Although it may seem tiresome, comparing energy plans can be a way for your business to save a lot of money.
You may not have the time, or the expertise to personally handle an energy plan comparison. And electricity and gas plans can be confusing and require a keen eye to spot a cheaper energy deal. There are a few other reasons for you to compare energy plans with others in the market. These may depend on varying business needs or changes in electricity and gas prices.
Whatever the reason, it is advisable to compare energy plans on an annual basis.
Make It Cheaper is able to provide this comparison service to your business free of charge. We’ll present your options you can decide if your SME could benefit from comparing plans. If we find a better deal, you can switch energy providers and we’ll do all the heavy lifting with our Do it For You service.
Business Energy Needs Change
As your business grows, you may employ more people and move to larger premises. These changes will increase your energy consumption and increase your electricity bill. If you plan to buy new equipment, your consumption will also increase.
Tip: Reducing the speed of a motor by 20% can decrease consumption by 50%.
On the flip side, you may be downgrading your business. If you are still paying the same rates, your business is clearly wasting money. The best thing to do is to compare electricity plans and decide on a cheaper option.
Moving Your Business Location
Changes in your business may mean you have to relocate your business. It could be to reduce rental charges or reach more customers. Like moving house, moving your business will require a change in your electricity contract. When someone is moving house, their electricity supply ceases the day they leave. With businesses, the day you leave the old premises marks the end of your contract.
Follow these steps before you move out of your current premises:
Your previous retailer may not necessarily have competitive pricing at your new address, don’t automatically assume that they are the best option.
Once you have found a competitive plan for your new premises, ensure that you email your current retailer with your new business address. This is necessary for them to send your final bills.
Provide proof to the current supplier that you are giving up control of the business location.
Take a photo of your meters on the day you move out. This will help your old supplier process the change of tenancy notification.
When you move to your new location, you may choose to use the same retailer and energy plans. However, this may not be possible because the electricity supply is based on location.
Moving is a great opportunity for customers to shop around for cheaper electricity.
Compare quotes of multiple energy retailers in your area using Make It Cheaper to help secure a competitive rate for your new premises. We will be able to compare electricity plans from our panel of leading Aussie energy suppliers. You can then make an informed decision about which provider is right for your business.
Change in Billing Methods
Many Australian businesses receive electricity and gas bills measured by taking meter readings. These are used to calculate your bill. A smart meter is a way to automatically monitor details of your electricity and gas usage. They are then sent directly to your provider. They collect electricity usage in near-real-time and gas every 30 minutes. This information is displayed in the smart meter unit display.
The added advantage is you will be able to clearly track your energy usage over time. You can then monitor the cost and begin to use electricity and gas more efficiently. If you wish to take advantage of off-peak rates, you will need a smart meter. This will let you connect to a time-of-use electricity plan.
Businesses that operate during the evening or weekends can save money by switching to an off-peak rate, a quick call to our energy experts at Make It Cheaper can find you a competitive tariff based on your businesses energy usage. \
Looking for sustainability options
With sustainability high on businesses agenda, there are many ways you can reduce energy consumption and support the push to Net Zero.
Some electricity and gas providers offer renewable tariffs known as green energy tariffs. Green energy tariffs may be cheaper than normal rates as providers tempt customers with lower prices. These energy plans are a mixture of clean and dirty power but it is still a step towards helping the environment.
Make a price comparison between energy retailers who can provide a ‘green plan’. This could result in significant savings on your electricity bill.
How to Switch Energy Providers
After making a price comparison, some of the most asked questions are: How do I switch my energy provider? What is the best energy plan for my business? Luckily, at Make It Cheaper we offer you a stress-free switching process.
Here are the steps for a hassle-free switch:
1. Check the exit date of the contract on your existing plan.
If your business has an existing contract, you can only switch if the:
Contract has expired.
Supplier has offered renewal of the contract.
Cancellation fee is met.
You may not switch if:
You have a commercial fixed energy contract.
You owe the energy supplier money.
You should keep tabs on your contract renewal date, or when your contract ends. This will give you ample time to gather information on alternative plans.
Or, if you find a new plan through Make it Cheaper, you can sign up to the Do it For You service. This service will automatically look for a new competitive offer before your current contract expires. This way, instead of rolling on to a default market offer you’ll find a competitive market offer.
2. Compare quotes from various retailers
You can also approach your current retailer with quotes of plans from a different energy retailer and negotiate a lower rate, but that may not necessarily give you as good a deal as comparing up to 12 energy retailers with Make It Cheaper.
To perform a market comparison using Make It Cheaper, simply email [email protected] with a recent energy bill. Make It Cheaper will then give you quotes from various retailers in your state or territory.
3. Confirm your business switch
Make It Cheaper also handles the switch, making the process easy and painless. In just one phone call to our energy experts, we can find you a new competitive rate across our panel of leading energy retailers. And if you like the savings we find, we can organise the transfer to the new plan and cancel your contract with your previous provider.
We also cancel your previous contract, you just need to look out for your last bill from your previous supplier. It can take up to 3 months to switch depending on when your meter was last read.
Compare and Switch the Easy Way
You may be making changes to your business structure or moving premises. With these changes, it is advantageous to reconsider your energy plan.
Compare your energy and gas plan with help from Make It Cheaper’s saving experts. Why not make the switch like this happy customer?
We prepare quotes from a panel of top Australian energy retailers. We also offer advice on finding an energy plan based on your business’s energy usage.
We find deals that reduce your energy bills and even handle the switch from beginning to end. Our intention is to save you both time and money so we offer our services for free.
If you’re looking for cheaper energy deals in the Australian energy market, Make It Cheaper can help.
It’s common for business owners and leaders to become so busy working in the business, it’s a struggle to find time to work on the business.
But working on the business is where the magic can happen. This strategic investment of time can be leveraged to help you explore new opportunities, find more efficient and better ways to operate, and ultimately optimise your operations to maximise profits and growth.
One way we aim to help at Make it Cheaper is by engaging with businesses to help them analyse and review their energy usage, with a view to improving energy efficiency and reducing costs. As one of Australia’s leading energy comparison services for businesses, we’re dedicated to saving you time and money and making your life easier when it comes to energy bills.
Whether you’re a small business with a small footprint or a larger multi-site operator with a number of premises to coordinate, we can help you identify cost and time savings beyond your energy rates and contract, with opportunities to negotiate on tariff changes, power factor correction and installing smart devices.
Our experts have unrivalled knowledge in commercial and industrial power, which we leverage on your behalf to get competitive deals that suit your business.
How energy savings can help you achieve business goals
The process is simple and streamlined, and begins with a conversation where we ask a few strategic questions, to get an understanding of your current bills and energy needs. Our energy-saving experts will then analyse your business energy needs and compare deals from our panel of leading Australian retailers.
Here’s an example of a recent outcome we achieved for a client. We reached out to a childcare service (with multiple sites) in November 2021 to discuss reviewing their energy contract. At the time, they had 8 months remaining on their existing energy agreement.
However, since that contract had been signed, the energy market had become much more competitive. Many new offers had dropped, which provided the perfect opportunity to review their options.
Make it Cheaper tendered the contract to several energy companies who were all eager to win the business. We reviewed five offers and negotiated a deal that amounted to 7% in energy savings, and $23,850 in savings.
We took this offer back to the existing energy retailer the centre was currently contracted to. They agreed to not only match the offer, but exceed it, offering a saving of $39,671. Best of all, the customer didn’t have to wait eight months for those savings to kick in, as the retailer agreed to immediately provide price relief.
With another customer of ours, a well-known seafood restaurant in Sydney, we found an estimated annual saving of $3,544 (GST inc) on the electricity account, which was a 12.4% decrease in the bill size.
In addition to the electricity, we looked at the customer’s gas bill and found they have been on expensive default rates with their current retailer. After a quick review, we secured savings of 36%, resulting in $9138 (GST inc/exc) estimated savings for the year.
For these businesses, these five-figure savings can be redeployed towards other more impactful activities, such as launching new marketing campaigns to attract more business, or investing in staff training and refurbishments.
Get a free business energy review today
Since launching in 2009, Make it Cheaper has saved Australian households and businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy bills every week (around $1 million every month). To see how we can help you save time and money on your business energy bills, contact us today.
Atlassian founder and tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes often makes the news for his eye-watering wealth and the huge number of successful start-ups he’s funded. But in February, he hit the headlines for a totally different reason, when he made a surprise $8bn bid to take over AGL Energy.
It wasn’t a solo mission: Cannon-Brookes joined forces with Canadian asset management company Brookfield to form Grok Ventures, in an effort to broker the deal. The extraordinary takeover bid was ultimately rejected by the energy giant, who claimed the bid “materially undervalued the company” and said a premium of at least 30% on its share price would be needed for the bid to potentially succeed.
For those wondering why Cannon-Brookes is suddenly keen to get involved in the energy sector, it’s all about the environment. Grok aims to bring forward AGL’s exit from coal-fired power by 2030. If successful, the new owners would also halt a planned demerger that would see the company’s fossil fuel assets broken off into a separate entity, Accel Energy.
That’s not the only major event playing out across the national electricity market as 2022 progresses. Origin Energy also made a major announcement in February, sharing that they have brought forward plans to close their coal-fired power plant – Australia’s largest one – seven years early.
Origin Energy confirmed that it aims to retire Eraring Power Station, north of Sydney in the Hunter region, in 2025. Previously, it had set a retirement target of 2032. The company intends to repurpose the Eraring site to install large-scale battery storage of up to 700 megawatts on the site, in alignment with their move into renewable energy.
Around 230 employees and 200 contractors will be impacted by the closure, with Origin to consult with employees and unions about redeployment and retraining opportunities. While this move aligns with the growth in renewable energy as the cheapest form of electricity generation right now, without clear government policy and oversight, we’re at risk of future closures that could have significant impacts on electricity prices, and on regional economies that depend on coal.
Lastly, with Putin’s invasion into the Ukraine in late February, it remains unclear just how much of a trickle down impact the Russia-Ukraine war will have on the global economy and energy markets.
The conflict has already caused stock market turmoil and has sent oil prices higher, despite the International Energy Agency’s members’ decision to release 60 million barrels of oil from emergency stockpiles. Normally, this flood of supply would help to slow price growth, but this time, it didn’t stop Brent crude (the international benchmark for oil prices) from hitting record highs.
With the potential for ongoing shortages of oil from Russia and greater uncertainty ahead, there are many moving parts that could impact supply and energy prices globally in the months ahead.
Get ahead of potential price changes by locking in a competitive energy contract for your business today.
As a recurrent expense, your energy costs can add up fast. In deregulated regions with many providers, you can reduce your energy expenses. You only need to switch to a cheaper provider.
Often, this starts with comparing rates between different providers. Once you identify a cheaper provider, you can start the paperwork. You need to cancel with your current supplier and sign a new contract to secure these rates.
How Does Comparing Electricity Plans Help Your Business?
Comparing electricity plans can find you a competitive provider in your state or territory. If you do it alone, this is not a straight forward process. To compare energy plans, you must understand what goes into your bill.
Who Is the Cheapest Electricity Provider in Australia?
There is no specific answer to this question. Every supplier will base their charges on several components.
Finding the cheapest suppliers will require actual calculations. You need to compare each component against other energy providers. You then calculate the totals to find the cheapest rate including if there are discounts and the time of day you use most of your energy.
While looking to save on your energy usage, you need to look beyond the headline discounts. The actual tariff rates might differ. A huge discount or welcome credits rarely translates to the largest long term energy savings for your business.
The quickest way to find savings with a free comprehensive comparison, is by providing Make it Cheaper with a recent bill so they can give you an accurate assessment of the offers in market.
Understanding Energy Comparison: Electricity Plans, Tariffs and Discounts
In Australia, your business energy plan will fall in a regulated or deregulated market. Typically if you are a business in a deregulated market you can switch between suppliers to enjoy better rates.
Deregulated states and territories include:
New South Wales
South Australia
Victoria
Australian Capital Territory
South East Queensland (Including Ipswich, Gold Coast, Brisbane and Sunshine Coast)
In regulated regions, you have fewer choices for market comparison. Most of the rates fall under government regulation.
If you are in a deregulated region, you need to compare energy plans from different providers. Make it Cheaper does the comparison for you for free. But first, it is helpful you need to understand what determines the rates you pay.
Understanding Tariffs and Discounts from Energy Providers
The amount you pay in your energy plan comes from a variable usage charge and a fixed daily supply charge. The structure of the variable usage charge will vary based on your business energy plan:
Single rate SME electricity tariffs – This is a standard kWh rate. It stays the same at all times throughout the year.
Time of use SME electricity tariffs – Here, different kWh rates apply. The rate will change depending on the time of day you consume energy. There are different rates for ‘peak’ and ‘off-peak’ hours. You’ll also have ‘shoulder rates’ for hours between the peak and off-peak times. The definitions of these times will vary by provider.
Controlled load tariffs – This is a special tariff for metered appliances. It applies to appliances that only run at off-peak hours such as an electric hot water heater.
Understanding these tariffs and the impact they will have on your electricity and gas bills will save you money.
You should audit and identify business patterns and energy consumption habits. This will help you determine the best energy provider for you in your region.
In addition to tariffs, you can also take advantage of discounts. You will find varied discounts from different energy providers.
Most energy companies offer two major types of discount plans:
Conditional discounts – You can only enjoy these discounts if you meet certain conditions. A simple example is ‘the pay on time discount’. You will only enjoy this discount if you make all your payments on time.
Guaranteed discounts – These apply automatically throughout the contract term. They do not depend on a special set of conditions. Remember once your contract term expires often your discounts can too- so it is important to get an energy comparison when ever your contract expires.
These discounts will vary by retailer. Nonetheless, you can use them to maximise on your energy savings.
Saving on Electricity: Compare Different Plans and Make the Switch
While running a business in Australia, your electricity and gas bills can add up fast. Make it Cheaper can help you compare electricity plans and switch freely between different providers.
Benefits of Switching Your Electricity Plan
You will enjoy several benefits, such as:
Reducing Your Energy Bills
“We have used Make It Cheaper for several years now, with great results. Each time we have received great service and achieved excellent savings. Most recently Lucy Block worked with the retailer to reset our demand charges, reducing our fixed charges by over $150K – a fantastic result! Would definitely recommend Lucy and the team at Make It Cheaper!”
Most Australian businesses pay more than they have to on their electricity, gas and utility plans.
Your energy-saving plan begins with:
Understanding your energy usage and what goes into your plan.
Comparing plans from different energy companies.
Using the information to switch to the provider with the cheapest plan.
Discovering Eco-Friendly Options
Some electricity/gas companies now offer renewable and sustainable energy options. There are more energy companies using wind, hydro, solar and biomass. These renewable sources benefit the environment.
While switching, you can ask for a cleaner and greener energy provider, often these are more expensive than other plans, however you can ask your energy expert for their advice.
Eco-friendly plans helps improve your sustainability practices. You can even use this information to appeal to the environmentally-conscious customer.
Bundling Up Services
The energy plans comparison process will often combine your gas and electricity bills. By combining the two, you can use the information to streamline your consumption. mMake It Cheaper will use information from your business to create a custom bundle deal. This plan will offer you big savings on your energy bills. It will also give you access to heavily discounted bundle rates.
Improving Your Service
While making the switch, you can choose:
A competitive service provider
An energy company with better customer service
If you are not happy with your service provider, consider making the switch today. You can weigh available information to find the energy provider with the best service for you.
The Cost of Switching
It is easy for your business to compare and switch their electricity and gas providers by using a free energy comparison service like Make it Cheaper. While comparing your energy plans, you only need a recent electricity and or gas bill.
At Make It Cheaper we use the actual readings on your bill and compare them to different energy providers. We will then recommend the best and cheapest energy provider available on our panel.
If you choose to make the switch, we will take charge of the entire process. We will handle all the paperwork and calls from the energy company. The best part is, this service is free. This saves you time and money.
Finding a Better Electricity Deal for Your Business
Your bottom line will appreciate the cost-saving benefits of comparing energy plans and switching to a cheaper provider.
Make It Cheaper makes it easy for you to switch by providing you with all the information you need to make a decision.
Our team of energy savings experts will help you:
Assess your bill to understand your current energy plan.
Compare different energy retailers to find a competitive plan for you.
Make a recommendation to help you make a decision.
Handle all the calls and paperwork from the energy retailers needed to make the switch.
If your business is ready to enjoy energy savings, contact Make It Cheaper today. You can call us at 1300-957-721 or contact us online now for free.
Looking to save on your business energy bill?
We find savings for 4 out of 5 businesses. See how much your business could save.
There is no doubt that energy is a complex category and when it comes to commercial energy and MultiSites it can be even more confusing. MIC Energy Brokers is here to help demystify commercial energy jargon and to help secure competitive energy rates for your business, that will help save you time and your business money.
Network Tariff Reviews or NTR’s
You may have seen Network Tariff charges on your energy bill, so what exactly are they?
Network Tariffs have been a regulated charge set by the network distributor and approved by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) since 2014.
These charges cover the creation and maintenance of the poles and wires that deliver electricity to your business.
For large market or commercial customers, these tariffs are “passed-through” from the distributor and will appear as a separate line item on your energy bill from your retailer.
Tariffs can change by your network distributor, usually at the start of the Australian financial year for most states or in Victoria on January 1st.
However, it is unlikely that your retailer will proactively review these charges and, in some circumstances, a one-off event that increases your demand/load could increase your Network Tariff charges, resulting in you ending up on the wrong tariff and end up that you may be overpaying, this is due to your network tariff being unique to the energy requirements of your business. As tariffs are unique to each site, if you have multisites this further complicates the energy landscape,
How often should I get a tariff review?
Network tariffs can be changed once a year. MIC Energy Brokers believe that reviewing your network tariff annually is beneficial as although routine price changes only occur once a year, your business’s energy profile may have changed which could impact what you pay for your network tariff charges.
If you are in Victoria, we recommend that we review your charges in February, or in other states in August, this is so that we have a recent bill with any annual price changes that have been made by the network distributor.
Secure your free Energy Tariff Review
Whether or not you are a customer of MIC Energy Brokers, we are happy to provide you a complementary network tariff review. To get in touch email call our commercial team on 1300 957 721.
