Utility Matters
Business Gas and Electricity
Specialists
Time is your most valuable resource
Is it best used dealing
with energy suppliers?
Energy is an important cost to all businesses. Two thirds of small to medium sized businesses in the UK are overpaying on their gas and electricity bills. If the right energy contract is not selected and managed correctly businesses can pay anything up to 50% more than they should.
Keeping on top of contract end dates, co-ordinating quotes from a number of suppliers, ensuring that there are no hidden costs and making like for like comparisons can be both time consuming and complicated.
With years of experience Utility Matters are a trusted and reliable energy partner to our customers all over the UK. We source prices from the whole market to ensure that you get the best priced contract for your needs, ensure that it is correctly set up with the supplier and running smoothly start to finish.
Our three stage approach
We always endeavour to start our journey with clients by auditing their current situation, gathering as much information about them as we can so that we can make a plan going forward. This covers their current energy contracts and any future changes to their business which could affect their level of energy usage.
A
Audit
All of our customers started their journey with us using an Energy Contract Audit as the basis for saving money. None of them were under any obligation to source future contracts from us and neither would you. We check that existing contracts are set up correctly obtaining refunds if they are not, which happens more than you would expect. Determine when contracts are due for renewal thus avoiding huge penalties on out of contract rates. Obtain best possible rates for renewals from a range of suppliers.
B
Benchmark
For renewals the incumbent supplier will initially often not tender their best rates or terms. We will go out to tender to a
number of other suppliers and then invite the current provider the opportunity to match or improve on the best offers we have sourced. We will analyse on a like for like basis the price and contract option comparisons and present our recommendations to our client.
C
Contract
When a client chooses a new gas or electricity contract we prepare and forward it to them for signature. Once checked it is forwarded to the chosen supplier and monitored ensuring that the contract has been accepted and got to the stage where it is ready for a new supplier to request the registration, or if a renewal that the supplier has the contract ready to go live on the appropriate date. We monitor the contract to ensue that it goes live and set up correctly.
About Utility Matters and why choose us?
Utility Matters Ltd was formed by David Westcott and Steve Matthews in 2008 to source lower business energy prices throughout the UK. Based in Sussex we provide services to clients in England, Scotland and Wales.
We work with suppliers to try and maximise the options available and mitigate our clients to as low an exposure to market uncertainty as possible.
Our belief is to be open and transparent with our clients and to always work in their best interests.
The key reasons that businesses select Utility Matters as their procurement partner are that we
- Are independent and not tied to any utility providers so the advice we provide is both free and impartial.
- Have access to all the major utility providers and smaller independent suppliers which ensures we have visibility to the best offers available.
- Negotiate the best rates and terms for our clients and manage and monitor the switching process to ensure a hassle free and seamless transition.
- Provide timely reminders regarding contract expiry therefore avoiding automatic renewal or extension at unfavourable rates.
- Can provide analysis and validation of bills and give support and advice to our clients on any issues they may have with their supplier.
- Tailor our services to meet the specific needs of our customers.We work with both the supplier and our clients to optimise the options available and minimise our customers’ exposure to any market uncertainty.
The clients we work with
We have clients all over the UK, the majority have large and multiple supplies that benefit from our bespoke tendering process for their gas and electricity.
Hospices - Care Homes
Hotel groups, property management companies
Mullti site retail
Garden centres, restaurant chains, Pubs groups, Charity shops
Academies - Universities
Multi Academy Trusts, Sixth Colleges
Large industrial sites
All types of factories within the manufacturing sector
Zero Carbon Green Energy
Increasingly clients wish to use energy sourced from renewable sources to demonstrate their commitment to helping protect the environment. This in itself can be confusing as some renewable sources are low carbon rather than zero carbon.
A number of suppliers have “Green” offers, however, we have a direct relationship with a specialist supplier that supplies zero carbon electricity generated from wind, hydro and solar.
In previous years you would expect a large premium for green energy, however that is no longer the case and we can often source green electricity contracts cheaper than the big six suppliers standard energy.
Business Electricity - SME 03 and 04 profiles
03 (1 rate) and 04 (2 and 3 rate) profiles make up the majority of business electricity supplies and generally will be using up to 100,000 kWh. Suppliers require varying degrees of credit worthiness and some will not entertain certain industries. Monthly or quarterly billing, budget account or actual usage, DD or cash there are a range of options. We scan the market to find the best value contract suited to your needs.
- 1-5 Year contracts
- 03-04 meter profiles
- DD or cash cheque payments
- Monthly or Quarterly Billing
- Range of suppliers
- Green electricity available
For multi sites or Half Hourly "00" profile meters request a bespoke price
Business Gas
Business gas prices can vary a lot from supplier to supplier depending on the level of gas used per year. By fully understanding your requirements we can advise on and secure the best value contract for your specific needs.
- 1-5 Year contracts
- Range of suppliers
- Fully fixed or variable pass through
- No take or pay clauses
For multi sites or supplies using over 300,000 kWh call us to set up a tender for a bespoke price
Half Hourly electricity supplies
Most large electricity supplies are settled as "Half Hourly" which is where the meter records the usage every half hour and it is transmitted to the supplier, ensuring accurate billing and allows historic analysis of supply consumption. They have a "00" profile which you will see on your bill in the top left hand corner of the grid showing your meter details.
Securing prices for HH supplies is a fairly complex process. You need access to your previous 12 months HH data, this is then sent to suppliers who will analyse how much and when you consume electricity so that they can provide a customised quotation to suit your requirements. The quotes are typically only valid "on the day" of issue, which means that you need to coordinate the suppliers who you want prices from to quote on the same day. Once you have the quotes they need to be compared against a consistent consumption profile and ensure that there are no hidden costs.
We can manage the whole process for you and additionally analyse your load capacity as it will affect your overall cost, we often find savings to reduce clients prices going forward.
Call us to have an informal chat so we can see how we can be of help to you.
Additional services
We offer a range of services to further assist our clients with the on-going management on their gas and electricity supplies, all to further save them the time they would otherwise have to invest.
New connections
We can arrange for new gas and electricity connections as well as manage SMART meter roll out programmes to make estimated billing a thing of the past.
Live account checking
We check that the opening/closing reads match and the new contract end date and the new rates correct.
Annual management
Annual housekeeping the overall consumption and for electricity the peak load allocations to see if we can reduce future cost within the existing contract. For gas we check the consumption has been updated correctly with industry bodies.
Quarterly monitoring
Check the billing and consumption on a quarterly basis reporting on usage against historical data.
Carbon reporting
Most industries are required to report on their carbon usage. We gather the relevant data to calculate the overall carbon footprint. The report generated is based on the government guideline format and using The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard.
During your contract we are here to help if you are unable to resolve and issues that you may have with your supplier
At Utility Matters Ltd we aim to provide a professional and comprehensive service to all our customers. However, there may be occasions when we fail to provide the service you expect from us. If you contact us expressing your dissatisfaction, we will treat the matter seriously and objectively. We have a complaint procedure in place, enabling us to investigate the details relating to your complaint and provide a quick resolution. We are committed to improving our business practices wherever possible and will take on board all possible learning from any issues reported to us. We will look to change our business policy and procedures as a result.
Any complaint you make will be treated in the following stages:
1. We will acknowledge your complaint on receipt. We may, at this stage, ask you for additional information or clarification to help with our investigation into the details.
2. We will undertake an investigation into the matters you have brought to our attention.
3. We aim to provide a resolution to your complaint within 72 hours if we have all necessary information to do this. However, if we are unable to complete our investigation by this time, we will contact you informing you of progress.
4. If a resolution is not possible within 72 hours, we will aim to resolve the issue as soon as we can and will give you an update on progress every 7 days.
5. If at any stage during the process Utility Matters Ltd believe we will be unable to settle the issue, we will write to you with a dead lock letter.
6. In any event, we will write to you within 8 weeks of the initial complaint with the results of the investigation, and a proposed resolution of the problem.
7. Any agreed resolution will be acted on promptly.
Complaints that Utility Matters Ltd cannot resolve because a deadlock letter has been issued, or because the complaint has been in progress for more than 8 weeks can then be referred to the Ombudsman Services (Energy). This body is fully approved by OFGEM. The resolution communication (in Step 4 or 5) will include an explanatory leaflet and contact details for the Ombudsman Scheme. If you are unhappy with our letter and wish to take the matter further, you will need to contact the Ombudsman to consider the matter. The Ombudsman Scheme is free and impartial. Their resolution and determination services are available in the event that Utility Matters Ltd and their customer are unable to reach a resolution through our customer complaint procedure.
The contact details for Ombudsman Services ((Energy) are Ombudsman Services: Energy, P.O. Box 966, Warrington. WA4 9DF 0330 440 1624 enquiry@ombudsman-services.org
If you wish to make a complaint or check on the progress of a complaint, please contact: The Complaints Manager Utility Matters Ltd Complaints @ utilitymatters.com