FAQs

Q: Who is the RFU?

The RFU stands for the Rugby Football Union, the governing body of Rugby Union in England. It’s role is to run and promote the sport, educate and train players and officials as well as organising the England national team. The RFU is owned by the 2,000 member clubs and represents around 2.5 million players.  For more information visit www.rfu.com

Q: Who is SSE?

SSE is a leading electricity and gas company, operating mainly in the UK and Ireland. It is the broadest based energy company in the UK, with interests in electricity and gas production, electricity and gas distribution, electricity and gas supply and electricity and gas services. For more information visit www.sse.com

SSE has:

·         Over 11,000 megawatts of capacity for generating electricity in power stations, hydro electric schemes and wind farms

·         Around 10 million customer accounts for electricity, gas and other home services 

·         Around 130,000km of overhead electricity lines and underground cables, delivering power to around 3.7 million homes, offices and businesses 

·         A 50% share of Scotia Gas Networks, which has around 75,000km of pipelines delivering gas to around 5.7 million homes, offices and businesses

·         The UK's largest onshore gas storage facility

·         One of the largest mechanical and electrical contracting businesses in the UK

Q: Who is Utility Aid?

Established in 2002, Utility Aid is an independent energy consultancy with the aim of saving organisations money on their utility bills. In the ten years since starting out, Utility Aid have already helped thousands of organisations save millions of pounds on their energy bills. For more infromation go to the Utility Aid wesbite www.utility-aid.co.uk

Q: How can I verify that SSE Rugby Energy is endorsed by the RFU?

If you would like to find out more about SSE’s role as the Official Energy Partner of the RFU then please contact the RFU’s press office on 0871 222 2120 or email them at media@therfu.com

Q: Is my club guaranteed a percentage  discount on our current energy bills?

We can’t guarantee an exact percentage that you will save on your energy bills as every club is different and each quote will be bespoke.

Q: What if my club isn’t the sole user of the facilties?

We appreciate that there will be many different scenarios for clubs up and down the country. The best thing to do is to contact Utility Aid  and discuss your situation with one of their support team to contact Utility Aid click here (link to ‘contact page’).

Q: Does it cost me anything to get a quote from Utility Aid?

There are absolutley no costs from SSE or Utility Aid to provide you with a quote. There is also no obligation to switch to SSE after being provided with a quote.

Q: What do I need to do to get a quote for my club’s energy supply?

You will need to go through the follwoing steps in order to get a quote:

1.       Contact Utility Aid to discuss your requirements and club details

2.       Print off, sign and return the ‘Letter of Authority’. You can download the Letter of Authority at SSErugby.com (link to LOA page)

3.       A Utility Aid representative will be in contact and request copies of your club’s last  energy bills (ideally 9 previous bills).  to conduct a ‘Desktop Audit’ and give you the most accurate quote possible.  They will need to see as many recent bills as possible to track and analyse your energy use.    

4.       After  a maximum of 14 days your Utility Aid representative will be in contact with a quote

Q: What is the Letter of Authority?

A Letter of Authority (LoA) allows Utility Aid to contact your existing energy supplier and gather more data relating to consumption and other auditable areas. Prior to this RFU member clubs will have to have supplied Utility Aid with the last nine months of copies of their gas and electricity invoices.  The Letter of Authority does NOT allow Utility Aid to place any contract on behalf of the RFU Member Club.

Q: What is a Desktop Audit?

A Desktop Audit is carried out by Utility Aid and checks various aspects of energy consumption and billing on individual meters on specific sites.  This is carried out by receiving recent copy invoices from the RFU Member Club from existing suppliers for both gas and electricity along with the Letter of Authority.  The Audit is FREE to RFU Members Clubs.

Q: What if I don’t have my last 9 months of energy bills?

Not a problem, one is the minimum, preferable the most recent bill.   Nine months worth of bills will mean a deeper analysis can be carried out to spot any seasonal trends. 

Q: How quickly can I switch to SSE?

This will depend on if you are currently in a contract and what type of meter you have. If you are in a contract we can only register your supply from the date that the existing contract expires however you can still agree the contract as part of the scheme now at current market rates. If you are not under a contract we can register your supply in 28 days if your meter is a quarterly billed meter (profile 01-04) or 5 working days if monthly billed (profiles 05-08) or Half Hourly metered (profile 00).

Q: What if I’m already on supply with SSE, is there any benefit to talking to Utility Aid?

Yes, you can still have an audit and identify where you can make savings.  By switching your tariff to the RFU scheme your rugby club can benefit with SSE rewards and you could save money on your renewal.

Q: How do I start my contract?                                                          

Once Utility Aid has collated all the data and carried out all the checks we will price the contract from the RFU Matrix which under the agreement to members has special RFU Member rates.  A comparison of existing contract and new prices will be sent and a copy of the contract inclusive of Invoice validation and Automated Meter Reading (where applicable).  The contract must be signed and returned on the pricing request day agreed and then confirmed by both SSE and Utility Aid.

Q:  What is the RFU Matrix?

The RFU Matrix is a set of prices specifically allocated to our RFU customers to ensure they receive the benefits of the scheme including reduced rates compared to standard SME business contract offers, energy audits, expert advice and rugby club rewards.

Q: What is Automated Meter Reading (AMR)?

Automated Meter Reading is commonly known as ‘smart metering’ which provides a meter read every half hour to a data collection point.  A club does not have to install AMR, and certainly it might not make financial sense for smaller clubs. However, Utility Aid will ensure that all RFU Members Clubs which must have AMR fitted under legislation are fitted. Utility Aid will provide AMR to clubs that request it and to whom it will add the most value and will then offer full support to monitor data and pass a monthly report on to the RFU Member Club.  The average consumption reduction after installation of an AMR meter is 10%.

AMR also is the first step to managing energy consumption by monitoring and targeting. Data collection will provide a ‘Before’ profile.  Any retro fit energy saving equipment can be monitored and results posted to RFU Member Clubs.  Utility Aid has dedicated Energy Efficiency Managers who are trained to advise how to reduce energy consumption on site.

Q:What is Invoice Validation?

Invoice Validation will check all areas of RFU Members’ invoices ensuring correct contract rates, VAT, CCL, no invoice, consecutive actual and estimated meter reads and many other checks.  A report will be given to the RFU Member after each invoice has been checked.  One invoice will be sent by the supplier to the RFU Member with an EDI file copy sent to Utility Aid to check.  Any invoices which are incorrect will be brought to the attention of the supplier and resolved by Utility Aid.  All this will give the client peace of mind that the energy costs are being controlled.

Q: What length of contract will I be offered?

The RFU Member Club will be offered a range of fixed price energy contracts. With an opportunity to align contracts to a common end date with other RFU Member Clubs.  The common end dates will allow ALL RFU members to tender their contract with one supplier as a group and receive a better rate than were the member to contract individually.                

Q:Are there any credit stipulations?

SSE, as with all energy suppliers carries out credit checks on all new contracts. SSE uses an online service from Experian. If the RFU Member Club is a non-limited company SSE will request additional financial transparency to assist with the credit check. This will be either be proprietor details (owners name, home address, date of birth and length of ownership) if applicable or latest accounts. This can help achieve a credit pass.

If a suitable credit score is not obtained a security deposit may be requested in order to proceed with a supply contract.

Q: Who will manage the RFU member’s account?

Utility Aid will appoint a dedicated RFU Member Club Account Manager to deal with all stages of the process and be the point of contact for reporting or queries. You will be given both an email address and phone number to contact them however you want.

Q: What if I want to upgrade my club’s facilities?

In the first instance you should email enquiries@ssecontracting.com or call 0845 070 2019. From there you will be given advice about any available funding and the best person to speak to at SSE for a quote for the work you wish to undertake.

Q: Who will be conducting the energy audits?

The energy audits will be conducted by Nottingham Energy Partnership (www.nottenergy.com). Clubs whose annual energy spend is under £2,000 will receive a desktop audit whilst those clubs with an annual energy spend of more than £2,000 will receive a site visit.

Q: Why would my new energy quote be higher than my current contract?

Many clubs have a fixed term energy supply contract, in some cases this can be up to three years in length. Therefore, many clubs will still be paying electricity bills based on the market prices of 2009 (or subsequent years when they originally took out their supply contract.)  If you have a contract like this, you have been protected from the energy price rises that have since then.  However, when you go to renew your contract you will be quoted on the higher prices that exist in today’s market and this could result in a higher bill for your club.