3 November 2008
The news that the business energy provider BizzEnergy has gone into administration will come as another blow to small firms, uSwitch.com has claimed. According to the independent price comparison and switching service, companies such as BizzEnergy play a "crucial" role in driving competition in the energy market for small to medium enterprises (SMEs). The news comes after rival energy supplier Electricity 4 Business collapsed when administrators failed to find a buyer for the firm. BizzEnergy's 40,000 customers will be transferred to British Gas where they will keep their existing contracts. However, when these contracts come to an end, they will be free to switch to another supplier. "In today's economic climate we strongly advise all SMEs to shop around as no business can afford to be on less attractive rates and therefore paying more for their energy than competitors," said Tim Wolfenden, Head of Business Services at uSwitch.com. According to the Financial Times, supermarket chain Tesco recently hit out at the high cost of gas and electricity for businesses, which do not reflect recent falls in the price of oil.