npower helps 10,000 SMEs commit to save energy

10,000 UK SMEs have had a helping hand to reduce their overheads and become more competitive, thanks to the support of energy supplier, npower.

npower has welcomed its 10,000th customer to its Smart Start (http://www.npower.com/Business/SmartStart ) scheme, a toolkit and advice service which helps SMEs save on their energy bills quickly, through easy to implement energy efficiency measures. These include turning equipment off and managing heating and ventilation systems, which can save up to 10% off their energy bills.

Patrick Harvey, npower's head of customer loyalty, said: "Helping 10,000 UK SMEs to save energy is a significant milestone for them and us. The Carbon Trust believes that businesses could save 10% on their energy bills through easy energy efficiency (http://www.npower.com/Home/Energy-efficiency/Saving-energy/index.htm ) measures: if each of these 10,000 SMEs saved 10% on their annual energy bill, up to £5 million* could have been saved already. This is testament to the impact that simple measures, such as those included in the SmartStart help and advice can have. The ethos behind SmartStart is to help businesses realise the savings they can make by providing the right advice and support. It’s great to see so many SMEs are taking energy efficiency seriously, and realising the rewards that can be achieved through such measures.

"We know from the findings of npower's latest Business Energy (http://www.npower.com/Business/ ) Index (nBEI) that 53% of small businesses do not have any methods in place to manage energy efficiency. I suspect this is because many do not have the resources themselves to research and implement energy efficiency measures, so with toolkits such as SmartStart this is taken care of and cost savings are easily achievable."

npower's SmartStart service includes a free energy monitor to help SMEs keep a close eye on how much energy they are consuming, so they can see where they can make savings. In addition, SMEs have access to expert advice via a dedicated helpline (0845 070 4019) enabling them to identify the simple measures which will make a big difference.

More information on how npower can help SMEs reduce emissions and cut costs can be found at www.npower.com/Business/SmartStart.

Notes to editors:
*This figure is based on an average energy cost saving of £500 per SmartStart customer

About npower:
npower is one of the top energy suppliers (http://www.npower.com/Home/index.htm ) to the UK business market, serving over 238,000 small to medium sized enterprise sites and around 17,000 industrial and commercial customers, with over 100,000 sites.

npower is dedicated to helping UK businesses use energy more efficiently and therefore spend less money on their bills. It aims to have a positive impact on the communities it serves and reduce its customers' carbon footprint whilst always improving our service to customers.

npower specialises in risk management solutions, including market-leading flexible energy purchasing, energy efficiency, and broader energy management functions, tailored to every size of business.

npower is committed to helping its small business customers to improve their energy efficiency. npower smartstart offers business customers advice and guidance on reducing energy consumption. New business customers receive an energy monitor designed to improve their consumption awareness as well as access to a dedicated energy efficiency telephone helpline and website.

For major energy users, npower offers multi-utility management consultancy to enable organisations to improve efficiencies right across the procurement/consumption chain.

npower customers include BT, Wembley Stadium plc, AstraZeneca and Sainsbury's.

PR contact:
Sue Heritage
npower
Bridgwater Road
Worcester
WR4 9FP
01905 340876
www.npower.com

This release was published on openPR.