Unify Energy is built on a vision of offering differentiated services and support to our customers. We often feel disappointed when our own Industry offers anything less than transparency when it comes to quotes and contracts especially when Energy prices have been so impactful for businesses over the past couple of years. Our CEO shares some honest opinions about the grey areas that exist in our sector

“The Energy market has long been supported by Consultants, TPIs, brokers, and intermediaries who are not regulated suppliers but seek to support customers to find the energy services they need.

The broker market is an interesting place, the reality is that this sector has grown in size at least in part because Energy suppliers are often so difficult to engage with. If you manage to get someone on the phone it’s probably someone in a call centre reading a script who will be limited in the support they can offer. The information provided is often complicated and confusing. If you’re a large corporation and supplied by a bigger supplier you might get a bit of additional account management but if you’re an SME then forget it, Energy brokers can be a softer interface for customers.

We work with some excellent consultants and brokers that aim to get customers good value and, in most cases, overlay additional services on top, whether that be invoice validation, help with sustainability or metering. However, we also see many brokers in the same space that provide little added value beyond comparing prices.

The problem with comparing prices only is that in the energy supply world quotations are rarely like for like with levies and taxes are often hidden throughout Ts and Cs, supplies are often priced to different supply levels and I’ve found that a race to the bottom in pence per kWh terms can often leave a customer paying more than they expected when the invoice arrives. The other problem in the unregulated market where brokers and TPIs sit is hidden commissions, some regulation from OFGEM has improved this but it doesn’t apply to all customers.

The reality is that there is little differentiation in the supply world when it comes to where Energy is The reality is that there is little differentiation in the supply world when it comes to where Energy is coming from and how it is physically supplied. Where customers can hope to achieve value for money is the service wrap that goes with the supply of energy which is often achieved by a supplier’s business model innovation rather than technical Innovation.

I am incredibly passionate about elevating the level of service available to customers in the Energy market, particularly for smaller commercial customers. There is a huge amount of value and differentiation that can come from focusing on this area of service.

Too much time is spent by suppliers hiding behind REGO certificates and a race to produce the cheapest price to acquire lots of customers quickly – this is not sustainable for the Industry.

As Energy suppliers, we all buy Energy from similar places and even when we don’t the wholesale market largely dictates price so my advice is;

1. Pick the right energy supplier, someone who will partner with you to provide great service and get to know what your business and energy priorities are.
2. Work with that supplier to procure Energy in the best and most cost-effective way for you.

This is the ethos that sits behind Unify Energy and this is how we support our customers. We are more than just your Energy supplier, we’re your Business Energy partner.

To this end, as a business, we have decided to not pay brokers commission. We believe that this is in the best interest of our customers. We will continue to work with great intermediaries who are working to support customers and billing them transparently for their additional services.

We do recognise that the energy market has been tough and disconcerting for customers so when you sign up to Unify Energy we’ll pay you what another supplier would have paid the broker and we’ll apply that as a credit to your energy account.

Unify Energy is a small but mighty energy supplier with a bright future ahead, come and have a chat with our Account Managers and see what difference we can make to your energy management and procurement.”

When selecting an Energy supplier consider the following things;

• How easy is it to contact an account manager?
• What’s the skill level of that person I can contact – are they just empowered to consider who I am as a customer and fully support all of my needs
• What’s the escalation process if I have a problem?
• What does billing look like and can the supplier tailor billing to my specific needs e.g. consolidated in a particular way for multiple sites or a particular organisational structure?
• What about sustainability – is the supplier interested in helping me with other things like what my energy footprint looks like or do they simply want to adopt the meter, put it in their system and bill me every month?