It reveals that one in three business people working in manufacturing admit that they don't understand their commercial energy bill. 55% of manufacturers were unable to identify that E or A readings mean estimated or actual, whilst a fifth (17%) did not understand the term unit rate.
Utilitiywise said: "The issue is not confined to micro and small businesses of one to 49 employees; almost the same number (one in six) of those employing 50 to 249 staff reported that they too don't have the skills they need to make sense of their regular statements. Those with the biggest issues included business people in Sheffield (60%) and Liverpool (40%) who said they didn't understand the information provided on utility bills. Manufacturing was the sector where most business leaders confessed their ignorance."
The data also shows that as many as 2.19 million businesses never, or only occasionally, check their energy bills. This is despite the fact that more than four fifths (86%) of manufacturing SMEs believe they pay too much for their utilities. While 22% of manufacturing decision makers cite lack of time for the reason they don't double check the bill is correct, a further third (33%) simply trust that the total is likely to be accurate. Yet, Utilitywise's own information shows over 60% of businesses are reliant on estimated bills.
Andrew Richardson, deputy CEO of Utilitywise, said: "Businesses need help to navigate the energy market. That starts with understanding your statements. The terminology can be confusing, but it's important to get a handle on it because it impacts a business' bottom line: if you don't know that you're paying an estimated bill you can be in for a nasty surprise."
A Utilitywise guide, which has been road tested by business owners, is available online
