tricks will help you decide on a cost-saving energy tariff to promote energy efficiency and maintain business sustainability. 

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