With rising energy rates, GP surgery like other businesses is facing a lot of financial pressure. The rates for gas and electricity have sky-rocketed, which means your surgery is spending the majority of its budget on energy bills. The need of the hours is to find a solution that is feasible for your practice.
The prices paid by your GP surgery might be high because of your current service provider. Your current contract would have been a better deal a few years back but over time the contract has become unfavorable to you. This is why you might need to renegotiate your contract or switch your supplier.
The recommended plan of action is to switch your supplier because the supplier will most likely offer you a similar deal or charge an extra fee for switching the contract type.
Save Time By Planning Ahead
The best time to start searching for a new supplier is almost a year before your current contract expires or gets renewed. This way you will have plenty of time to do your research and find a deal that perfectly fits your demands and budget.
You can see how much energy you use and the amount paid for it on your utility bill. Take these figures and compare them with the other available options to see how much you can save by switching.
Choose The Right Tariff
When searching for a new provider, discuss with them the available tariff options. There will be two of them: fixed tariffs and variable tariffs.
Fixed tariffs will require you to pay the same amount of rates every month of the year and the prices will not fluctuate with changes in season. These are best for businesses that have already allocated a certain amount for energy bills.
Variable tariffs provide you with rates that fluctuate all year round. The rates will be lower in off-seasons when the electricity demand is lower across the country but they will increase when the demand increases. The option of this tariff is best for businesses that have higher demand in certain months so they do not pay a fixed rate.
For the GP surgery business it is recommended to go with the fixed tariffs.
Check Customer Reviews
When switching to a new energy provider check for customer reviews and feedback to learn about the quality of service and customer care. Remember, you can not cancel a contract without a penalty if you are not satisfied with the service later on so you should do some research before finalising the deal.
Avoid Termination Fee
You can avoid early termination fees by waiting for your current plan to expire. Most fixed energy contracts have cancellation fees. This is why it is mentioned above to start searching for a supplier a year before your current contract expires.
Most suppliers waive off the termination/exit fee 49 days before the contract ends so you can switch to a new supplier if you want to.
Contact An Energy Consultancy Firm
Running a GP surgery requires effort and with all the work that needs to be done, it might be difficult for you to search for a new supplier. In this case, you can use the services of an energy consultancy firm.
Utility Bidder is one such energy consultancy firm. They have vast amounts of experience in dealing with NHS colleagues to secure the most competitive energy rates for GP practices. You should contact them to find the best possible energy provider and rates.
Hello, My name is Shari & I am a writer for the ‘Outlook AppIns’ blog. I’m a CSIT graduate & I’ve been working in the IT industry for 3 years.