Soaring energy costs: Are you receiving what’s due?
Energy costs have reached record highs in recent months putting extreme pressure on businesses, especially those who use a lot of energy.
Energy costs have reached record highs in recent months putting extreme pressure on businesses, especially those who use a lot of energy. Furthermore, businesses are facing industry and government pressure from last year’s COP26 event, to develop and apply their net-zero plans, stretching their finances even further.
Despite this bleak outlook, there are opportunities to recoup money you’ve already spent to help bolster your current finances. And there are government schemes which discount energy levies and taxes reducing your energy budget for future years too.
Recoup costs with Revenue Recovery
Historical energy invoices are a great place to start. Around 20% of utility bills are wrong, meaning you may have overpaid for the energy you actually used. How much can you recover? The law allows you to recover costs up to six years prior for any billing errors or overcharges. Mistakes across multiple years can add up to many thousands of pounds in refunds – a welcome boost to funds.
However, it can be difficult to know if you are being overcharged by your supplier, especially for those with multiple sites and hundreds of half-hourly (HH) meters. It’s best to obtain support from a trusted energy expert who analyse your consumption in detail against your historical supply contracts to recover all billing errors for you. We carry out forensic audits on a share of savings basis meaning there is no up-front cost and if we don’t find any excess payments, then there is nothing to pay – you simply can’t lose.
Have your circumstances recently changed? Are you now entitled to exemptions or compensation?
Has your business changed considerably over the last couple of years? It’s possible that changes to your operation could mean you can now access exemptions or compensation. Take stock of your business by asking:
- Has your gross income fallen, or turnover been affected?
- How has your energy use changed?
- Are you eligible for any recently opened schemes?
Climate Change Agreement scheme
The Climate Change Agreement (CCA) scheme reopened in 2021 for businesses feeling the impacts of COVID-19 and soaring energy costs. The scheme offers substantial cost savings which could be a silver lining on the dark cloud of energy prices.
The CCA scheme, if you’re eligible, allows you to make an agreement to reduce your energy consumption and CO2 emissions. And in return, you could receive a discount of up to 92% on your electricity element and up to 86% on the gas element of the Climate Change Levy (CCL). If you are qualified for the scheme and aren’t currently active, you could be missing out on thousands in energy costs. For example, an eligible applicant with annual consumption of 3GWh for electricity and 2.5GWh for gas will save over £100,000 between April 2022 and March 2025.
The application window for the CCA scheme closes on the 31st of March 2022 so there is not much time left. Bear in mind you must submit your application well in advance of this deadline to allow the Environment Agency to review and approve your application, so act now!
We recommend using a specialist to help you so you can continue to focus on your business and its day-to-day operations, whilst we make sure your application is accurate and submitted on time. Visit our Levy Exemption page for more information or contact us at [email protected] or 01772 689 250.
