British Gas says free service can save firms thousands Firms with less than £5,000 spend can still request a smart meter. BGB plans to use the debate over energy consumption to introduce its customers to its alternative energy services. Elaine Roberts, the BGB director leading the service roll-out, said giving businesses a simple online tool to measure and reduce their electricity consumption was a significant step. This feels like a sector [energy services] that is at a cusp. In the past, energy bills might have been the preserve of an admin person, but I think over the next five years whatever your top table - even if it is a kitchen table - that's where the energy conversations will take place," she said. BGB has been introducing its business customers to the service since last October and a picture has emerged of the typical "early adopter." "It was not based on size or based on consumption or business sector," said Ms Roberts. Instead, BGB has identified a group of "effi-cient professionals" who were interested in new technology and were already looking for ways to monitor and reduce their electricity consumption. Others are clear that they see electricity as a commodity. It's small beans and they want to spend minimal time on it," added Ms Roberts. One hotelier on the smart meter trial discovered to its cost that it had been significantly underpaying. Ms Roberts said she was surprised it had not noticed that its hotel electricity bills were lower than its domestic ones. She said: "Hotels are really interesting when it comes to understanding their energy usage. family-run hotels are so busy, the husband and wife team often don't have time to look at it. We had to ask them: 'Didn't it click that you were paying one thing at home and less in your business?' A BGB spokesman added: "You might think the customer wants to get away with it, but the vast majority want to pay an accurate bill. They don't like the experience that they might owe more money. The Government wants the energy industry to install smart meters in all homes and small businesses by 2019. BGB is planning to install 100,000 on business premises this year, taking its total to 300,000. However, the roll-out has already raised a number of issues for business customers. One such concern is that of hidden charges imposed when a customer switches to another supplier after a smart meter has been installed. Some of the main suppliers have yet to agree to accept readings from meters installed by rivals, leaving businesses paying for a smart meter even though they are receiving electricity from another supplier. Ms Roberts said that the industry was still working on an agreement between suppliers. There's not true interoperability between networks. If you did move to another vendor now you could end up having another meter," she admitted. Case Study Saving £1,200 a month from your electricity bill DAWN RYAN, HR adviser and office manager at the The Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society, has cut her firm's electricity bill from £2,000 to £800 a month. Some 53pc of their electricity use was at night. "It was quite stunning," she said. We looked at what changes we could make that did not cost any money to start with. So it was staff habits and the cleaner. Everything from turning lights off to the timers on the photocopiers. The 49 year-old said she then asked the firm's electrician to help her examine some of the equipment and they found an air handler was working against their office air conditioning unit. The results for the business, which employs 37, were immediate. Mrs Ryan can see changes made one week leading to a fall in consumption the next. If we get a record reading it's high fives all around. It's a bit of a playful motivator," she said. Most people buy into it. There are some out there that say it's not their money. We're a not-for-profit so every penny counts. We have used more energy this month than last but it is damn cold and people are turning on the heaters and I don't blame them. But we have still saved 22pc on this January compared with the January before. British Gas are not necessarily the cheapest supplier but what they have offered has saved us money. Smaller energy providers have supplied smart meters and consumption information for some time. First Utility has more than 3,000 business customers using its tools. Martin Moir, its director of marketing, said many firms had to be nudged to act on the information in front of them. "Our experience is you need to be proactive," he said. We work through energy brokers and advisers. They help our customers to see where they can make savings. People being people, it's not the first thing they do when they get up in the morning. So the real challenge for the industry is engaging customers and providing more than just an accurate bill and information online.