FARM ENERGY CONTRACT RENEWALS
Farm Electricity and Gas Contract Renewals
Your farm doesn't have to be complicated for the energy paperwork to be complicated.
Is Your Farm Electricity or Gas Contract Coming to an End?
There are enough dates to remember when you're running a farm without having to keep track of every electricity and gas contract as well.
One supply might cover your grain store, another your workshop, and another your livestock buildings. Each could have a different supplier, price and renewal date.
If a contract is approaching its end, it's worth understanding your options before the existing arrangement finishes.
We can help organise the paperwork, review your current charges and compare suitable renewal options.
How We Help You Renew Your Farm Energy Contracts
Check Your Existing Agreements
We start by identifying the electricity and gas supplies, current suppliers, contract end dates and any applicable notice or renewal conditions.
Review How Your Farm Uses Energy
We consider your available annual consumption data, seasonal demand, day and night usage and relevant standing or capacity charges.
Compare Suitable Contract Options
We review available offers from our supplier panel, taking account of contract length, quoted charges, relevant terms and the way your business operates.
Explain the Options and Help With the Paperwork
We explain the offers, relevant fees and commission arrangements before you decide. With your authorisation, we can help progress the chosen contract and supplier administration.
You remain in control of the decision. We help you understand the options and deal with the administration.
What Happens If My Farm Energy Contract Has Already Expired?
If your fixed-term agreement has ended without a new contract being arranged, it's important to check what your supplier is charging.
What happens next depends on your contract terms and circumstances.
Out-of-Contract Rates
Some suppliers apply out-of-contract rates when an agreement ends without a new fixed-term arrangement. These rates are often higher than negotiated contract prices, but the actual charges depend on the supplier and circumstances.
Deemed Contracts
Deemed arrangements can arise when energy is supplied without an expressly agreed contract, such as when someone takes over premises and begins using energy. A deemed contract is not necessarily the same arrangement as an out-of-contract tariff.
Rollover or Evergreen Arrangements
Some contracts continue or renew automatically under their existing terms. The duration, pricing, termination provisions and protections depend on the agreement and the customer's circumstances.
Important: Not every expired business energy contract automatically becomes a deemed contract. We check the actual supplier terms before advising what has happened.
Five Things to Check Before Signing a Farm Energy Contract
Total Estimated Cost
Consider unit rates, standing charges, annual consumption and any other applicable charges, not simply the lowest advertised unit price.
Contract Length
Understand how long the agreement lasts and whether it suits your plans for the farm.
Renewal and Termination Conditions
Check when the agreement ends, whether notice is required, what happens after expiry and whether early termination charges apply.
Supplier and Payment Terms
Understand the supplier, billing frequency, Direct Debit requirements and any other relevant contractual conditions.
Broker Fees and Commission
Understand how the broker is paid, including any supplier-paid commission included in your energy charges or other agreed fees.
Important: Business energy contracts generally do not have the statutory cooling-off period associated with many household arrangements. Make sure you understand and agree to the contract terms before committing, including where an agreement is made over the telephone.
Why Farm Renewals Need a Little More Thought
A farm's energy use isn't always consistent throughout the year.
Grain drying, irrigation, refrigeration, heating and ventilation can create very different patterns of demand.
If you have several electricity supplies, the renewal dates and contract arrangements may also differ.
We can help you review the supplies individually and understand whether coordinating some of their renewal dates would be useful.
Important: Combining renewal dates or arranging contracts across multiple supplies doesn't automatically reduce costs or mean the meters can be combined. Any recommendation should reflect the individual supplies, available offers and operational needs of the farm.
Having Problems With Your Farm's Energy Supplier?
Sometimes the difficulty isn't finding a new energy contract. It's getting the existing supplier to resolve a problem.
Incorrect or Unexpected Bills
We can help review meter readings, charges and relevant account information to identify what should be questioned.
Disputed Contracts or Renewal Dates
If the dates or terms don't match your understanding, we can help examine the documents and raise the relevant questions.
Missing Bills or Unresolved Account Changes
We can help investigate missing invoices, account administration problems and changes in responsibility for a supply.
Problems Switching Supplier
If a supplier objects to a switch or there's a dispute about the account, we can help investigate the reason and the available next steps.
With the appropriate letter of authority, we can communicate with suppliers on your behalf and help progress an investigation.
We can't guarantee that every dispute will be resolved in a customer's favour, but we can help establish the facts and explain the available options.
What If the Supplier Still Won't Resolve the Complaint?
Formal complaints should be raised with the relevant supplier and supported by the available evidence.
Eligible business customers may be able to escalate unresolved complaints to the Energy Ombudsman after eight weeks or following a deadlock response.
Eligibility depends on the customer's circumstances and the type of complaint. Different arrangements may apply to larger businesses or complaints about brokers.
What Should I Send You?
You don't need to gather every document before contacting us.
A recent electricity or gas bill is usually a useful starting point.
If available, these details also help:
- Farm or business name and supply address.
- MPAN for electricity or MPRN for gas.
- Current supplier and account reference.
- Contract end date or renewal notice.
- Annual usage or recent billing history.
- Relevant meter readings or details of the problem.
We'll explain what else is needed once we understand your circumstances.
You run your farm. We'll help deal with the energy companies.