Electricity prices for a small bakery
If you are taking on your first commercial premises, there are likely to be a lot of unknowns. And not just in relation to your bakery electricity prices.
Unless the premises were used as a bakery by the previous occupier, there won’t be any historical electricity use. So you can get an idea of the annual electricity costs, just call us on 020 3372 6517. We can estimate your annual electricity consumption based on other smaller bakeries we work with. This could range from around 15,000 kWh to 50,000 kWh and over.
If you don’t know the electricity supplier at the premises, we can help you with this too. Unless you have an invoice from the previous occupier with the electricity Supply Number, please take a photo of the electricity meter, clearly showing the serial number. This will help us track down your energy supplier.
Based on this information, we can source electricity prices for you and estimate the overall annual spend. Then you have something more solid to budget for.
We strongly advise taking a meter reading (with photographs as evidence) as soon as you take on the lease. This will provide proof of the opening meter reading in case there is a dispute with the previous tenant or even the landlord. You will only be responsible for the electricity (or gas) used when you move in.
You will initially be on higher, out of contract electricity rates with the current energy supplier. We recommend arranging a fixed term contract to get the best tariff and save money. You can read more about commercial energy contracts here, as they do differ considerably from the domestic energy contracts you will have been used to.
Green electricity prices
Green energy tariffs have often been thought of as more expensive. Not any more. Many bakeries are using green electricity prices to be more sustainable as a business.
Not many energy companies will have green options. And those that do, don’t really promote them. However, we have access to green electricity prices from these suppliers. As well as suppliers who only offer green tariffs.
The ‘green premium’ is nothing like as high as it once was. In fact, our green electricity prices can often be the better price when we check options for our customers. Certainly in the top 3.
If you are interested in 100% green/renewable electricity tariffs, do call us on 020 3372 66517 for prices and more information.
Larger bakery electricity prices
For larger, more industrial-sized sites, you will have seen a marked increase in electricity prices in recent years.
There are many reasons for these increases, notably:
(1) The UK is importing more electricity from mainland Europe, which comes at a cost, and (2) third-party commodity costs are increasing. These contribute to the price you pay per kWh as well as the standing charge for your energy.
Ensuring your energy bills are accurate, and keeping your electricity prices down are essential to minimising increases in cost. You may well have a Half Hourly electricity meter, in which case your electricity readings are sent to your supplier every 30 minutes.
Click here for more advice on checking your energy bills.
Thanks to our relationships with more than 20 energy companies, we can confirm contracts and prices up to a year before the start of the contract. Understandably, not everyone wants to commit to prices this far ahead. But in a rising market, this can save your business a substantial sum.
For advice and prices, please call us on 020 3372 6517.
BAKERY MOVES PREMISES AND ASKS FOR OUR HELP
We advise on how much electricity they can expect to use
Roger runs a bakery in Devon, and got in touch with Perfect Clarity as he was expanding the business from his kitchen at home, and moving to an industrial unit. He was unsure how much electricity he was likely to use at the larger premises, so we simply advised him based on the number of other bakeries we work with. This allowed Roger to budget for the move, and we were able to get competitive bakery electricity prices for him based on this.
We suggested a 1-year contract initially, so we could then confirm with the supplier how much the bakery used in the first year, which would help us negotiate the next contract for Roger.
SMALL BAKERY SAVES £240 ON ELECTRICITY
Even with a relatively small use of 10,000kWh, savings can still be made
Polly contacted us to help with her bakery electricity prices at a high street shop in Cambridge. The previous year she had paid £1,360 for electricity, and E.on wanted to increase these quite sharply. Polly had queried her renewal prices with E.On and they had reduced them for her, but they would still be more than she was currently paying. We got prices for Polly that were £240 lower than her current charges.
£630 SAVING ON NEXT YEARS BAKERY ELECTRICITY PRICES
A typical use of 30,000kWh
Neil asked to us help with the renewal of the electricity contract at his bakery. He had been on a fairly good rate for the previous 12 months, but his electricity company wanted to increase prices dramatically, up to £3,560. Using our market knowledge and wide range of tariffs, we got this down to £2,930 and on a 2-year contract, saving Neil at least £1,260 over the next two years.
We usually recommend nothing longer than a 3-year contract for businesses, unless it is a very small annual consumption. Neil’s bakery was able to benefit from this, taking advantage of a drop in the market price when this contract was still 8 months from the end. We locked in cheaper prices for them, to start in 8 months time. These prices wouldn’t be available in 8 months, and they are lower than the current contract we arranged for them, because of the drop in wholesale prices over a 2 month period.