BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:119@careengland.org.uk DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20240213T140000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20240213T150000 DTSTAMP:20240214T115647Z URL:https://www.careengland.org.uk/events/volatile-energy-market-how-care- providers-can-come-out-on-top/ SUMMARY:Volatile Energy Market? How Care Providers Can Come Out On Top DESCRIPTION:David Woodward from Focus Energy Services discussed strategies for care providers to effectively manage energy costs in a volatile market . He underscored current trends and global events contributing to energy u ncertainty and instability\, and highlighted solutions to mitigate costs.\ n\nDavid highlighted why a competent energy broker\, that really takes the time to understand needs and requirements will reduce your costs and advi se on key considerations and the necessary information to secure optimal e nergy deals. He emphasised the importance of audits and regular service re views in identifying and rectifying overcharges and billing errors.\n\nAs an Energy Advisor for Care England\, David has played a pivotal role in se curing the lowest possible energy costs for the care sector 100% of the ti me and has successfully reclaimed over £5m in overcharges through rigorou s audit processes.\n\nDrawing from his experience working with Care Englan d\, David shared valuable insights and practical tips for care providers t o optimise their energy arrangements and recover any incorrect charges. Th is webinar promises to provide actionable strategies to navigate the compl exities of energy management and minimise costs for care providers.\n\nA r ecording of this webinar can be found here:\n\nhttps://youtu.be/LsVC_Cz0PT o\n\n \;\n\nAn FAQ Sheet can be found in the drop down menu here:\n\n[ learn_more caption="FAQ"] 1) How do I know if my broker is overcharging me ? How much should they charge? \nWe consider that the maximum a broker sho uld charge for arranging an energy contract is 0.5p a kWh\n2) How do I kno w if my quotes cover the whole market? And I’m not being pointed to the highest commission paying energy company? \nIt’s very difficult as broke rs use quoting platforms\, which don’t include all energy suppliers. Ene rgy suppliers are rightly cautious about which brokers they will allow to deal directly with them. If a brokers doesn’t have direct access to the suppliers that don’t appear on quoting platforms then they can’t quote from the whole market.\nGetting quotes from another broker/consultant if obtained at the same time may show different suppliers quoting. Providers should question why a broker wouldn’t be open and transparent with their fees and ensure they were made clear on every quote.\n3) Is it better to have gas and electricity with the same supplier? \nNo financial advantage exists in having both supplies with the same supplier.\n4) How long would you renew an energy supply for if you were a care provider? \nGreat questi on\, with prices today I would lock in gas prices for 2 -3 years\, 2 years if renewal is 9 months away. Electricity isn’t so easy\, whilst electri city prices are less volatile than gas they have been 8 times the current price\, the UK will have to do more to ensure energy security\, so 1 -2 ye ars\, unless your renewal is October to March when I would move my renewal to June July\, so a 15 -20 or 27-32 month contract\n5) Care England have recently mentioned energy audits\, but we have changed suppliers on a regu lar basis\, can you look at our previous suppliers? \nIn England and Wales you we can audit and recover overcharging going back 6 years (Scotland 5 years)\, so changing suppliers isn’t an issue.\nIf the overcharge is by a previous supplier the process takes longer to obtain the refund and if i t’s VAT then HMRC need to be approached for the refund\, which is slow.\ n6) Is Solar power suitable for the care sector? What do you think the pay back period is approximately for Solar? \nEach care home is different and in many cases not financially viable. We suggest anyone considering it obt ains quotes from reputable sources that have visited the site and provided full details of what they propose\, how much electricity it should genera te and their idea of the payback period.\nWe are happy to go through the p roposal without charge for Care England tender members (no charge to regis ter your interest)\n7) As a charity we need to produce budgets a long way ahead\, is there anything we can do to make them more accurate? \nFor gas we can break down your annual cost by month (with a normal years weather) .\nQuotes can be obtained up to a year in advance of contract renewal whic h will give you a guide\, but prices could change if a contract not locked in.\n8) What should our target unit rate be for gas and power for 2024/25 at current predictions levels? Also\, will power transmission costs retur n to pre pandemic levels? \nQuotes are based on a number of factors \, but a general guide today gas quotes are around 3.8 to 4.1p a kWh and Electri city 19p to 21p. But care has to be taken as standing charges vary conside rably and a £5 a day standing charge often cheaper than 30p a day in over all costs.\nWe don’t expect the non commodity (the wholesale gas and ele ctricity price) to fall back to pre-pandemic levels\n9) Why is it importan t to ensure you have the right meter? \nElectricity meters should be ones that enable you to obtain the most competitive energy prices\, so non Half Hour meters being changed to Half Hour meters can help. Many care provide rs have a mix of domestic and commercial meters.\nAn experienced broker/co nsultant will be able to establish if using a different supplier for each type is more beneficial than one that will quote for al the meters as a si ngle contract.\n10) Can you get weekend/night rates on a flex? \nYes if th e meters are half hour meters [/learn_more] ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.careengland.org.uk/wp-content/upload s/2024/01/energy-banner.png CATEGORIES:Care England END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20231029T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR