Half Hourly Electricity Meter customers have just days to go before the launch of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme in the UK.  It’s become a bit of a misconception that the CRC is only for large public and commercial sector organisations with half hour meters.  The truth is any company with at least one half hourly supplied meter, are legally required to register for the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme in some form or other.

For half hourly sites that are less than the full qualifying criteria, they are still required to either make an information disclosure only, or are required to also disclose information on their energy usage.

Although the registration opens on the 1st April, companies have until the 1st October to complete the initial registration process.  But with many half hourly companies oblivious to the scheme, and unaware of the level of information required, there could be a lot of companies that don’t make this final registration deadline.

Chris Hurcombe, an energy analyst with Catalyst, said: “Many companies are inadequately prepared for the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, and I believe there will be a desperate scramble for the information required to register before September”

Three levels of registration required under the scheme:

• Full registration – Compulsory for organisations that consumed over 6,000,000 kWh of half-hourly metered electricity during the period from January 2008 to December 2008
• Information disclosure and consumption data - For sites that consumed from 3,000,000 kWh and less than 6,000,000 kWh of half-hourly metered electricity during the period from January 2008 to December 2008.
• Information disclosure only – For sites that consumed less than 3,000,000 kWh of half-hourly metered electricity during the period from January 2008 to December 2008.

This registration guidance will help you determine if your half hour electricity organisation qualifies as a full CRC participant, or if you need to make an information disclosure.  You can find further information direct from the Environmental Agency or you can download the guide on information disclosure.  It also describes how to register your half hourly meters and a glossary explains the terminology used within the CRC scheme.

Download – Making an Information Disclosure Fact Sheet

More information on the CRC – Environment Agency

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The top ten reasons to get a smart meter for your business.

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A business smart meter could change your view forever on your business energy.  With long term commercial electricity costs set to increase, as the economy slowly creeps out of recession, and the impending start of the government’s carbon reduction scheme in April, it’s never been a better time to consider the benefits of smart metering.

Typical  Smart Meter Customer

Smart meters in their simplest format can bring an end to estimated bills for businesses.  Currently commercial energy suppliers are only required to obtain a meter reading once every two years, and if you are unfortunate enough to have an over or under estimate, it could have a serious impact on your business cash flow.

If you have been underestimated you could be asked to pay the outstanding balance immediately, or in some cases you may be required to set up a payment plan.  This could also prevent you from transferring to a different supplier if there was an outstanding debt on your account.

Overpaying during these two years, could mean that the supplier could owe you a considerable sum of money.  This could have been better utilised within the business or earning additional interest, as the supplier will credit any overpayments within a matter of weeks, but they won’t give you any interest on this amount.

To avoid the pain of estimated bills you can always provide your supplier with regular meter readings, or you could replace your current electricity meter with an electricity smart meter.  As well as the benefit of accurate billing you could also benefit from the ability of understanding how your energy has been used and by identifying simple changes companies can often save up to 10% of their energy bills, which would offset the original purchase price.

Smart meter suppliers have recently reported a large increase in smart meter orders this year.  The increase has been attributed to companies preparing for the Carbon Reduction Commitment energy efficiency scheme (CRC), which comes into force next month.

Under the scheme, organisations such as supermarkets, hotels, hospitals, local authorities and central government departments and others that typically spend £500k on electricity, must monitor their energy consumption levels, and then calculate their total carbon emissions. An annual league table will then rank all participants, according to their energy efficiency performance.

The installation of a smart meter which can then provide half hourly reports on your energy consumption levels, will earn businesses extra credits under the CRC scheme, which will assist them in moving up the CRC league table.

Technology has improved and the cost of smart metering has come down again over the last 12-months making it viable for even the smallest of companies.

To learn more about smart meters and how they can benefit your business, contact a member of our business smart metering team today or subscribe for news updates on smart meters here.

Top 10 Benefits of Commercial LED Lights

Energy efficiency has become a priority for small businesses and large corporations with many investing big in new highly efficient technologies that can help them reduce their energy costs as well as their carbon footprint.

When we talk about energy efficiency nowadays we can’t go by without mentioning LED lights. Over the past few years Commercial LED Lighting has become the most cost effective commercial lighting system capable of generating savings of up to 90% on business electricity bills.

Today we will list some of the major benefits that LED lighting can bring to your business.

Commercial LED Lighting Benefits

1.    Reductions of between 60% and 90% off your current electricity lighting bill.
2.    Reduction in annual maintenance costs of between 70% and 90%.
3.    Low Energy Consumption
4.    Helping your business to achieve your Carbon Reduction Commitments.
5.    Improved performance of your lighting with reduced noise and heat output.
6.    Potential to secure zero interest funding for the purchase of our solutions from The Carbon Trust.
7.    Efficiency: LED light produce more light per watt than incandescent and halogen bulbs
8.    Lifespan: LED lights last on average 50,000 hours, that is 5 times as long as the best fluorescent bulbs, and up to 30 times longer than halogen bulbs
9.    Shock Resistance: Incandescent and fluorescent bulbs are very fragile; LED lights are made with solid state components making it difficult to break with external shock.
10.    Toxicity: LEDs do not contain mercury, unlike fluorescent lamps.

Businesses seeking further advice about switching to environmentally friendly Commercial LED Lighting and applying for a Carbon Trust loan should contact us directly for an initial discussion or call us on 0870 710 7560.

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With UK commercial gas prices at a current low, and on the day that E.ON announced that its going to cut gas prices to its residential customers following significant drops in the price of wholesale gas.  We decided to take a quick look at the current commercial gas prices and the current key market drivers effecting commercial gas prices.  Gas is a daily traded futures commodity, and much like the stock market, the price of wholesale gas is very unpredictable and can be extremely volatile as demonstrated in the last few years.

Current business gas prices are at a low, mainly driven by excess supply, and with the market coping so well during the recent high demands for the coldest winter in 31-years, there is a likelihood that it will do the same next winter, when it is likely not going to be as cold.  This has led to growing optimism over future supplies for next winter and with further LNG gas imports expected throughout the year, this has given the market plenty of confidence now ready for next winter.

With current UK day ahead gas prices hovering around the 33p/therm mark, and with summer 2010 prices around the same level, winter 2010 at the 40p/therm mark,  it’s in stark contrast to previous year’s gas price history.  But as we already know the market is highly volatile and small things can make a big difference in this market place.

With industrial action at the South Hook terminal postponed until the end of March and potentially further bouts of winter weather due,  will the current low stock levels cope if there is a sudden high demand again.

As the UK economy recovers, there is a growing feeling that future gas prices will begin to trend upwards, with increased demand factors.   With this increased demand will come increased volatility, further increasing the risk for businesses buying commercial gas.

To combat any future price rises, you may think that it would be sensible to buy early and as far forward as possible at this stage.   But with new flexible ways of purchasing gas, this may not be the best thing to do.

With new risk managed approaches to commercial gas purchasing direct from the wholesale market,  this allows you to fix prices upfront, but still have the flexibility to improve them as the market moves.  These new flexible gas products are great, but this is of course still no guarantee to the getting the lowest gas price.  But unlike a traditional contract you do get the opportunity to try.

Of course, no one has a crystal ball but we do have the benefit of hindsight, which is important in benchmarking what could happen in the future.  It’s therefore important that your commercial gas is managed ongoing in order for your business to make informed decision in the future.

Or if you would like more information on our range of energy broker services or would like to find out how we could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.

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Despite the huge benefits of commercial LED lights – namely long life, high efficiency and a 60 per cent energy saving on conventional lights, the UK has proved a slow adopter.   But takeup is accelerating and with  energy efficiency high on the agenda, we expect the demand for LED lighting to increase significantly over the coming years.

Eco Specialists becomes Catalyst’s preferred energy partner

In our continued bid to help our customers benefit from reduced costs and meet their Carbon Reduction Commitments, we are delighted to announce a new strategic alliance with Redditch based company Eco Specialists.  Eco Specialists specialise in the provision of the latest in energy efficient LED lighting that is proven to significantly reduce commercial lighting costs and improve your carbon footprint.

The solutions provided by Eco Specialists enable businesses to benefit from immediate cost savings and in many cases there is absolutely no capital outlay because loans can be secured from The Carbon Trust.  If your business has lighting on for more than 12 hours a day, Eco Specialists solutions can help your company to benefit from:

• Up to 90% saving on your lighting bills
• Reductions in annual maintenance of your bulbs of between 70% and 90%
• Complete Installation service
• Assistance in securing a zero interest Carbon Trust loan
• No capital outlay
• Real cost savings from day one
• Reduction in your businesses carbon footprint

Eco Specialists have recently helped PJS Mouldings to make savings of £160,000 over the next five years.  The implementation took just 3 days and thanks to a loan from The Carbon Trust PJS has no capital outlay, in fact they were cash positive on day one:

“PJS Moulding is a forward thinking, growing business.  We continually strive to drive down running costs, improve our processes and consider the impact we have on the environment.  Engaging Eco Specialists to replace our existing outdated lighting was a simple, hassle-free process.  We are now benefitting from new sustainable lighting, long term lower running costs and without having had to find any cash to do it.  It’s a win-win situation!”

Phil Smith, Managing Director of PJS Mouldings

LED LIGHTS THE FACTS:

• 80% reduction in lighting costs
• Saving £14,000 in energy bills in year one
• Savings of over £57,000 in energy costs over 5 years
• Savings of over £12,000 in maintenance costs
• Cash positive of £12,800 by end of year one
• 212 replacement tubes using the latest energy saving LED lights
• 3 days to install
• Interest free loan secured from The Carbon Trust ensured no capital outlay
• True daylight colour enabled more accurate colour recognition for machinists
• PJS lighting used 18 hours each day
• Supply, installation and maintenance all provided by Eco Specialists

To find out how your company can benefit from similar savings call Paul Maddox on 0845 366 6969, email catalyst@ecospecialists.co.uk or click here for further information on our commercial LED lights.