Majority of SMEs ‘don’t know what they spend on energy’

Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) are “missing out on energy savings” because a majority of the owners don’t know what they spend on their utilities. That’s according to a […]

Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) are “missing out on energy savings” because a majority of the owners don’t know what they spend on their utilities.

That’s according to a new study, which claims more than half (52%) or 2.5 million SMEs have no idea how much they spend on electricity, gas and water.

Energy and water consultancy firm Utilitywise revealed 66% of small business owners delegate the purchase and management of utilities to “other staff”.

More than 600,000 or 14% of small business owners have also never “actively reviewed” their energy and water spending and 68% don’t know the difference between a fixed and flexible energy contract.

Michael Dent from Utilitywise said: “Misinformation and misunderstanding mean small businesses are suffering because they don’t know how to navigate the utilities markets nor have the consumption necessary to act for themselves.

“Poor buying and management of utilities stops growth and damages businesses’ bottom lines.”

The firm has introduced a new service called the Energy Alliance that uses the collective buying power of thousands of small businesses “to get the same competitive energy deals as larger companies”.

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