Posted on 1st April 2020

1. Take meter readings
Many meters now take half Hourly readings which communicate with suppliers meaning that your energy usage will be billed on actual usage, however there are also still many meters that will not do this, therefore it is important to take meter readings while your usage is minimal so that the suppliers do not just estimate your usage based on passed month. When businesses are closed and not consuming energy you should only be paying for the standing charge as per your contract except for those contracts that have volume tolerance clauses. If you are unsure, contact your Troy Business Development Manager. 

2. Seek whether a payment break can be negotiated.
Some suppliers will be happy to offer this for their customers, which will simply mean that the period of non payment will be added at the end of the contract, do not cancel any direct debits without speaking with your energy suppliers as this will affect your credit rating. 

3. Check whether there are any volume tolerances in your Ts and Cs
It’s possible that you have terms in your contract that may cause you issues later in the year, the most common is called Volume Tolerance. This tends to be for larger energy users and means that you have agreed on a level of energy to be used on-site over a set time period. Energy consumption will reduce as businesses have a break in trading, Volume Tolerance means that you could be charged for a set level of Energy whether you use this or not. If you’re not sure on your position here, we will happily review your Terms and Conditions and check how a change in your consumption may impact you.

4. Turn off all non essential Electricity and Gas consumption
As your business premises will likely be empty or running with skeleton staff it’s recommend turning off any piece of equipment including computers, machinery and any lighting which is not needed. This will help reduce your demand and subsequently lower your bills while the premises is not in use.

5. Contracts nearing their renewal date
It is important to keep an eye on any contract renewals due in the next few weeks/ months as if these are left to roll, you will be put on out of contract rates which can be very expensive. It’s important to tender, negotiate and renew these contracts as per usual, even though this will not be top of mind right now. If you are renewing your contract and switching suppliers, it’s important to adhere to your Terms and Conditions and remember to terminate your existing contract.

6. Set up an online account with your supplier
This can easily be done through your energy supplier and will allow you to submit meter readings, monitor your energy usage or make changes to your billing requirements such as changing to electronic bills.

If you would like further support as a Troy THS member we have energy consultancy partners to support you. Click here for more information. 

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