Energy Prices

Are you using a domestic energy profile for your business? If so, there are considerable tax and insurance implications for your business. This article examines why these profiles exist, how to find out if you are using the wrong profile, what to do to change this and how a change would benefit the security of your future contracts.

Background

The original intention of all profiles was to structure pricing and consumption patterns to match the type of electricity usage. Simplistically 01 and 02 profile meters are intended for domestic properties whereas the commercial market starts off with 03 and 04 profiles, which are at the smaller end of business consumers and are typically ‘billed’ quarterly. 05 to 08 profiles inclusive are larger business consumers, billed monthly. There are still particular meters which might have upto 7 different rates based on time of day.The final profile the 00 or ‘half-hourly’ (the meter sends out via a radio signal, a reading every half hour). These are typically high use businesses. continue

The edging up of Oil prices seems to be the fillip required by the Energy Industry to get on board with both UK Wholesale Electricity and gas prices edging up. Although last year’s July high of over $150 a barrel descended below $40 in December, prices this first quarter of 2009 seem to have steadied above $50. Now that the initial reaction to ‘The Recession’ has settled somewhat, we are back now to the more traditional political and economic machinations against the new globally depressed context.

Whilst OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) has previously set aspirations for the $100 barrel, their latest monthly ‘Oil Market Report’ (March 09), suggests an ongoing acknowledgement of the change in the world markets, and are pursuing the balance between returns for their members against the needs of the Global Consumers in a recession.

It certainly looks that although the upward pressures are still pushing hard (don’t expect the Financial Markets to stop talking up prices this year), it’s not so easy if no one is going to buy. In the Mid market Business market some suppliers are seemingly reluctant to offer longer term fixed rate deals, perhaps anticipating rates going up this year.