Drax

The Drax Checklist

Security

• Are their prices fully fixed ? Offer both fully fixed and pass through options
• Do they include metering and transportation costs in the price? Yes
• Do they include FIT and RO and CFD in the price? Excludes CFD
• What is their back billing policy? Anything up to six years
• Do they require a letter of authority? Yes
• Does the contract lapse on change of tenancy? Yes

Transparency

• Is your contract end date on the invoice? Yes
• Is your termination date on the invoice? Yes
• When will your renewal letter arrive? 120 days before end date
• When do you need to terminate? At least 90 days before end date
• Do they require termination letter by recorded delivery? Yes
• Will they rollover your contract? Yes
• How high are the out of contract rates23p/kWh Electricity

Convenience

• Do they mandate Direct Debit payment terms? No
• What are their Direct Debit terms? Variable, Monthly
• Do they offer Cash / Cheque payment terms?Yes, in limited circumstances
• Do they support reduced rate VAT declaration ? Yes
• Do they bill monthly or quarterly? Monthly for Half Hourly and larger customers, quarterly for smaller customers
• Do they provide online billing? No

Services

• Do they install smart meters as part of the supply contract? No
• Do they support existing smart meters with full functionality? Yes
• Do they provide New Connection & Upgrade Services? No
• Do they support IGT meters? No
• Do they support all electricity profiles including half hourly? Do not support STOD meters
• Do they support related and aggregated meters? Support related but not aggregated

Environmental

• Do they offer green and renewable products? Yes
• What is their Fuel Mix? 20% Gas, 6% Nuclear, 34% Coal, 36% Renewable

Other Things to know about Drax

The Ipswich based business:

• Offers fully fixed contracts from 1 to 6 years, known has Haven Assured;
• Offers fixed commodity, variable third party charge contracts, known as Haven Standard;
• Offers fully flexible contracts, known as Haven Pass-Through;
• Offers customers the choice of Levy Exempt Power product, where the customer does not have to pay CCL in return for receiving energy from levy exempt sources at no net cost difference;
• Adopts a policy of straight forward, easy to understand contracts;
• Provides all customers with a named contact, and does not use IVRs;
• Will only consider customers with a credit score (Delphi) in excess of 51;
• Only offers contracts to customers with an annual consumption of more than 5,000kWh;
• Provides smart meter upgrades; that are free for maximum demand meters.
• Enables customers to upgrade to their smart meter product to the ‘Control’ package which includes website login and 24-hour access to easily manage your bills
• Purchases much of their energy directly from their owner, the Drax group

Security

Click on the following links to access Drax’s latest contract terms for business energy customers:

• Haven T&C’s
• Haven Principle Terms

Drax offer the option of two pass through and one fully fixed product. Drax offer the option of a ‘Haven Assured’ product, a ‘Haven Complete’ product and a 'Haven Standard' Product These product names can be confusing given their similarity however there are fundamental differences between the three. Haven Complete adopts a policy of fully fixing all elements contained within their fixed contracts; this includes all third party charges. This is a market leading position and means that when you agree a Haven Complete contract you are safe in the knowledge that the price will remain at the level agreed throughout the contract. Under the Haven Complete product:

• Commodity: Inclusive, Fixed
• Transportation: Inclusive, Fixed
• Metering: Inclusive, Fixed
• FIT: Inclusive, Fixed
• RO: Inclusive, Fixed
• CFD: Inclusive, Fixed

Haven Assured adopts a policy of fully fixing all elements contained within their fixed contracts; this includes all third party charges except for CFD. This is charged on top of the agreed contract rates. This means that when you agree a Haven Assured contract whilst you are safe in the knowledge that the price will remain at the level agreed throughout the contract, additional charges over and above that price will apply. Under the Haven Assured product:

• Commodity: Inclusive, Fixed
• Transportation: Inclusive, Fixed
• Metering: Inclusive, Fixed
• FIT: Inclusive, Fixed
• RO: Inclusive, Fixed
• CFD: Excluded, Variable

Haven Standard adopts a policy of fixing only the energy element of the contract; This means that when you agree a Haven Standard the price can change through the contract term to reflect additional costs. In addition CFD is excluded. This is charged on top of the agreed contract rates. Under the Haven Standard product:

• Commodity: Inclusive, Fixed
• Transportation: Inclusive, Variable
• Metering: Inclusive, Variable
• FIT: Inclusive, Variable
• RO: Inclusive, Variable
• CFD: Excluded, Variable

Drax also reserves the right to amend the terms of the contract in exceptional circumstances. These include:

• Where a change in law occurs affecting delivery of the contract.
• Where the customer fails to fulfil their obligations under the contract.

To find out more visit our Guide to Fixed Prices.

Back billing and Drax

Drax is not currently signed up to the Energy UK Back Billing standards. This means that Drax are able, under the Limitations Act, to back bill their customers for anything up to 6 years. Many suppliers have voluntarily limited their back billing rights to two years and in some cases a single year. Drax are therefore one of the less amenable suppliers in this area making a smart meter a sensible choice with them. To find out more visit our Guide to Back billing.

Drax and Letters of Authority

In order to act on your behalf in securing your business a great energy deal Drax require us to have a signed Letter of Authority from yourselves. The fastest way to authorise us to work on your energy supply arrangements is to use our eSign service to agree our Evergreen Letter of Authority.

Change of Tenancy and Drax

Moving into a premise is known as a Change of Tenancy in the business energy market. It has also been termed a Change of Occupier or is known by its acronyms CoT and COO. However it is referred to, the opportunities it opens up are the same. This is great news for deal seekers. Whilst the existing supplier is obliged to continue to provide energy to the new occupier, the occupier is not obliged to take out an extended contract with that supplier. Indeed a Change of Tenancy customer has total freedom of movement and is free to accept a contract with a supplier of their choice There are however of course a number of rules and requirements. Firstly, as the new occupier, if you use energy you will need to pay for it, regardless of your contractual status. Secondly, you will need to identify as quickly as possible the identity of the existing supplier Thirdly, you will need to field calls from sales organisations and the existing supplier themselves offering you contracts of varying lengths to continue or to begin to supply the premises. As a result as a new occupier you will need to agree a new contract either with the existing supplier or with a new supplier of your choice. Not only that but you will need to inform the existing supplier as quickly as possible that you are the new tenant to prevent you being held liable for charges incurred by the previous occupier should they not have ended their agreement satisfactory. It can prove a real headache knowing whom to trust – whether it’s the old tenant, the landlord the current supplier, the pushy salesman ringing, knocking and emailing, the prospective new suppliers. That’s where Lloyd Energy comes in, by working on your behalf, identifying your existing supply arrangements, reporting your change of tenancy, ensuring you are not held liable for costs not incurred before your occupation and benchmarking contracts for your selection we can help you save time, money and a whole lot of stress.

eSign - Fast, Convenient Online Approval

The fastest way to authorise us to work on your energy supply arrangements is to use our eSign service to agree our Evergreen Letter of Authority. We’ll take care of all correspondence, handle all the loose ends and enable you to focus on establishing your business in its new premise. And what’s more once your contract is in place we’ll manage your supplier relationship from beginning to end, all part of the Lloyd Energy service.

Transparency

Your Drax Invoice places the contract end date at the base of the first page of your invoice. In addition the date by which termination is required to ensure freedom of movement at contract end it also presented in this section. Not all suppliers do this. If in doubt feel free to fax us your bill on 0208 328 7788 or send it to info@lloydenergy.co.uk and we will help locate the information for you. Drax sends their renewal letter to customers around 120 days in advance of the contract end date. This will contain Drax‘s proposal for your rates for the coming period. It may provide a variety of options or a single price. It will however not be the most competitive price available in the market as the renewal letter is designed for customers who don’t use an energy broker and as such are priced at a higher level than can be obtained in the market.

Terminating with Drax

You are required by Drax to provide written notice at least 90 days before your contract ends of your intent to terminate your contract at the end of its fixed period./p>

Rollover contracts and Drax

Drax operate a policy of selling auto-rollover contracts. If you fail to terminate your existing contract more than 90 days ahead of your contract end date you will be rolled over for a fixed term of 12 months. By using Lloyd Energy you can avoid the costly mistake of falling into the rollover trap and paying premium rates for 12 months. To find out more visit our Guide to Rollover Contracts.

Terminating but remaining on supply with Drax

If you have provided termination notice to Drax and expressed your intent for freedom of movement at contract end but you fail to leave Drax’s supply you will be placed on Drax’s out of contract rates. Don't be caught out! By using Lloyd Energy to manage your energy contracts we will terminate and manage your new contract seamlessly to ensure you avoid penalty rates.

Drax and Out of Contract Rates

As at their release date of 1st December 2013, a Drax customer with a standard meter would be required to pay up to 23p/kWh for each unit of electricity used whilst out of contract and a standing charge of 50.00p/day. Even one week exposed to this level of charges mounts up, that's why clients taking our contract life management service makes sense: removing your exposure risk and letting you focus on your business confident in the knowledge that your energy contracts are in safe hands. To find out more visit our Guide to Out of Contract Rates

Convenience

Drax operate a Monthly, Variable Direct Debit meaning the amount you pay directly relates to the volume of energy you consume in the month. Drax does not offer cash/cheque payment terms. To find out more visit our Guide to Supplier Payment Terms. To find out if your business is eligible for paying the reduced rate of VAT on your business energy bill visit our Guide to VAT Declaration. Drax operate a policy of billing their larger customers on a monthly basis and the smaller element on a quarterly basis. Drax do not currently offer their customers online billing. This means Drax customers will continue to receive paper invoices.

Services

Drax and Smart Meters

Drax do not currently install smart meters as part of their supply contract however they will inherit existing smart meters with full functionality. To find out which suppliers meet your smart metering needs call us on 0800-208-8301. Go one step better and by appointing Lloyd Energy to manage your energy contracts you can take advantage of our smart meter offers. For more information on Suppliers’ policies on smart metering visit our Guide to Suppliers & Smart Meters.

Drax & New Connections and Upgrade services

Drax do not currently provide new connections and upgrade services to either existing or potential customers. To find out which suppliers meet your connections needs call us on 0800-208-8301. Go one step better and by appointing Lloyd Energy to manage your energy contracts you can take advantage of our management fee free new connections and upgrades offer.

Drax & IGT Meters

Drax does not currently support meters supplied via IGT networks (Independent Gas Transporter). If your gas supply is delivered via an IGT network then Drax cannot offer you a gas supply contract. To find out which suppliers meet your IGT needs call us on 0800-208-8301.

Drax & Supporting Meter Types

Drax support all electricity meter types except Seasonal Time of Day (STOD) meters.

Environmental

Drax offer green and renewable tariffs including a levy exempt power product. For the reporting period 2013/14, Drax’s Fuel Mix was:

• Coal: 34%
• Gas: 20%
• Nuclear: 6%
• Renewable: 36%
• Other sources: 4%
• And produced CO2 of 42og/kWh and High Level Radioactive Waste of 0.00055g/kWh

Over the same period the national average was:

• Coal: 34.0%
• Gas: 25.6%
• Nuclear: 21.6%
• Renewable: 16.7%
• Other sources: 2.1%

Producing CO2 of 428g/kWh and High Level Radioactive Waste of 0.0017g/kWh

To find out more visit our Guide to Fuel Mix.

Getting in touch

Does Drax sound like the business energy supplier you’re looking for? If so call now on 0800-208-8301 or alternatively the fastest way to authorise us to work on your energy supply arrangements is to use our eSign service to agree our Evergreen Letter of Authority. Not sure if Drax is right for you? If you're looking at switching your energy supplier, we're here to help you determine whether Drax is right for you. We take the research, negotiation and paperwork off your hands and help you switch to a better deal with your choice of new energy supplier. How we help you switch your business energy supplier. Our team of energy experts can help you determine whether Drax is going to be the right supplier for you. The service we provide is independent and impartial, making sure that you get exactly the right deal for your business.