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Businesses are spending up to £1 in every £2 of their electricity bills on powering their business when staff have left for the day, according to the latest figures from British Gas.

Data from over 6,000 smart meter readings show that 46% of business electricity use happens outside of the traditional business hours of 8am-6pm .

Common examples of unnecessary electricity that businesses aren’t aware they even use include; lighting car parks at the weekend when no one is at work; pubs keeping fruit machines switched on 24 hours a day every day of the year; retail units in shopping centres keeping display lights on when the centre is closed; and vending machines left switched on in offices overnight and at weekends.

The first step for businesses to cut their energy use is to understand when and why they use electricity. Simply switching off car parking lights at the weekend when they aren’t needed could save a British Gas customer £1,200 on their annual electricity bill.

To help put businesses in control of their energy use and therefore costs, British Gas is today launching an industry first service – Business Energy Insight to show businesses how, when and where they are using electricity and proactively help them to save money through energy efficiency measures.

The Business Energy Insight service has been created in response to findings from customer feedback, including from the British Gas 1,000 strong business customer panel. The panel has called on the company to provide accurate bills and help businesses bring down their energy costs.

By signing up to Business Energy Insight, businesses will have:
- A smart meter installed on their premises that will put an end to the hassle of estimated bills.
- 24 hour access to an online dashboard showing hourly, daily, weekly and monthly electricity usage that can be used to identify up to 10% savings through behavioural changes. With simple efficiency measures – such as investing in timers the savings will be even more.
- Support from over 100 account executives specifically trained to help customers implement energy saving measures.

James Caan, entrepreneur, CEO of Hamilton Bradshaw Private Equity and spokesperson for small and medium enterprise businesses said:
“In this testing climate, our economic growth is dependent on businesses finding the money and time to invest in new growth opportunities. But the rising operational costs of running a business are acting as a major barrier to this. By using a service like Business Energy Insight to understand energy usage and take steps to reduce it, businesses can free up vital capital to invest in new ventures that can contribute to their future success.”