One in five business people admits that they don't understand their commercial energy bills and over two million businesses rarely check their bills even though many believe they are paying too much.
A poll of 2,000 SMEs by energy and water consultancy UtilityWise found that 60% of businesses were unable to identify that E or A readings mean estimated or actual, while 25% did not understand the term unit rate.
While one in five small firms (with one to 49 employees) said they did not understand their statements; one in six bigger businesses (with 50-249 staff) also admitted to being confused about energy charges. This includes a third of manufacturing firms that do not understand the information provided on utility bills.
The survey also showed that as many as 2.19 million businesses never, or only occasionally, check their energy bills. This is despite the fact that three-quarters of SMEs believe they pay too much for their utilities and 46% believe energy prices will go up in the next year.
Of these, 23% blamed lack of time while a further 23% said that they trusted that the total is likely to be accurate. UtilityWise says over 60% of businesses are reliant on estimated bills.
Andrew Richardson, deputy CEO of UtilityWise, said that the energy bills shouldn't be "complicated, confusing or opaque". He said: "The terminology can be confusing, but it's important to get a handle on it because it impacts a business' bottom line: if you don't know that you’re paying an estimated bill you can be in for a nasty surprise."
Richardson advises SMEs to:
- Make sure they are up to speed with the terms and jargon on bills;
- Check the actual meter readings against the bills they receive;
- Understand energy consumption across the business as a percentage overhead;
- Check bills month-by-month for trends and administration errors.