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Lock in early to save on new half-hourly energy charges

half hourly meterBusinesses are changing to half hourly meters under new legislation due to be enforced in the next couple of years and can expect to be charged for their contracts.

While the implementation date for half-hourly charging under P272 has been delayed by a year until April 2017, businesses will start to be transferred from November this year.

The idea is that all metering will be exact giving businesses the opportunity to reduce their costs and consumption. It also allows for greater flexibility of energy management.

However, half-hourly charging is likely to lead to more complex electricity bills and a host of charges. The Federation of Small Businesses has warned that the majority of businesses are unaware of a host of extra costs that will come from the transition and are likely to be caught out.

Sadly, neglecting to take up a contract ahead of the deadline will result in the imposition of a default contract at significantly higher rates.

In fact, current industry figures suggest the difference between a negotiated metering contract through Business Juice and a default industry contract is as much as four times as much.

It’s not all bad news though. While businesses will be responsible for paying for meter maintenance and admin fees, they don’t have to cost the earth if they lock into a contract early enough. They simply need to appoint a dedicated data collector (DC/DA) and meter operator (MOP) who will manage their account for them enabling better energy efficiency and a reduction in consumption.

MOP and DC/DA contracts range from one year in length to ten years making the choice completely bespoke to the business.

At Business Juice, through our wide-ranging relationships with the energy industry, we can ensure your business gets the optimum contracts to deliver the benefits of P272 to your business without the cost.

For more information, call us on 0800 051 5492.