Hi all,
I have had a number of affiliates ask me what the Powergen SME products USPs are and what the criteria is for a businesses to be able to be seen as SMEs and therefore use the business energy plan.

Below is a Press release from Powergen SME that I hope will answer some of those questions.

If you need any more info, either post here or contact me at the email address below.

Al

Powergen SME Press Release
Powergen creates UK’s first online energy switching service for small businesses

Bosses who believe that ‘time is money’ can now change energy suppliers in the time it takes to boil a kettle with the UK’s first online ‘quick quote’ service for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) 1 from leading energy supplier Powergen.

The new service is available at www.powergen.co.uk and allows SMEs to obtain a quote in around two minutes based on their current consumption levels. If interested in joining Powergen, they can then go on to complete a full application online without having to post forms or make telephone calls.

Powergen calculates that the average small business2 could save 15% or £234 a year on their energy bills3 by simply switching electricity and gas accounts from British Gas and from their current electricity supplier.
Powergen, which is part of E.ON UK, is the only energy company in the UK to offer such a service4 for SMEs.

Neil Gould, Powergen’s SME Manager, said: “Bosses who log on to our new quick quote service could find this to be among the most useful two minutes they spend at work all year.

“We appreciate that busy business customers may prefer the speed and convenience of the web, so they can now choose to receive a quote and sign-up completely online – in fact, the only phone call they’ll get is one welcoming them to Powergen.”

The website also contains everything needed for a business to start saving money by being more energy efficient. It contains a full downloadable guide to energy efficiency, together with practical action checklists for specific areas including heating, lighting, office equipment, refrigeration and compressed air.
According to the Government-backed Carbon Trust, businesses can save as much as 20% on their energy costs simply by being more energy efficient. That is equivalent to a 5% increase in sales 5 .

The Powergen website has also been redesigned to make it easier to navigate following extensive customer research. It now contains more detailed information on Powergen’s fixed price Business Electricity Plan product for businesses, as well as its range of products and initiatives for residential users.


Notes to editors:
Online quote is available to all SMEs operating on a single site – for electricity customers with a supply number prefixed by 03 or 04 (this can be found on energy bills) and for gas customers using less than 293,071KWh of gas per year;
[list=1]
1. The average UK SME spends £1,000 on electricity and £500 on gas per year (based on Powergen’s current SME customer base, which makes up 24 per cent of the total market);

2. Savings based on a small business customer taking unrestricted electricity from their incumbent electricity suppliers published electricity prices and British Gas’s published gas prices paying by Quarterly Credit, switching to Powergen’s Business Electricity Plan 1 and Powergen’s Business Gas plan 1 and continuing to pay by Quarterly Credit. Savings are annual, averaged nationally, excluding VAT and may vary depending on consumption, payment method and region. Valid Jan 2005;

3. Based on the top 5 energy suppliers – British Gas, EDF (London Energy, Seeboard Energy & SWEB Energy), ScottishPower, npower and Scottish & Southern;

4. According to the Government-backed Carbon Trust scheme www.thecarbontrust.co.uk, SMEs can make savings of up to 20 per cent by taking a series of simple energy efficiency measures.

· Powergen is the second largest energy supplier in the UK, providing electricity and gas to one in four SMEs;
·
Powergen’s SME customers can call Powergen’s Business Energy Helpline to help them identify areas of energy waste in their business.

If customers need more detailed help or financial support for energy investments, they will be directed to the best government-backed schemes for appropriate support;
E.ON UK, the company that runs Powergen, is part of the E.ON Group, the world’s largest investor-owned utility.[/list=1]