Heating and powering poultry houses are a significant expense for producers. The good news is that it’s also a cost that farmers have a great deal of control over. This blog is the first part of our 3 part blog series that looks into the best way to buy energy. The energy market can be incredibly volatile and reacts to short and long-term influences that can lead to uncertain energy prices for consumers. By way of an example, these past 12 months have been no different – the wholesale price of power (that charged to energy suppliers by the generators) has seen lows of £42.5/MWh and highs of £48.5/MWh for 12 months ahead purchasing. This is a 12% swing which suppliers will be sure to pass on to consumers.

So is it better to fix long-term or play the market? This is an interesting question and the answer will largely depend on the consumers’ attitude to risk and the state of the market. The best time to fix your electricity costs will be at the bottom of the market…but not many of us can predict that! In a falling market fixing long term will mean higher prices for the short term but many gamble that general market trends mean long-term contracts will deliver savings in the end.

However, the short-term deals make long-term budgeting unpredictable and users face the hassle of renewing contracts regularly.

This can be an issue for many, certainty of costs is important when selling produce into a low margin fixed price marketplace.

Join us at the British Pig and Poultry Fair, Stoneleigh Park this week on 15 and 16 May to find out more. The team will be on the NFU Stand, which is stand number two in Hall One.

If you are unable to make it to the event and would like more information, please give our team a call on 024 7669 8885. We can help any business, not just poultry!  

Stay tuned for part two: Benefit from renewable energy…