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Frequently Asked Questions

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I’m a little sceptical… are the services of an energy consultant really required?

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A little bit of healthy scepticism never hurt anyone… sales people at the big energy companies are there to make the most money for the business, why wouldn’t they? After all, if you were selling your property we’re pretty sure you’d want your estate agent to get the most bang for your buck, right?

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That’s why the services of an energy consultant are more key in today’s energy market than ever before. If you aren’t monitoring the energy market on a regular basis, how would you know when the market is at its lowest, or more importantly how would you know when the market is at its highest? Going to market without an experienced energy consultant, skilled in the art of negotiation and market movements, would be subjecting yourself, your business and your finances to at best, a shot in the dark.

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Most people we speak to simply leave their energy contracts until their renewal date to sort out their new supply agreement, with little thought or consideration as to whether the market is ripe for purchase. Successful stock traders don’t buy shares because they have to, they buy the dips and go heavy when they see a sweet strike price. Similarly a top energy consultant and energy broker do the same. We wait for the market to fall, then set your contract for as long as possible at the lowest rate we can find. In doing so the savings you make across the life-span of your supply agreement is like a stock dividend year on year. But instead of paying money into your business account and getting taxed, your new optimised supply agreement stops money from being drained out of your business account (in the form of savings) so it can be invested elsewhere.

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Not only that, we use software to map your energy so that we can see when most of your energy is being used. By knowing this we can ‘shift-load’ your energy to a cost efficient time slot, so that you’re paying less. Add this to our ‘real-time’ billing technology, which aids you in reducing your consumption, we are confident we will be adding value to our clients above and beyond what they would have in their arsenal if they were going it alone.

Voltaea have so much to offer which can’t always be highlighted in a humble FAQ page, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch to find out more.

Why is the price of my energy so high?

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Energy is a funny one, but if you are going in blind then like anything in life you’re going to bump your head. The wholesale price you pay for your energy isn’t the only cost involved. In fact, only 35% of the total unit cost of your energy is made up of the wholesale energy cost. So where does the other 65% come into play?

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Well, you have a variety of government charges (17%), network costs (23%), environmental & social obligation charges (13%), as well as your supplier operating costs (12%) added into the overall unit rate. Not forgetting the all-important standing charge, which will be added as a separate stand-alone additional fee to pay.

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A supplier who isn’t wanting to lose money knows that the energy price may rise between now and at any given point in the future. This is also true for the additional charges mentioned above. Unless you are on fixed rate contract the above elements of your unit rate are also subject to change. The government may decide to raise their fees if they so choose during their budget review each April. Now this doesn’t always mean that a fixed rate contract is best for you, as price and risk buffers are added into fixed unit rates to account for wholesale price rises and government tax rises, but what it does mean is that you will need an energy consultant with a keen eye to help you nip and tuck your supply agreements to make it bespoke to you and your business.

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If you are a larger business, bespoke pricing is a must and is imperative for a streamlined energy efficiency strategy.

Wait a minute! Stop right there. Why do we need to provide a Letter of Authority?

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Let’s not beat around the bush, it is always a matter of contention when somebody asks you to sign something you weren’t expecting. Putting pen to paper, and your name on the dotted line makes us feel that a deal has been done, but has it been?

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To answer your question…. No! A Letter of Authority does not sign you into any new energy agreements or contracts, and can be withdrawn at any time. In fact, at Voltaea everything is up for negotiation and you can dictate the wording of the LOA as you please. We are fully transparent and are here to offer you a comprehensive service. Our template LOA we supply is worded so that we can offer you an unhindered energy experience.

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Voltaea and our partner suppliers are fully compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU Regulation 2016/679) and the Data Protection Act 2018 which means we can’t just contact your supplier and start asking about your businesses energy profile on a whim. That information is protected!

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So how can we then tailor a bespoke service to you or how can we show you ways to reduce your consumption and capital expenditure without knowing anything about your energy profile? The data we request is used to aid you as a business; information such as your energy usage, times of use, and current contract type help us in establishing which future contract will be best suited to you.

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Without such basic information and insight into how much energy you use, we wouldn’t be able to tender the market, in fact, we couldn’t even sit at the negotiation table. Simply put, suppliers need to know that they are dealing with reputable energy consultants. In a deregulated market it is imperative that they know who is acting, who has requested such action, and whether the data obtained through the LOA is accurate, true and honest. Unscrupulous energy brokers and traders can wreak havoc on a supplier’s reputation, and as such a supplier will only take another suppliers word for your consumption usage (which we only gain access to through the LOA).

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If you’ve made it this far down the page you’re probably exhausted… so we’ll wrap up on this note; there is so much nuance surrounding the LOA that we can write whole articles on the matter. We know it’s a sticky subject but we assure you it’s an industry standard. If you’re worried about putting your name to paper why not give us a call and speak to a member of our team today and we’ll do our utmost to see that you are taken care of.

I hate sales tactics… do we really need to make a decision on the day we receive your energy quotations?

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Ever seen those zig-zags sprawled across the stock market charts? Well, that’s what the energy market looks like on an hourly basis, never mind on a daily basis.

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So how does that affect you?
 

In a nutshell, this means that the quotes we give you today may not reflect where the market is tomorrow and as such only stand for the day we quote them. When we say we can’t guarantee the prices will be there tomorrow we really mean it. The price of energy is dictated by so many factors, ranging from; supply and demand changes, fluctuations in gas stockpiles, imports and exports, government regulation, and even the good old English weather forecasts have their say on how many pennies you trade for your energy.
 

It’s not just us who have to deal with the lumps and bumps of the energy charts, the suppliers are subject to it also. If you ever wonder why your energy prices are always rising it’s because the price of energy never stays in one place.

We hate pushy sales men and women just as much as you, it’s not our style to say the least.

 

Here at Voltaea we’re aiming to become a hallmark of the energy industry, and hard and fast sales will not get us there by any stretch of the imagination. So if you ever think we are playing the ‘buy-it-now-or-miss-out’ card, please re-read this FAQ question in particular, it’s super important to put all the energy market fluctuation questions you have into perspective. We want you to be a life-time customer so our ethos is not ‘set and forget’ but more ‘please and retrieve’.

Urggghhh…. why do I get so many calls from Energy Consultants or Energy Brokers, and how do I make them stop?

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As funny as this sounds, we hate cold-calling as much as you. We appreciate that you guys get so many calls, after all, we make so many in the first place.

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The reason why you get so many calls, simply put, is because the energy industry is a saturated market. We really wish that there was a better way to market our services so that we don’t pester you and to highlight market dips as and when they happen. Trading a live market, such as energy, most often than not requires a direct marketing strategy… fall asleep and you miss the opportunity.

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If you want energy calls to stop you always have the right to ask for direct marketing calls to stop, and we are legally obliged to stop calling you.

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But what if you want us to price for you in the future, but not call you right now?

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The best way is to let us know when your current contract is due to expire and we can schedule a call in the future. It’s imperative that you let your reception staff know such contract end dates so they can give accurate information. Far too many times our sales team has espoused that a receptionist or other member of staff has given inaccurate information off the top of their head after being caught off guard by an energy caller. However, what will happen in this scenario is that you guys will receive a future call at a time that’s not best suited to you.

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Open lines of communication, built upon trust, honesty and transparency is what underpins any good relationship, and if you allow us, we will ensure your phone lines are kept clear… AND we really mean it… we will share some of our best tips and tricks to handle unwanted energy calls straight from the horse’s mouth. Just give us a call and ask us how.

Here at Voltaea we sincerely hope this FAQ page has answered some of your more testing energy questions, and that you have a smoother ride to the energy market as a result.

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Contact our team of specialists today to find out more about our energy solutions.

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