Business Energy FAQs

MPAN is short for Meter Point Administration Number. This is a unique identifier for any electricity supply connected directly to the grid and includes various pieces of information, including:

• Your approximate geographic location
• Whether your supply is domestic or commercial
• How much of the infrastructure your supply uses

If you have questions about your MPAN or need an MPAN, contact us for help.

Available Capacity is the maximum amount of power you have agreed to use at any given time with your Distribution Network Operator (DNO). Available capacity is also known as Maximum Import Capacity (MIC), it is measured in kVA and shown on your electricity invoices.

It is sometimes, but not always, possible to safely draw more power than your Available Capacity if needed.

It is also key to note that you will pay for your Available Capacity regardless of how much power you use. As a result, you can yield major cost savings by working with a consultant to optimise your Available Capacity to best suit your needs.

Half hourly meters are advanced meters used to measure large electricity supplies. For supplies with maximum demands in excess of 100 kW, half hourly metering is compulsory.

These meters record energy consumption for every half hour period, then automatically communicate this data to the supplier via a phone connection. As the consumption is logged every half hour, these meters are not required to show readings, though the meters do sometimes show them.

For this reason, bills for half hourly metered electricity supplies do not include meter readings.

This data can be used to analyse when consumption is occurring and identify opportunities to save money by reducing excess consumption, particularity during out of hours periods.

MPRN is short for Meter Point Reference Number, also sometimes referred to as an MPR or M Number. It is a is a 6-10 digit number that acts as a unique identifier for any gas supply connected directly to the network.

If you’re unsure what your MPRN is, or don’t have one, contact us to resolve this.

Annual Quantity, often referred to as an Estimated Annual Quantity (EAQ), is the amount of gas expected to be consumed in a year, measured in kilowatt hours (kWh). This can be obtained from your distributor or current supplier. This number can be used to estimate future usage and ensure that suppliers can offer the most suitable types of gas supply contracts.

A Supply Point Identification Number (SPID) is a unique identifier assigned to all properties with a water supply or connected to the sewerage network. You may have separate but linked SPIDs for both your water and wastewater.

If you’re unsure what your SPID is, or don’t have one, contact us to resolve this.

Suppliers offer a number of different tariffs to consumers, which are often based on fixed term or rolling contract agreements. However, suppliers will use deemed rates if no contract is set, and these can be considerably more expensive than contracted rates.

Your energy consultant can identify what tariff/contract you are on and establish the best possible tariff, potentially saving you a significant amount of money.

Extended contract terms or deemed rates suggest that your supply is no longer in contract, and you are more than likely being charged far more than necessary.

We recommend that you promptly arrange a supply contract to avoid further high costs, and can help you make these arrangements if needed.

This depends on a number of factors, including:

• Your plans for the property and utility supply
• How the rates compare to those on other contract periods
• If your business needs predictable and stable energy prices
• How much time the energy procurement process takes you annually – and if this investment has proven to be worthwhile

Having an experienced consultant or broker can be a big help to put all of this into context. To get impartial advice regarding your situation – especially if your current broker is paid via commission – don’t hesitate to contact us.

Having an experienced consultant or broker can be a big help to put all of this into context. To get impartial advice regarding your situation – especially if your current broker is paid via commission – don’t hesitate to contact us.

Yes! A significant part of the price you pay for electricity or gas is based upon the wholesale market at the time that you agree to the contract, rather than the date the contract is due to start.

This means that you can take advantage of a dip in wholesale prices by agreeing to a new contract at the time, even if your renewal date is still several months away.

It’s worth considering that you usually pay a slight uplift for purchasing electricity or gas further in the future, as there’s increased uncertainty for suppliers about what their costs will be.

Yes, this is generally true with bespoke business energy contracts. These contracts are closely based on the daily wholesale energy markets, which are volatile and can change significantly from day to day.

By contrast, a domestic energy contract for your home would usually have a much larger ‘buffer,’ which allows the supplier to offer a certain tariff for several months without change.

The wholesale energy markets are ultimately driven by energy supply (e.g. the operational status of gas fields, levels of renewable generation, LNG imports) and energy demand (e.g. economic data, seasonal weather), and are linked to other commodity markets (such as oil) and currency fluctuations.

The price you pay for electricity and gas is made up of two elements:

• The wholesale commodity cost
• Non-commodity elements (such as distribution costs, transmission costs and renewable levies).

A fully fixed contract is one in which the supplier has included all these elements in the agreed rates and guaranteed that these won’t change for the entire contract duration. This means you won’t be charged unexpected pass-through costs, or have these charges applied to your invoices, and will avoid costly reconciliations of up to hundreds of pounds sometimes billed months or years later.

Fully fixed contracts can help you set budgets and forecasts with confidence while avoiding hidden fees down the road.

No, but you could end up paying through the nose if you rely on your supplier.

Many electricity suppliers will gladly organise metering for you, but they will often do so at a very high cost – as much as £600/year + VAT for a basic half hourly meter.

Some of the jargon can be intimidating for the uninitiated, but a good meter operator (also known as MOP) will be able to explain what you need to request from your supplier.

Alternatively, your consultant should be able to confirm this information for you, or help you to source a good MOP contract.

Our full utility bureau service includes organising half hourly meter contracts as standard for all clients.

The water market opened in April 2017, and from this date all businesses in England are able to choose their water supplier. Achievable savings are nominal for all except large consumers, but if you are having trouble with your current provider, switching to a different supplier may improve your customer experience.

A good consultant will investigate your individual situation before recommending you switch. If you need impartial advice, feel free to get in touch.

Yes. Clifford Talbot has an established system for calculating tenant recharges for multi-let properties, which can be configured to your specific needs.

Ideally the building should have MID compliant sub-meters installed, which record the usage of each of the tenants for fair distribution of energy cost. Alternatively, recharges can be based on floor area, the number of employees in the building, or a simple percentage split.

Clifford Talbot can carry out the recharges even if your supply has already been procured and our full Utility Bureau Service is not needed. Please get in touch with us to discuss your specific needs.

Degree Days is a measure of cooling or heating which is based on external temperature measurements against a baseline temperature, these can be used to account for the effect of weather on energy usage and to measure a company’s heating or cooling efficiency. The correlation between degree days and electricity/gas can be a good indicator of how well your energy is being managed.

Even though you may have stopped using gas or electricity, you will still receive invoices from your supplier. This can sometimes happen even if your meter has been removed. This is because standing charges make up a proportion of gas or electricity bills; these cover the cost of maintaining the cables or pipework that supply a premises and are passed from distribution companies to suppliers, who in turn pass them through to customers via their bills.

In order to stop these charges you will need to arrange the removal of your meter and/or supply, the cost of which may equate to several years’ worth of standing charges. A good consultant should be able to help you make this decision, and, if needed, arrange the necessary work in conjunction with your supplier.

As of April 2018, if your supply exceeds the set available capacity, then your supplier could charge you excess capacity rates – as much as 3 times what you currently pay.

This recent change in legislation (DCP161) appears to have prompted a lot of businesses to contact large energy users out of the blue to bring this to their attention to generate leads.

The capacity check is not a government initiative and could be carried out by yourselves or an experienced consultant or broker. As part of our full Utility Bureau Service, this is something we have been doing for our clients for years.

Unfortunately, this is something we come across often. This commonly happens when one supplier installs an AMR, but after a change of supplier the new supplier is unable to access information on the meter. This can occasionally be rectified by the new supplier change the sim card in the meter or sometimes the whole meter needs to be changed again.

If a read has never been obtained from the AMR meter it may be an issue with the mobile phone signal which the meter relies on to send information, for example, if the meter is located in a basement or somewhere with weak reception. This can be rectified by installing a phone line to facilitate communication with the meter, although there are additional costs associated with this.

If suppliers don’t receive regular meter reads or automatic readings, they will base your charges on estimated data. This can easily be missed, which can cause consumers to pay for more energy than they are actually using. We recommend taking meter readings every quarter as a minimum, then sending the reads to the supplier when a bill is due and then checking the bill is issued to that reading. An experienced consultant will be able to identify estimated consumption and resolve this issue with the consumer and supplier.

Using a utility bureau service such as ours ensures that all suppliers who can provide for your business and your portfolio are included on the tender. As we have worked with many suppliers, we can provide advice and recommendations to ensure you receive quality customer service.

From April 2017, owners of vacant properties in Scotland are now liable for water, sewerage, and drainage charges. This applies to any properties that are detailed on the Scottish Assessors Association database not occupied by the owner or a tenant.

The water market in Scotland is fully open to competition, and achievable savings can be sizeable. With over 20 suppliers to choose from, picking the best option can be intimidating. However, by using a utility bureau service, your consultant should be able to provide the most cost efficient option while ensuring your charges are accurate.

For most customers, this is not a concern. However, if there is going to be a significant change to the consumption of your site, it would be worth comparing suppliers’ take or pay thresholds, as well as their prices, and other terms and conditions.

For example, if the site is industrial and the consumption decreases because of a change in production or equipment, or if the site is an office and the consumption decreases because the occupancy drops significantly or renewable generation is installed, the supplier could levy penalty charges for taking a lot less electricity or gas than was expected.

If you use a utility bureau service such as ours, we can advise which suppliers offer is best overall, including price, take or pay and other clauses in their terms and conditions.

Non-commodity costs consist of levies and taxes through government schemes alongside distribution and transmission charges. These are payable by all business consumers to help maintain adequate generation and supply, along with incentives for renewable energy options.

These costs are increasing year on year and are now make up over 50% of the average supplier invoice. Depending on the contract that has been arranged, these may be fixed or passed through as and when new levies are introduced. For more information on non-commodity costs, please contact us.

You will need to appoint a supplier and provide them with technical details of the supply, including the MPAN which is obtained from the distribution company. A good consultant will be able to recommend a supplier that is able to cope with the complexities involved with new connections, and may have specific contacts they can approach to ensure they complete the work in a timely manner.

Water supply AMRs come at a considerably higher cost than your average electricity or gas AMR service. Depending on your requirements, there are many options available through your water retailer. Once an AMR is installed, however, it can offer leak detection, half-hourly usage data & reports, and more accurate billing.

By using a utility bureau service for your water, your consultant can provide you with more detailed information, as well as suitable AMR packages tailored to your business’s individual needs.

AMR meters (also known as Smart meters) can be installed for free by some suppliers but in some cases you might see a small uplift in your standing charge for the AMR meter to cover the suppliers’ cost. It can be a good time to negotiate for AMR meters to be installed as a free added benefit when arranging a new electricity or gas contract. Under OFGEM regulations, gas and electricity suppliers need to roll out AMR meters to all domestic and small business customers by the end of 2020 under the requirements of their supply licence.