Energy Feature
Ensure Clear Responsibilities On Lease Agreements
Another common pitfall can be in the lease handover process – ensuring careful organisation will pay dividends here.
Ensure that when you are leasing or become responsible for a property that the lease agreement is clear on who is responsible for what and which utilities are included. This includes making sure that meter serial numbers are quotes or recorded where possible – especially in a multi-occupier or multi-meter property – who the current provider is.
If, for example, you are leasing floor five of an office block you need to be super clear on whether it’s a recharge property and if you’re responsible for a meter. If you are, you will likely then need to deduce which one – nestled in a meter room with several other meters – that you are responsible for.
If you’re vacating a property, we highly suggest you contact your current supplier at least 30 days in advance. You’ll remain responsible for the energy supply to the premises, including all costs associated with it, until you go through a Change of Tenancy (COT) process.
Ultimately ensuring these conversations take place at the earliest possible stage the outgoing company avoids overpaying and the new occupier avoids a potentially hefty back bill further down the line.
Have Good Meter Reading Hygiene
As part of your standard process, we recommend providing quarterly manual meter reads, even when AMR or smart meters are installed at the site.
It’s a good
practice to give energy suppliers these quarterly reads,
preferably with
photos where possible, to ensure everything is recording accurately.
Technology can fail. We often see instances where people assume that they’re getting billed for actual usage because a smart meter is installed, but issues can arise. For example, the AMR link can go down or there can be a mismatch or drift from the meter. Even if the meter appears to be functioning correctly, it may not necessarily mean that the actual meter read is accurate.
Another point to consider is the location of the meter. If the meter is in a basement, it might not get a signal. This is particularly relevant for commercial properties, which often have AMR devices operated via a SIM card. If you’re in a location where your phone can’t get a signal, it’s likely that your AMR meter will also struggle to get a signal.
Managing energy across multiple sites can be tricky, but good communication, regular check-ups, and attention to detail with elements like meter readings will make it much easier.
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