How we can help with your Care Home gas and electricity bills
How many energy companies can you name who will provide gas or electricity to Care Homes? At Perfect Clarity we work with over 20 such suppliers. Instant access to a wider range of options and more choice for you.
Use our experience and unrivalled knowledge of the energy market.
For your electricity, we will analyse when your Care Home uses electricity the most. The majority of electricity companies will only give you Day and Night prices for electricity. However, as we work with so many, there are several who will provide other options. These include a single rate 24 hours a day (which will be lower than the Day rate above, but higher than the Night rate). Depending on how your electricity use is split across the two time periods, this can potentially reduce your costs considerably.
Access to expert advice on gas and electricity prices
While our main goal is to reduce your gas and electricity costs, there are other factors you should be considering. Especially for a large energy consuming site like a Care Home.
We explain the details to you. We can talk you through Capacity charges, Meter Operator and Data Collection charges (how do you pay for these?) and implications of Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review. This will give you a good understanding of gas and electricity pricing.
And help you to make a more informed choice and be comfortable with the decision you have made. After all, we are talking about tens of thousands of pounds (and more) in energy bills for a Care Home.
How long should you fix your Care Home gas and electricity prices?
Instead of agreeing a fixed price for 2, or perhaps 3 years, consider what the gas, or electricity market, has done in recent years. We don’t have a crystal ball to predict future prices, but can advise what has happened recently to gas and electricity prices.
This helps to paint a picture of the energy market for you. Contrary to what you might read, energy prices aren’t continually increasing. They do fall occasionally. And you should give your Care Home every opportunity to take advantage of falls in gas and electricity prices.
If you talk to other agencies, you may be told that prices are always on the rise, and you should fix your rates for 4 years or more. We believe this will cost your Care Home too much. And it means less work for your agency, of course.
Typically, we suggest a 2 or 3-year option, depending how far out you are committing. For example, if you are looking to agree prices around 12 months before the start date, you may not be comfortable with a 3-year contract.
Understanding electricity prices for a Care Home
These can be a little more complicated than you would be used to. Unlike smaller businesses with lower electricity use, Care Homes use considerably more. This higher demand on power, means you will undoubtedly have Half Hourly metering.
Half Hourly meters have extra costs associated with them, which is where the confusion can arise. We have provided some guidance to Half Hourly meters.
Essentially, you will have an Authorised Capacity charge on your electricity bill. This is measured in kVA and it is important to set the kVA to the correct level. You can be charged for using Excess Capacity if this is set too low, which is an unnecessary cost.
You should have access to the electricity data from the Half Hourly meter at your Care Home. If not, ask for it. We will be very happy to check it for you.
Have you looked at your electricity data to see the kVA demand by your Care Home? Or asked your local network operator for this information?
It is important to ensure the kVA is set to the correct number. Too high, and the Care Home will be over charged. Too low, and you will incur Excess Capacity charges. Either way, this can have a significant effect on your Care Home electricity costs.
We can also explain how the Targeted Charging Review will affect electricity costs at your Care Home. You will see some of the charges moving from the unit price to the Standing Charge.
Call us for more advice on this.