The Farmers Mart Oct/Nov 2013 - Issue 30 | Page 59

PREPARE FOR WINTER A phone-based service, Make It Cheaper has business gas and electricity prices available from all the ‘Big 6’ energy suppliers, as well as eight smaller energy suppliers that specialise in serving businesses - such as Harrogate’s CNG, Opus, Haven and Gazprom. The company, based in London and with around 60,000 business customers UKwide, is totally independent and acts on behalf of the customer looking for the best prices. Once you become a customer, Make It Cheaper aims to keep you on lower prices permanently by either negotiating special ‘retention’ prices with your existing supplier when contracts come up for renewal or simply suggesting another switch. Nick Keenlyside keeps a 100-strong herd of Blond Cross Angus at his North East Mason Farm in Seaton Burn near Newcastle upon Tyne. The farm produces some hay and grass forage is used extensively to feed a 26 horse livery unit. Sheep graze the fields during winter months on a grass let tenancy arrangement. With two farm houses, outdoor lighting at the livery yard and a busy workshop in the beef unit, the farm burns its way through 34,000 kWh of electricity each year. Some of this is offset with a 10 kWh photovoltaic plant that exports 50% of the electricity it produces back into the National Grid. However, the sun doesn’t always shine in the North East so, at a current price of 11p a unit, Nick pays just shy of £4,000 a year for his supply. Operating the farm with just himself and one full-time worker, Nick is keen for any efficiency improvements. In 2007 he discovered that, if he switched his electricity contract away from his existing supplier, he would be able to fix a much lower unit rate as a new customer of a rival company. Over the past six years, Nick has switched his supplier on four more occasions, joining and leaving companies such as EDF, Scottish & Southern and Scottish Power whenever they attempted to raise his unit rate. As such he has only ever paid around 10 or 11 pence per unit for electricity. Each time he has used Make It Cheaper to find the best available prices and handle the switch on his behalf. This service is free, with Make It Cheaper earning a small commission from the new supplier once the switch has taken place. They even phone and write to him to prompt action when his prices are about to go up. For example, Nick has just saved £443 against the annual contract renewal he was being offered by his current supplier. He did this on a 20-minute phone call with Make It Cheaper: “It was dead easy. They have very helpful staff who couldn’t do enough to help. I make sure I have that call once a year and am now in the habit of annually reviewing my electricity rates in the same way as other overheads, like my vehicle insurance.” Anyone looking for free and impartial advice on energy prices or how to go about switching supplier should contact Make It Cheaper on 0800 970 0077 or visit www.makeitcheaper.com Proud to have been fuelling Britain's Farms for more than 80 years... Farm Fuels - Lubricants - Tanks - AdBlue - Fuel cards Contact our Farm Team today 0800 542 4207 To read more, visit www.farmers-mart.co.uk [email protected] www.rix.co.uk FarmersMart Oct/Nov 2013 59