Business Gas & Electricity from Total Gas & Power
France / Belgium owned Total Gas & Power has been operating in the market since 1987, initially as Agas and later as Elf Business Energy.
Since 2001 it has been known as Total Gas & Power and offers a range of different business gas and electricity tariffs to suit businesses of any size, with a particular focus on long term fixed price contracts.
The Total Gas & Power Checklist
Security
- Are their prices fully fixed? Contracts allow pass through of levy costs except for Micro Business gas customers.
- Do they include metering and transportation costs in the price? Yes
- Do they include FIT and RO and CFD in the price? Yes
- What is their back billing policy? Anything up to five years for gas, three years for electricity
- Do they require a letter of authority? Yes
- Does the contract lapse on change of tenancy? Yes
Transparency
- Is your contract end date on the invoice? Yes
- Is your termination date on the invoice? Yes
- When will your renewal letter arrive? 60 days before end date
- When do you need to terminate?At least 30 days before end date for electricity customers, 90 days before end date for gas customers
- Do they require termination letter by recorded delivery? Yes
- Will they rollover your contract? Yes
- How high are the out of contract rates? Awaiting clarification from Total Gas & Power
Convenience
- Do they mandate Direct Debit payment terms? No
- What are their Direct Debit terms? Variable, Monthly or Quarterly
- Do they offer Cash / Cheque payment terms? Yes
- Do they support reduced rate VAT declaration? Yes
- Do they bill monthly or quarterly? Quarterly
- Do they provide online billing? No
Services
- Do they install smart meters as part of the supply contract? Yes, exclusively through Business Juice
- Do they support existing smart meters with full functionality? Some
- Do they provide New Connection & Upgrade Services? Yes
- Do they support IGT meters? Yes but requires bespoke pricing
- Do they support all electricity profiles including half hourly? Yes
- Do they support related and aggregated meters? Yes
Environmental
- Do they offer green and renewable products? Yes
- What is their Fuel Mix? 18% Gas, 5% Nuclear, 31% Coal, 42% Renewable
Other things to know about Total Gas & Power
The Surrey and Leeds based business:- Is a commercial energy specialist, only offering gas and electricity to business customers;
- Is the biggest gas supplier by volume of gas supplied in the UK;
- Is the biggest electricity supplier by volume of the non-generating suppliers in the UK;
- Focuses on 5 year fixed price deals to provide long term price security;
- Fully fixes their price including third party charges, providing comfort throughout the contract term;
- Also offers 1-4 year fixed price contracts;
- Offers Flexible contracts;
- Undertakes detailed credit checks to ensure their customers are appropriate for their products;
- Have no minimum annual consumption requirement for their customers;
- Caters for SME, mid market, large and very large consumption customers;
- Do not supply sole trader businesses;
- Are unwilling to offer contracts to pubs and bars;
- Requires all customers to pay by variable direct debit;
- Will charge £25 per invoice for cash/cheque payments;
- Offers free AMR solutions to their gas customers and will upgrade their existing meter for free where it is incompatible;
- Offers a Platinum product where AMR customers receive gas demand data for every half hour, enabling full visibility of consumption usage;
- Offers an alternative to traditional verbal contracts via the e-signature system;
Security
Click on the following link to access TGP’s latest contract terms for business energy customers:
Are Total Gas & Power’s contracts fully fixed?
No, certain elements of the Total Gas & Power electricity price can be passed through. This means that when you agree an electricity contract with Total Gas & Power the price can change through the contract term to reflect additional costs. Total Gas & Power operates a policy of fully fixing the commodity and third party charge elements of their fixed contracts; however this does not includes levies & taxes such as FIT, RO and CFD.For gas customers, Total Gas & Power operate a policy of fully fixing all elements of the contract.Commodity: Inclusive, Fixed Transportation: Inclusive, Fixed Metering: Inclusive, Fixed FIT: Inclusive, Variable (Electricity only) RO: Inclusive, Variable (Electricity only) CFD: Inclusive, Variable (Electricity only)
Total Gas & Power also reserves the right to amend the terms of the contract in exceptional circumstances.These include:- Where a change in law occurs affecting delivery of the contract.
- Where the customer fails to fulfil their obligations under the contract.
- Where gas customers fail to use the stated consumption under the terms of the contract.
- Where changes are made to the metering system installed.
Back billing and Total Gas & Power
Total Gas and Power is signed up to the Energy UK Back Billing standards but only limits back billing for micro businesses to four or five years for gas and three years for electricity.Many suppliers have voluntarily limited their back billing rights to two years and in some cases a single year.Total Gas and Power are therefore one of the less amenable suppliers in this area making a smart meter a sensible choice with Total Gas and Power.To find out more visit our Guide to Back billing.Total Gas & Power and Letters of Authority
In order to act on your behalf in securing your business a great energy deal Total Gas & Power require us to have a signed Letter of Authority from yourselves.The fastest way to authorise us to work on your energy supply arrangements is to use our eSign service to agree our Evergreen Letter of Authority.Change of Tenancy and Total Gas & Power
Moving into a premise is known as a Change of Tenancy in the business energy market. It has also been termed a Change of Occupier or is known by its acronyms CoT and COO. However it is referred to, the opportunities it opens up are the same.This is great news for deal seekers. Whilst the existing supplier is obliged to continue to provide energy to the new occupier, the occupier is not obliged to take out an extended contract with that supplier.Indeed a Change of Tenancy customer has total freedom of movement and is free to accept a contract with a supplier of their choiceThere are however of course a number of rules and requirements.Firstly, as the new occupier, if you use energy you will need to pay for it, regardless of your contractual status.Secondly, you will need to identify as quickly as possible the identity of the existing supplierThirdly, you will need to field calls from sales organisations and the existing supplier themselves offering you contracts of varying lengths to continue or to begin to supply the premises.As a result as a new occupier you will need to agree a new contract either with the existing supplier or with a new supplier of your choice.Not only that but you will need to inform the existing supplier as quickly as possible that you are the new tenant to prevent you being held liable for charges incurred by the previous occupier should they not have ended their agreement satisfactory.It can prove a real headache knowing whom to trust – whether it’s the old tenant, the landlord the current supplier, the pushy salesman ringing, knocking and emailing, the prospective new suppliers.That’s where Business Juice comes in, by working on your behalf, identifying your existing supply arrangements, reporting your change of tenancy, ensuring you are not held liable for costs not incurred before your occupation and benchmarking contracts for your selection we can help you save time, money and a whole lot of stress.The fastest way to authorise us to work on your energy supply arrangements is to use our eSign service to agree our Evergreen Letter of Authority. We’ll take care of all correspondence, handle all the loose ends and enable you to focus on establishing your business in its new premise. And what’s more once your contract is in place we’ll manage your supplier relationship from beginning to end, all part of the Business Juice service.Business Juice Top TipAlways ensure that you take opening meter readings on the day, or as close as possible to the day, that you move into the premises to ensure that you only pay for the energy that you use.
Transparency
Your Total Gas & Power Invoice places the contract end date on the second page of the invoice in a dedicated section. In addition the date by which termination is required to ensure freedom of movement at contract end it also presented in this section.Not all suppliers do this.If in doubt feel free to fax us your bill on 0845 387 5701 or send it to hello@businessjuice.co.uk and we will help locate the information for you.Total Gas & Power sends their renewal letter to customers around 60 days in advance of the contract end date. This will contain Total Gas & Power‘s proposal for your rates for the coming period. It may provide a variety of options or a single price. It will however not be the most competitive price available in the market as the renewal letter is designed for customers who don’t use an energy broker and as such are priced at a higher level than can be obtained in the market.Business Juice Top TipEvery Business Juice client receives a unique key facts statement detailing all there is to know about their energy contract including all the important dates relative to your deal. Sign up today and take control with Business Juice.
Terminating with Total Gas & Power
Total Gas & Power require their electricity customers to provide 30 days notice of their intention not to renew the agreement at the end of the Contract Period. For Gas customers, a notice period of 90 days is required.Business Juice Top TipTerminating your contract is key to gaining freedom of movement and having access to the best deals for your next business energy contract. It pays to always be aware of your termination obligations so as to ensure that you act as soon as conditions allow in order to help you get the best out of the business energy market. Or better still sign up for our evergreen letter of authority and we will terminate on your behalf well ahead of time and provide you with a range of market leading options at the right time to suit your business.
Rollover contracts and Total Gas & Power
Total Gas & Power operate a policy of selling auto-rollover contracts. If you fail to terminate your existing contract more than 90 days ahead of your gas contract end date or 3o days ahead of your electricity contract you will be rolled over for a fixed term of 12 months.By using Business Juice you can avoid the costly mistake of falling into the rollover trap and paying premium rates for 12 months.To find out more visit our Guide to Rollover Contracts.Terminating but remaining on supply with Total Gas & Power
If you have provided termination notice to Total Gas & Power and expressed your intent for freedom of movement at contract end but you fail to leave Total Gas & Power’s supply you will be placed on Total Gas & Power’s out of contract rates.Don’t be caught out! By using Business Juice to manage your energy contracts we will terminate and manage your new contract seamlessly to ensure you avoid penalty rates.Total Gas & Power and Out of Contract Rates
Total Gas & Power do not currently make their out-of-contract rates publicly available, although many suppliers do there is not a condition in their supply licence to require them to do so. However these are likely to be at, or more than, 6p/kWh and 100p/day for gas and 20p/kWh and 50p/day for electricity.Even one week exposed to this level of charges mounts up, that’s why clients taking our contract life management service makes sense: removing your exposure risk and letting you focus on your business confident in the knowledge that your energy contracts are in safe hands.To find out more visit our Guide to Out of Contract Rates.Convenience
Total Gas & Power operate a Variable Direct Debit meaning the amount you pay directly relates to the volume of energy you consume in the month.Total Gas & Power also offer cash/cheque payment terms subject to £25 per month surcharge.To find out more visit our Guide to Supplier Payment Terms.How to claim the reduced VAT rate for your Total Gas & Power bill- Click here for Total Gas & Power’s VAT declaration certificate.
- To find out if your business is eligible for paying the reduced rate of VAT on your business energy bill visit our Guide to VAT Declaration.
Services
Total Gas & Power & Smart Meters
In line with the mandated rollout of smart meters Total Gas & Power installs meters for Profile 05-08 electricity customers and gas customers consuming more than 732,000 kWh per annum.Exclusively through Business Juice, Total Gas & Power also include smart meters at no additional cost for Profile 03-04 customers and gas customers consuming less than 732,000 kWh per annum.In addition Total Gas & Power will inherit smart meters of some types and will continue to operate the meter with its full smart functionality. This is done at no extra cost to you. If a smart meter does not fulfil their criteria Total Gas & Power will not support the meter’s smart functionality. This means the meter will be treated as ‘dumb’ and will require manual meter reading.For more information on Suppliers’ policies on smart metering visit our Guide to Suppliers & Smart Meters.Total Gas & Power & New Connections and Upgrade services
Total Gas & Power currently only offer new connections and upgrade services to customers when they take out a new contract.If this doesn’t suit your requirements, to find out which suppliers meet your connections needs call us on 0800 051 5770. Go one step better and by appointing Business Juice to manage your energy contracts you can take advantage of our management fee free new connections and upgrades offer.Total Gas & Power & IGT Meters
Total Gas & Power support meters supplied via IGT networks (Independent Gas Transporter). If your gas supply is delivered via an IGT network then unlike some suppliers Total Gas & Power can offer you a gas supply contract. However the meter will require a bespoke priced gas supply contract.Total Gas & Power & Supporting Meter Types
Total Gas & Power support all meter types including Half Hourly (HH), Maximum Demand (MD), Seasonal Time of Day (STOD) and standard profile meters as well as ‘related’ and ‘aggregated’ meters.This means whatever metering system you have, even if it is supplied via an IGT network, Total Gas & Power can support it.Environmental
Total Gas & Power currently offer a eco energy product which is REGO backed providing 100% renewable energy from wind and solar sources. This product also includes online billing and smart metering at no additional cost.For the reporting period 2013/14, Total Gas and Power’s Fuel Mix was:- Coal: 31%
- Gas: 18%
- Nuclear: 5%
- Renewable: 42%
- Other sources: 4%
- And produced CO2 of 378g/kWh and High Level Radioactive Waste of 0.0007g/kWh
- Coal: 34.0%
- Gas: 25.6%
- Nuclear: 21.6%
- Renewable: 16.7%
- Other sources: 2.1%
Business Juice Top TipBy selecting a supplier with a fuel mix that suits your business’ environmental credentials you can gain access to a renewable solution without paying premium green prices. By using Business Juice we can match up your needs with appropriate the fuel mix and enable your business to take support renewable initiatives.To find out more visit our Guide to Fuel Mix.