Recently I looked at the market for gas supply and a booklet produced to help the owner/manager of the small business to find the right supplier.

This week the electricity supply market comes under the spotlight. By June 1999 all electricity customers in Britain will be buyers in an open, competitive supply market. Businesses with an electricity demand below 100kW will be able to shop around to get the best deal on power supply just as they do for other purchases.

To give businesses the information they need to make informed choices in this open market, the CBI has just published a leaflet entitled 'Smaller business: Guide to buying power'. It sets out the schedule for opening up the supply market, and explains how different types of user will be phased in - from Phase One for business users on half-hourly meters, to Phase three for domestic users.

The guidance offers a suggested timetable for a business. The timetable begins three months before the new supply contract comes into force; let's call this E-Day.

At E-Day minus three months the company should be collecting information from potential suppliers, and deciding exactly what they need in terms of electricity supply.

At E-Day minus two months the company should have received supplier proposals, studied them and be in a position to let the contract. At E--Day minus one month the meters should be in place ready for the changeover.

The leaflet, produced by the CBI in partnership with PowerGen, also gives a range of other information, hints and tips. It provides a clear, concise and objective summary of the changing market and the implementation process.

Paul Twiddy is business information manager at Business Link Bradford & District.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.