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Half-hourly charging requires early action warns Utilitywise

Half-hourly charging should not present a challenge to businesses as long as they take action early, energy and water consultancy Utilitywise has said.

Utilitywise has urged businesses to put in place the required energy contracts needed soon, or risk giving the decisions to energy suppliers to make.

Utilitywise’s head of energy markets Jon Ferris said: “These new changes may seem complicated but they do not need to pose too much of a challenge as long as businesses work to gain control of their electricity usage.”

Half-hourly charging is likely to lead to more complex electricity bills and an increase in charges .

The consultancy has released a three point guide to help customers take advantage of the changes to save money for their business.

The guide includes appointing a dedicated data collector and meter operator, and using a monitoring and targeting service to visualise energy use, enable energy efficiency and reduce consumption.

“More accurate meter readings provide the tools for greater flexibility in energy management and P272 offers a valuable opportunity to reduce consumption and costs.”

The implementation date for half-hourly charging has been delayed by a year until April 2017, but businesses will start to be transferred from November this year.

The Federation of Small Businesses has warned that the majority of businesses are unaware of a host of extra costs that will come from the transition.