Utility Aid has helped hundreds of charitable organisations make better use of their budgets by offering simple, clear and impartial advice on how to save money and make better energy purchasing decisions. Their services are available to all charities and have helped put several million pounds back into the not for profit sector. Through the Charity Utility Initiative (CUI), Utility Aid is working towards bringing disabled people back into employment as Energy Efficiency Managers. As a result of the contract with TEAM, Utility Aid has already been able to offer employment to one additional disabled person.
Utility Aid and TEAM collaboration recoups £230,000 for the UK charity sector
Utility Aid and TEAM began working together in April 2011, and during the first year have recouped £230,000 on utility charges through services provided to organisations from the UK charity sector. Utility Aid provides the opportunity for hundreds of charities in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, to receive an industry specific professional energy procurement service. 
Background
Utility Aid supports charities in the UK by ensuring that their utility spend is accurate. Investigating potential billing errors, assessing current supplier tariffs, negotiated rates and more, allows Utility Aid to avoid overcharges on energy costs on behalf of their customers and help them make better purchasing decisions. With 21 staff supporting their customers, Utility aid has grown rapidly since starting up in 2002 and is now an official energy partner of the Charities buying Group.
Saving money and reducing energy use for their clients are not the only aims of Utility aid. They also provide flexible employment opportunities and training for ex-military personnel, the disabled and the long term unemployed, who can move into the role of Energy Efficiency Managers.
TEAM and Utility Aid joined forces in 2011
William Campbell, national Sales Director at Utility Aid said, “We chose TEAM as a way forward in supporting our remote workers. Previously we’ve undertaken the bill validation ourselves in-house, but we felt having a partner on board would enhance our offering to clients. Working with TEAM allows for a more robust service to the charity sector that we that we represent. By working with TEAM Bureau we can speed up the process which helps our clients energy efficiency.
Responsible for setting up partnerships to benefit customers, William ensures the ongoing streamlining of service offerings to Utility Aid’s customers.
William Campbell goes on to explain how the relationship works, “We have Energy Efficiency managers who collate all the client information, take care of contract management and ensure that the utility bills are sent to TEAM for validation. TEAM supplies us with a report, which highlights any issues, and Utility Aid liaise directly with the utility supplier to resolve any problems on the client’s behalf.”
TEAM Bureau provides a service that reduces manual bill entry for staff at Utility Aid. The Bureau receives, registers, copies and enters utility bills into their Sigma Software System producing a detailed report. Any anomalies or pre-agreed limits (validation rules) at a site, or sites are then fed back to specialist Utility Aid Energy Efficiency Managers who will pursue any payment recovery issues.
Alice Peto, Customer Compliance Manager at Utility Aid comments on the success, “Because of the way we structure our partnership, our staff and suppliers save time on administration, for example in the case where utility bills haven’t been received by a customer. Utility Aid staff get job satisfaction through saving money for the charities, and ultimately our clients make cost savings.”
More than 70% of Utility Aid’s charity clients opt for bill validation. Please visit their website at www.utility-aid.co.uk to view testimonials as to why.
