This news follows a warning from Centrica, the owner of British Gas Business, who said that energy bills are set to rise even further during the upcoming winter months. This is because its margins are being squeezed as the price of gas and power soars. Therefore, businesses should make changes now to avoid hard-hitting bills during the forthcoming winter.
The survey questioned 900 medium-sized businesses and found that 70 per cent are not currently carrying out energy efficiency measures, and one in three said they had no plans to carry out such measures in the future.
For those surveyed, energy bills represented almost a fifth of their annual operational running costs.
Following world events, such as the unrest in the Middle East and the earthquake in Japan, energy prices have already risen by 25 per cent in the last six months.
Even though energy prices are soaring, British Gas Business believes that the higher costs of energy did not “automatically” mean higher bills for businesses.
So what methods can companies use to ensure their energy bills are lowered, if high bills are not the fault of energy suppliers?
The survey found that 70 per cent of the companies had devices which allowed them to monitor usage and analyse data to control their consumption - these companies saw a return on their investment within 18 months.
If companies used devices such as this combined with employees making behavioural changes (i.e switching off unnecessary lighting and turning off plug sockets), British Gas Business said companies could expect to lower their energy bills by 10 per cent.
Help is also at hand from The Carbon Trust who is asking SMEs to use its online certification tool to recognise where they can cut their energy bills. And it would appear to be beneficial for small businesses to do so as the organisation claims small firms using the service had cut their energy costs by an average of £2,000 per year.
For more information, please visit www.glazers.co.uk
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