Paying Too Much For Business Energy?

At present small businesses are collectively paying around £500 million more than they should for their energy. 

In provisional findings by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the average prices offered by the “big six” companies were around 14% above the “competitive level” for SMEs.

The CMA said it had “identified a combination of features of the markets for the retail supply of gas and electricity to SMEs in Great Britain that give rise to an adverse effect on competition through an overarching feature of weak customer response from microbusinesses”.

The competition watchdog said this gave “suppliers a position of unilateral market power concerning their inactive microbusiness customer base which they are able to exploit through their pricing policies”.

Getting The Most From Energy Companies

Taking full advantage of competition in the market is crucial – the CMA estimate average potential gains from simply switching supplier to be 14% of the average bill. To optimise cost saving benefits, however, consumers face some hurdles. As highlighted by Roger Witcomb, Chairman of the energy market investigation; “the confusing way energy is measured and billed can make comparing deals understandably daunting”.

The importance of ongoing contract management should also not be understated. Number of recorded complaints to the big six energy firms increased fivefold between 2008 and 2013, with the majority of complaints relating to billing, customer services and payments.

At MDG Group taking this hassle off our customers’ hands is our bread and butter.  We provide a personal account manager to not only help you gain savings, but also deliver the peace of mind that comes with getting the most out of your business energy.