Great expectations – the complexity of delivering on the promise for business energy costs

Stories of hardship to businesses from rising energy prices have become much more prevalent in recent weeks as the critical 1 October date for new supply contracts looms.

Our recent insight paper Weathering the storm: Mitigating the impact of energy price hikes for businesses set out some of the reasons for the concern, the distributive impacts, and the market responses. In this blog, we review the actions the UK government has taken since we published our insight paper.

Related thinking

Home supply and services

Ofgem strives to improve consumer experiences across both the domestic and non-domestic sectors

Over the last week, a number of anticipated publications were issued by Ofgem that hold the potential to make a significant change to the requirements on both domestic and non-domestic suppliers. The findings of Ofgem’s non-domestic market review were revealed, alongside a policy consultation on the options available to address...

E-mobility and low carbon

2022’s most exciting ‘Charts of the Week’

Some of our team have looked back throughout 2022 and picked their most exciting ‘Chart of the Week’.​Their choices include exploring green tariffs, wholesale gas prices, CfD allocation round 4 and the MHHS Implementation Levy.  It’s My Birthday – Two years of Dynamic Containment Picked by Tom Faulkner, Head of...

Business supply and services

Improvements for microbusinesses in the market begin to take effect

Before energy prices began to really soar, in March this year we saw the final package of reforms following the Microbusiness Strategic Review from Ofgem. The outcome of the review was to introduce changes to supplier licence conditions that would improve how microbusinesses are treated in the market. The new...

Low carbon generation

RESS 3 consultation: DECC is listening, but the true test will be in the detail of the solutions incorporated 

The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) published the consultation for the third round of the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS 3) on 28 October 2022. Some of the issues drawn out in the consultation is a testimony that DECC has its ears on the ground and is...

Energy storage and flexibility

From zero to hero: Can CfDs split markets and reduce costs this winter?

Given media comment on the imposition of a revenue cap for low carbon generators instead of migration of existing projects onto a CfD, please find below a blog published by Cornwall Insight three weeks ago. Not only did this note the possibility of the revenue cap being a fall back...

Regulation and policy

One-hit wonder? Assessing the government’s business support scheme

Subsidising the unprecedented cost of energy for both households and businesses came in at the forefront of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng’s “mini-budget” last Friday. Described as “one of the biggest interventions ever made”, Kwarteng confirmed a three-step plan. Firstly, as announced on 8 September, the introduction of...

Energy storage and flexibility

Electricity network reform: where are we now?

In its Energy Security Strategy (ESS), the UK government set out ambitions for 95% of electricity to be sourced from low carbon generation by 2030 and for the UK to have a fully decarbonised electricity system by 2035. In order to accommodate this ambition, the electricity network will need to...

Business supply and services

The Energy Price Guarantee, a Path Through Stormy Seas?

Upon taking office on 6 September 2022, the first piece of major policy introduced by the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, is the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), announced on 8 September 2022. The EPG is a series of support measures targeted at protecting domestic and business consumers from soaring energy...