Although vitally important to the operations of your business, many business owners won’t have the time to personally compare and select the best energy deals for their company or handle the administration involved with managing their existing account.

That’s why so many businesses hand over this responsibility to an intermediary that can do this for them. These third parties typically work for professional energy consultancies or as an independent broker. To use an intermediary like this, your business will need to provide the agent with a valid signed and dated letter of authority. Without a valid letter of authority, a third-party consultant cannot legally complete the following jobs on your behalf:

• correspond and liaise with your current energy supplier to deal with any service and/or billing queries on your behalf.
• organise energy-related maintenance or upgrade appointments with your supplier, such as standard boiler services or smart meter installations.
• submit meter readings or collect energy consumption data collected by your supplier for energy management purposes.
• start the process of renewing or switching energy supplier contracts or negotiate with other suppliers to find your business an improved deal (subject to your final approval).