Everything you should know about a deemed energy contract

If your energy contract is about to expire, then you need to do a business energy comparison. It’s also crucial to negotiate a new energy deal with your energy supplier or even switch to another tariff elsewhere. This is because failure to renegotiate your energy contract can cause your energy supplier to put you on a deemed contract. Unfortunately, a deemed energy contract is one of the most expensive energy tariffs out there and can leave you overpaying for the electricity and gas that your business utilizes. This post explains everything you should know about a deemed energy contract.

Understanding a deemed energy contract

A deemed energy contract is simply a default energy deal that an energy supplier places for their customers who fail to agree to a new energy contract with them. A deemed energy contract is usually found when you relocate your business to new premises and begin utilizing electricity and gas without an energy deal with the energy supplier. These energies have expensive energy rates, and the prices can sometimes be 80 percent more expensive than the contractual rates.

That said, there are several reasons why an energy supplier can put you on a deemed energy contract. One of them is because you have relocated to new business premises. As explained earlier, if you relocate to new business premises, an energy supplier can place you on a deemed energy contract. Hence, it’s crucial to get in touch with your current energy supplier who supplies gas and electricity to the premises right away. If you start to use electricity and gas and don’t have an agreement in place with the energy supplier, there is a good chance that the supplier can charge you expensive deemed energy rates.

Another reason why an energy supplier can put you on a deemed energy rate is when you or the supplier cancels your energy contract. If the energy supplier doesn’t say what may happen after the cancellation and you keep on using electricity and gas, then the energy supplier can switch you to a deemed energy tariff. 

Also, an energy supplier can place you on a deemed energy contract if your energy contract expires. Remember that this is not a common scenario because an energy supplier can decide to switch you to a rollover energy contract when your energy contract ends. But, in some cases, the original energy contract may fail to state what happens after its expiry. Therefore, any electricity and gas your business uses can be charged at a deemed energy rate.  

There are various ways you can figure out if you are on a deemed energy contract. One of them is that you should check if there is a sharp rise in energy prices. If you recently relocated to another business premises, then it is likely that you can be on a deemed energy rate. 

There are several businesses that end up being on a deemed energy contract. This is because most business owners are not aware that they are paying expensive deemed energy rates. A deemed energy contract causes a lot of problems for most businesses because it’s quite easy to overlook managing electricity and gas when you relocate to new business premises.

But if you are put on a deemed energy contract, your energy supplier needs to get in touch with you and give you details on the type of energy contract your business is on. Also, they need to tell you other available energy options and how to access more information on these. Therefore, if the energy supplier doesn’t offer this information, you must contact them immediately. 

You should note that a deemed energy contract is like any other energy contract, so it’s legal and enforceable. The only thing the energy supplier needs to do is to take reasonable steps to tell you about this energy contract. Once they do this, you need to pay deemed energy rates.

Switching business energy suppliers

Thankfully, there is still some good news, especially if you happen to be on a deemed energy contract. A deemed energy contract doesn’t have a specific period, so you can decide to switch to another energy tariff at any time, and there are no termination fees.

You can also have the choice of agreeing to an energy contract with your energy supplier or even deciding to switch to a new energy supplier. You can use an energy broker to compare the available energy deals that energy suppliers are offering. You can make huge savings on your electricity and gas bills when you switch from a deemed energy contract to a negotiated energy deal.

The good thing about using a reputable energy broker is that they can get in touch with you when your current business energy contract is about to expire. This means that you can avoid a rollover and deemed energy contract and get the best energy deal for your business.

Switching to a new business energy provider often takes a couple of weeks if there are no problems. It’s crucial to know how your business utilizes energy to make sure that you are getting the right energy deal. When you get a business energy deal, you can be locked in for the entire duration and it has no cooling-off period. This is why you need to be on the right energy contract. It’s worth mentioning that you can be entitled to a business energy contract even if you operate your business from home. 

If you decide to use energy brokers, to switch your business energy suppliers, they can give you the available energy tariffs. Even better, they can give you advice on the best way to select the best energy contract considering your circumstances. 

An energy broker can also contact you when there is a better energy deal available on the market. Once you are pleased with the potential energy supplier, you may need to provide your address, current tariff, and current energy supplier so that they can complete the switching process on your behalf.