Chesterfield Cattery

"It was a real worry at the time."

• Location: Derbyshire
• Sector: Pets
• Saving: £1.5k
  
  
  

Debbie Thomas runs the Chesterfield Cattery in Derbyshire. As an ex- veterinary nurse, she can cater for most cats' needs including administering medication and injections. It has room for 46 cats and, out of all the overheads faced by the business, electricity is the most punishing, thanks largely to heat lamps that run constantly 24/7 from October throughout the Winter period.

Half way through last year, Debbie's five year contract was about to expire and so the supplier wrote to her with a renewal notification. Debbie was expecting a slight increase but not the three-fold hike in the unit rate that she was served with. Horrified, she rang round a couple of brokers to see if she could switch supplier. Make It Cheaper came up with the best company electric deal at around 10p per unit and, significantly, a much lower rate (5.7p) for night units.