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ELECTRICITY

Electricity

As the UK energy market grows more complex, the independent advice offered by energy brokers and consultants helps many energy buyers find the right business electricity or business gas contract for their business. With over 60% of UK energy contract now procured through energy brokers and energy consultants, it demonstrates how strong this proposition has become. So why do so many organisations choose to use an energy consultancy firm such as SK Energy to find cheap business electricity prices, rather than simply employing internal resources to fulfill their energy purchasing requirements. 

There is a general acceptance in many organisations that, at a basic level, using consultants simply provides an independent and fresh approach to evaluating opportunities that can add value. A ‘fresh pair of eyes’, with relevant experience of achieving tangible results in other organisations, can often uncover areas for significant improvement that may not have been previously identified.

There is significant benefit in exploiting the breadth and depth of experience that consultancy firms accumulate as a result of working with many different organisations, yielding ideas, methodologies and approaches that can be applied to other circumstances. But the major underlying reason that consultants are contracted is because the work relating to delivering change - be it reducing costs, increasing efficiency, market intelligence, improving quality or capacity, or simple understanding the market conditions - is almost always an ‘up-front’ activity rather than an on going basis.

  • Compare from our full panel of suppliers

  • Contract advice

  • 100% Independent Service

  • Choice of fully fixed contracts

  • Free energy market intelligence

 

So if you are looking for the cheapest business electricity that you can, or are simply looking to compare business electricity tariffs or need help in choosing the right business electricity rates per kwh, then contact us today.

NHH Meters

Non Half Hourly Meters (NHH)

SK Energy offers a  comprehensive and independent electricity procurement service, offering a range of supplier quotes suitable to your business electricity requirements. Before helping you to select the most competitive and appropriate contract to meet your specific needs. You are under no obligation to accept our recommendations and are free to choose from another energy supplier in our detailed analysis. If you are happy with your quote, we will then complete all of the outstanding administrative tasks to ensure the smooth implementation of your new supply contracts.

  • 03 - Single Rate Supply

  • 04 - Day and Night Rate

 

The transfer process will take approximately 4 - 6 weeks to complete and we will manage the transfer process on your behalf, and assist you in any queries that may arise during this transition period. We can also provide quotes on 05-08 Meters, Half Hourly Meters, and any Business Gas requirements that you may have at the same time. Then we have maximum demand meters where the MPAN profile is from an 05 to and 08, which is a monthly billed meter. The first two digits of a full MPAN reflect its profile type and on a maximum demand meters these range from 05 to 08 and generally, though not always, use less than 100 kWh in a half-hour period.

  • 05 - Commercial Maximum Demand - Poor Load Factor (0-20% Load)

  • 06 - Commercial Maximum Demand - Medium Load Factor (20-30% Load)

  • 07 - Commercial Maximum Demand - Good Load Factor (30-40% Load)

  • 08 - Commercial Maximum Demand - Excellent Load Factor (>40% Load)

 

The load factor refers to the percentage of the available capacity that the supply is importing through the meter. In addition to our standard commercial electricity procurement solutions, we can help with the organisation and preparation of all new electricity meters and new electricity connections.

 

Our business energy consultants can add significant value to any project requiring an interface with the electricity industry including; New Electricity Meter Connections, New Gas Meter Connections, Upgrades & Network Reinforcement and Temporary Builders Supplies. We can offer as much or as little support as you require. Some clients engage us at the earliest possible stage of a development leaving us to initiate and co-ordinate every single aspect of the projects total utility energy needs.

On other occasions clients merely need a helping hand with perhaps initiating a new electricity meter installation on their new connection, or arranging the safe removal of live services prior to a building’s demolition. No matter the size of your business or your product requirement, we can offer a range of products from all suppliers based on your exact business electricity requirements.  If you are looking for our small business electricity prices and want to compare electricity prices for small business online then click here to compare gas and electric unit prices instantly.

 

HH Meters

Half Hourly Meters (HH)

Half hourly electricity meters are a type of meter that is installed for large commercial or industrial sites in the UK. The volume of electricity is measured in 30-minute intervals and this is reported back to the supplier to measure and report the amount of electricity usage at that particular address. The meter also reports the usage to the electricity provider in order to provide accurate readings that are not hampered by human error. These meters are mandated for some businesses in the UK and optional for others. 

What Half Hourly Meters Do?

Half hourly electricity meters are just like a standard meter that can be found outside any home or business, but rather than measuring the amount of electricity used on an estimated basis, they measure how much electricity is used during each half hour period. This is especially helpful for large businesses and manufacturing facilities because it helps to provide information regarding the amount of use during specific times of the day, in turn making it easier for such businesses to regulate their consumption and decrease costs. In fact, UK regulation mandates businesses that use a certain amount of power to have half hourly meters installed.

Which Businesses Have Them?

According to regulation in the United Kingdom, businesses that use 100kW or more of electricity in a single half hour period must have half hourly electricity meters installed. Those that use 70kW or more of power in a half hour period can opt to have half hourly meters installed, but this is not mandated. Those who are not sure whether or not they have these meters installed on their premises can check simply enough. Simply look for an S with two rows of numbers, afterward; if the first set of numbers is 00, or double zero, then this is a half hourly meter. If the number is 05, 06, 07, or 08, it may still be a half hourly meter.

Pricing and Tariffs

Because half hourly electricity meters provide such accurate information to energy suppliers, they can base the price that is paid by the company solely upon the exact amount of power that is consumed. The information is sent to the supplier via SMS or radio packet delivery like system, and this means that there is no room for human error when it comes to reading usage.

The tariffs are typically negotiated on a contract, but this depends on the supplier. The prices fluctuate based upon factors like wholesale prices, the demand for detailed data and the hedging strategies of the supplier. However, in almost all cases, these meters will provide savings when they are installed in the proper setting.

Half hourly electricity supply meters not only help businesses and industrial facilities save money on their power bills, but they also help power suppliers better regulate their prices. These meters are incredibly accurate and provide detailed information that was not previously available, making them a commodity that is sure to expand to other parts of the market in the near future and will start to apply to non half hourly electricity.

HH Electricity Prices 

Trying to obtain prices for a half hour meter isn't very straight forward, and unlike other energy products these prices are individual to your requirements and electricity demand. Because of this, prices can't simply be quoted from any price book, they have to be determined by a number of factors. From these factors suppliers will build a price that is unique to your location, supply volume and consumption patterns. They do this by auditing your previous 12-months worth of consumption, looking at factors such as your base load, peak demand, and any seasonal variances in use.

 

A number of other variables also go into making up your final contract price, but the general rule of thumb is that suppliers margin and cost to serve your account will be approximately 5% of your total bill value.

 

The cost to deliver or distribute your electricity to you, then accounts for approximately 20% of the total bill value, and is dependent on your connection to the local distribution.

 

For example cables below ground will attract a different cost to overhead cables, however this element is regulated and price controlled by the industry regulator Ofgem. This cost element is published and updated annually and all suppliers work of this industry set cost with out the room to negotiate any discount.

 

The biggest proportion of your final energy bill is made up of the raw product cost, the actual energy and accounts for approximately 75% of your final bill.

Your Annual Energy Consumption

In order to obtain the best business electricity rates a supplier needs to understand your location, the type of meter that you have and how you are connected to the local distribution company. They also need to understand what your agreed available capacity is with the local distribution, and if you have a low voltage of high voltage connection.

In addition to the technical information and in order for a supplier to price your half hourly electricity meter, they need to understand how and where you use your energy. Because these type of meters capture consumption data every 30-mins of the day, all of this data is gathered together to indicate how your energy is used over time. Do you have any seasonal, time of day, or time of week variants for example. So obtaining the cheapest half hour prices isn't simply a case of using a price book from a supplier to cheap half hour prices, it is more involved and requires a high level of understanding to accurate measure the value of each offer received.

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