Your energy supply is safe with Unicom

There has been widespread media coverage recently about rising energy prices and energy suppliers ceasing to trade.

Why are energy prices rising?

Wholesale prices for natural gas and electricity have risen due to higher global demand, reduced generation due to planned maintenance and lower renewable electricity generation due to low winds.

We understand this can be unsettling, particularly for business owners whose livelihood depends on the use of energy. Gas and electricity are critical components in so many of our customers’ businesses, and they rely on the energy industry to keep that supply flowing.

Your supply is safe with us

We want to reassure all Unicom customers that there is no reason to be concerned about the security of your energy supply.

Unicom is part of the Verastar Group, which provides a wide range of services including telecoms, broadband, water, insurance and payment services, as well as energy, to over 160,000 small businesses.

The fact that we offer a wide range of services, coupled with the way we purchase energy on the wholesale market, means we are at lower risk than many other energy providers from current fluctuations within the market.

If you’re in a fixed term contract

If you’re in a fixed-rate energy contract your rates won’t increase during your fixed term, save in the limited circumstances set out in your contract.

If your contract’s due to end soon, you’ll lock in the best rates by remaining in a fixed contract. We’ll contact you before your contract ends to offer you a renewal.

If you’re not in a fixed-term contract

If you’re not currently in a fixed-term contract for your gas or electricity prices, the wholesale prices increases will unfortunately affect you and you could end up paying more than you need to.

You can secure the most competitive rates by entering into a fixed-term contract with Unicom, while protecting yourself against any further wholesale price increases.

Find out the latest information about our out of contract rates.

How to save money on your energy bills

Energy prices look set to remain high for at least the remainder of this year and into spring 2022.

The best way to save money on your energy bills is to be as energy efficient as possible and look at ways to reduce your energy consumption.

Have a read of our helpful tips on how you can save energy.

Six ways to cut your business energy bill

With energy prices rising, there’s never been a better time to look at your business and see where you can save energy and save money.

A few simple tweaks to your premises and your behaviour can save you £££s on your energy bills.

Here are six of the best from Unicom:

Turn off your equipment and lights

Taking a few moments to ensure you switch off your lights, computers and other equipment when you leave your premises at night can save you a lot of money in the long run.

Statistics show that if you leave your office lights on overnight, each year you use enough energy to heat a home for 5 months!

Another way to ensure you keep energy usage to a minimum is to set up ‘sleep mode’ in your computer’s preferences. By setting a ten-minute screen delay you can save some serious energy. Sleep mode only uses a few watts, unlike screensavers, which use almost the same amount of energy as your computer monitor in full use.

Make sure you don’t leave other equipment and devices around your business on standby, as lots of small energy costs quickly add up to a higher bill.

Install LED bulbs

Energy efficient lighting helps to lower electricity bills and carbon emissions. While the initial outlay will set you back, you’ll quickly recoup that investment in energy saved. Plus, LED bulbs last longer than traditional bulbs, so you’ll also save on maintenance costs.

You can save £2-3 per year for every traditional halogen bulb you switch to a similarly bright LED bulb or up to £7 per 100 watt incandescent bulb.

Get a smart meter

Having a smart meter means your bills will always reflect your actual usage.

This can help you to understand your energy usage and reduce waste, which is great both for your pocket and for the environment. On a national and global level these savings could amount to a significant reduction in overall carbon emissions, which can only be a good thing!

If you’re a Unicom customer and you opt in we’ll arrange to install the latest smart meter at your premises, free of charge.

Opt in for a free a smart meter

Only boil the water you need

It’s an old one but it’s a big one – taking care over how much water you and your employees are heating up when you take a tea break can save you some serious energy.

If you boil more water than you need, then all that boiling water that isn’t used represents nothing but wasted energy and wasted money.

Research suggests that the average UK kettle boiler fills up their appliance with twice as much water as they need.

Take control of your heating

A significant percentage of the money we spend on energy in the UK goes on heating and hot water.

Simply turning down your room thermostat by just one degree can save around £55 a year and reduce your carbon footprint by 300kg – that’s equivalent to driving 754 miles in an average petrol car. If your premises is larger than average you could save even more.

Draught-proof your premises

Unless you’re in brand-new premises, it’s likely that you’re losing heat through draughts around your doors, windows, gaps in the floor or even through your chimney! These draughts make heating your home more expensive as more energy is required to heat your premises.

You can spend money on professional draught proofing if you’ve got a serious issue with draughts at your premises, but there are a number of DIY solutions you can try yourself if you have a troublesome door or window that’s letting in cold air. Try a draught excluder on doors, fit flaps or brushes on letterboxes and use foam, metal or plastic draught strips on windows.

Month: October 2021