Workshops draw hard,
in short bursts
Automotive sites have an awkward load shape: long stretches of moderate use, punctuated by equipment that pulls very hard for short periods. That combination is exactly the one that gets mispriced when a site is compared on total consumption alone.
What drives the bill
The load profile of a automotive site
Before anyone quotes you a rate, it is worth being clear about what your site actually does with electricity — because that, not the headline number, is what decides whether a plan fits.
Compressed air runs all day
Shop air is a continuous background draw whenever the workshop is open, and it is easy to forget it is there.
Spray booths are spiky
Booth heating and extraction pull hard and intermittently — the kind of peak that can drive demand charges on a larger connection.
Showrooms are lighting-led
Display lighting runs long hours, often well past trading, because the point of a showroom is to be seen.
Dealer groups are multi-site by nature
Sales, service and parts frequently sit on separate connections, sometimes on separate sites, always negotiated separately.
Where the peaks get you
A workshop’s total consumption can look modest while its peak draw does not. Booth heating, hoists and compressors starting together produce short, sharp demands that a connection has to be sized for — and on larger connections, being sized for it is itself a charge.
Sites that have only ever been compared on cents per unit tend to have never had this part of their bill read at all.
Group sites, separately signed
Dealer and service groups typically hold several connections — sometimes several at one address. Each was signed at a different time on a different arrangement, and no one has ever put them side by side. The consolidation work here is the same as it is in retail and hospitality, and so is the finding: the range across the group is wider than anyone assumed.
Where we look first
The review, in order
- Peak demand from booths, hoists and compressors on larger connections
- Every connection in the group compared against every other
- Showroom lighting hours against time-of-use charge structures
- Trade waste and disposal arrangements for workshop sites
- Connectivity where service booking and parts systems cannot drop
These are clients, named with the same disclosure as our homepage. We do not publish any client’s figures, contract terms or savings — those belong to them, not to our marketing.
Questions
What automotive operators ask us
Yes, and it is one of the places we are most useful. Multi-site operators usually have connections that were signed up at different times, on different price categories, in different lines areas, all landing as separate bills. Consolidating those ICPs onto a single arrangement — and getting one view of what the whole group actually spends — is core work for us, not an edge case.
ICP stands for Installation Control Point. It is the unique 15-character code — letters and numbers — for the physical electricity connection at your site. You will find it printed on your power bill, usually near the top, under a heading like "ICP" or "Installation number". It identifies the connection rather than the retailer, so it stays the same when you switch. That is exactly why we ask for it: it lets us look up the network and price category that genuinely apply to your site instead of guessing from your postcode.
Our fees, and any retailer commissions, are disclosed and agreed in writing before any switch. You will not find a charge you have not already seen written down and agreed to. If a number would surprise you later, it belongs in front of you now.
A real person. Every client gets a dedicated account manager who knows your sites, and you deal with the same person each time rather than re-explaining your business to whoever picks up.
Bill Health Check
Three questions, no bill, no contact details. You get a straight read on where businesses shaped like yours usually have room — on this page, right now.
Other sectors we work in
Your site, your numbers
See what your automotive site could pay
Your ICP, roughly what you use and roughly what you pay. Two minutes, and the comparison is run against the rates that genuinely apply to your connection.
No obligation · Fees agreed in writing before any switch