The CMA reports that businesses pay £280m more a year for their energy due to auto rollover contracts.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has revealed that small-to-medium sized businesses have overpaid on their gas and electricity bills by millions every year.
The 'Big Six' energy firms, British Gas, EDF, E.ON, Npower, ScottishPower and SSE have recorded excess profits of around £280m, per year from 2007 to 2014, due to businesses not seeking out the best deal for their gas and electricity.
The CMA's figures show that around £230m of that additional profit comes from micro businesses, about 6% more than what they would have paid had they renegotiated their contracts on a regular basis. In order to reduce over-spending on gas and electricity, the CMA has highlighted measures to 'engage and exploit the benefits of competition.'
It also proposes improved price transparency by suppliers which would make it mandatory for them to disclose the prices of their acquisition and retention contracts to a large number of customers. Suppliers would also be required to publish their out of contract and deemed contract prices online.
Trusting your utilities to a third party intermediary, such as an energy broker would safe guard against paying over the odds on your gas and electricity. Apollo Energy secure the best value contracts for their clients whenever it is time to renew, avoiding auto-rollover contracts and termination fees.