If you feel like you’re paying too much in energy costs, it’s probably because you are. Getting the proof of that can be hard, though. You can’t just phone the office down the road and ask them what they’re paying on their energy bills. It’s easy for households – there are plenty of market comparison sites out there and most householders know someone in a similar situation to them in the energy-use stakes.

For businesses and educational campuses on the other hand, it’s a lot harder to know what you should be paying, given that individual requirements vary so widely. For most organisations the main energy overheads include lighting, heating/air-conditioning and running a large number of computers. Naturally, this is going to be costly but the main question that needs answering is “How costly should it be?”. Luckily there are a few signs which indicate that you might be paying too much, and that a switch in energy supplier should perhaps be on the cards.

1. You don’t know how much energy you’re using

It was the management consultant, Peter Drucker, that said “If it cannot be measured, it cannot be managed”, and that quotation is a pretty solid starting point for a campus or business’ energy policy. The first step towards saving on your organisation’s energy bills is to know exactly how much you’re using, when you’re using it and, crucially, how all that energy is being used. This kind of information can be gleaned through an energy audit and it’s the bold (and often daunting) first step in figuring out which kind of energy plan is right for you. Closely monitoring your campus’ meters and taking an in-depth look at the data collected may well provide the kind of insights that set you on the path to cutting your bills.

2. You can’t remember the last time you switched

So you’ve conducted the audit and the numbers are in – what next? Those figures might look quite reasonable, but are they? You could well be paying over the odds for your power. We get it – changing providers can seem like an almighty hassle, but that’s another area where Zenergi can help.

We know the energy market and we know it well, and with our reach across a whole range of suppliers, we can find businesses and educational institutions the best way to achieve the lowest prices on their energy bills. Perhaps it’s time to take a look at your organisation’s current bills and think about whether your present supplier is really the best fit for you.

3. Prices are due to rise

In the words of Baz Luhrmann’s iconic spoken-word piece Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen),

Accept certain inalienable truths:
Prices will rise,
Politicians will philander,
You too will get old.

We’re not philosophers here at Zenergi, so we can’t possibly comment on the second two. However, we know all about rising prices, especially when it comes to energy. There are so many extra charges, levies and market rejigs being imposed on energy users – April’s Climate Change Levy (CCL) and CDCM for example, that it’s hard to keep up. One thing that energy suppliers may do on the relative QT, is raise their usage and supply charges around the time of the price hike. It is therefore a good idea to examine your bills after an “official” price rise and check to see if your energy provider has decided to up its own prices too. If that is the case, it may be an idea to start shopping around to see if your current deal really is the best one for you.

4. Dealing with your current provider is taking up too much time

You have a business to run. You’re already busy enough without having to worry about spending hours on the phone to energy companies. Overcharging on bills is extremely common – the error is often glaringly obvious and generally it is an error rather than anything more nefarious. These can be caused by administrative errors or something as silly as mixing-up imperial and metric meter readings and, whilst they’re usually easily sorted, doing so takes up time that you simply don’t have. If you’re finding that these types of errors are becoming quite frequent, remember the mantra that time is money and consider the time cost that your energy provider is imposing upon you in making sure your bills are correct.

Happily, bill validation is among the many energy solutions that Zenergi offers. We check, double check and check again your energy invoices, making sure that everything is as it should be and that your providers are on-the-ball. We can get rid of that headache of spending far more time than you need to, on the phone to your energy supplier trying to solve the kinds of minutiae that nobody should have to deal with and above all, we can make sure that your bills are never any higher than they need to be. If you want smart solutions to your business or educational campus’ energy concerns, Zenergi provides a full range of services from procurement and metering to energy audits and budget recovery to keep your bills to a minimum and save you hours of valuable time. Please don’t hesitate to contact us!