Advice to customers about energy contracts during the COVID-19 outbreak

The coronavirus pandemic is currently affecting every part of UK PLC and the government has confirmed various financial lifelines to support businesses, including grants and loans. We strongly advise our customers to keep up to date with news from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, your local Chamber of Commerce or your industry Trade Association.

The coronavirus will not impact security of supply, so there is very little risk of the lights or heating going off during this troublesome time. However, we appreciate some of our clients will be concerned about the financial implications of paying energy bills when they cannot operate “business as usual” themselves.

Suppliers are responding to government advice in the same way as other businesses. They are trying to provide the expected service levels when it comes to competing in tenders to secure contracts, answer queries and complaints, and produce accurate bills.

Our advice to customers who are concerned about the impacts of COVID-19 on their energy bills and contracts is as follows:

• Take regular meter readings (weekly if possible) to accurately track your consumption. Submit meter readings via PathFinder or to meter.reads@indigoswan.co.uk ideally as a photograph with the serial number clearly showing. Without meter readings you will not receive accurate bills. You may end up paying more than you need as suppliers won’t take into account that your business might be running at reduced capacity. Meter readings are not required if you have Half Hourly electricity meters, Daily read gas meters or functioning Smart/ AMR meters
• Continue paying your energy bills in their entirety as missed payments will affect your credit score
• Ensure you don’t allow your contract end date to pass without negotiating a new term. Very high Out Of Contract rates will be billed until a new contract term is agreed. Some suppliers have already indicated they will only offer renewal contracts for the foreseeable future, so your options may be limited. Your Client Guide will contact you in plenty of time to arrange your renewal and answer any questions you have, or alternatively contact the team directly by emailing clientguides@indigoswan.co.uk
• Don’t be scared or fooled into accepting a contract over the phone, either with the supplier directly or through a broker. Wholesale prices are at a historic low level, but this has been the case for several months. There is no need to rush into a commercial decision, especially not for a long duration. There are significant other market developments, including the Targeted Charging Review, which will have a greater impact on your future bills than coronavirus. Speak to your Client Guide for more information
• Communication with the energy supplier is always encouraged when you are aware there will be issues. It may be that your consumption levels for a time will be substantially reduced or zero. The supplier could factor this in as is also in their best interests to bill accurate energy use. If you believe you will have difficulty paying invoices, talk to the supplier and see what they can do. We are here to help should you wish
• During the last 5 months, there has been a lot of miss selling across the sector, so you need to be vigilant at all times. We have had clients who have received calls from companies claiming to be Indigo Swan and pressuring clients into verbal contracts over the phone. Thankfully our clients are well informed and know they can contact us directly at any time. If you are unsure who is calling you or if the offer being presented is competitive with today’s market, then please get in touch as we would be more than happy to help, client or not. OFGEM are looking into this also and more information can be found here

We continue to discuss with energy suppliers their approach to coronavirus and will communicate to our clients as appropriate.

Stay safe everyone.