Report highlights business concerns over energy costs, red tape, and lack of data insights

The latest Business Energy Tracker report from nPower has revealed the challenges around costs, data, and regulatory red tape that UK business energy users are facing. 

The 2024 edition of the tracker report surveyed large energy users and examines the impact of energy market conditions and policy decisions on businesses’ attitudes towards energy, risk, and investment. 

A key finding of the report is that energy remains a top business risk for 40% of organisations. However, there is a more positive outlook on energy costs, with 81% of businesses predicting either no change (48%) or a slight decrease (33%) in their energy costs over the next 12 months.

Businesses are largely managing their energy risks through energy efficiency (57%), followed by on-site generation and using energy management tools (37% for both). However, half of them said cost was the greatest barrier to implementing these.

The report also highlights the increasing awareness and proactive use of energy consumption data among businesses, with 84% of respondents stating that they analyse their energy data on a monthly basis. 

That said, the report reveals a concerning lack of awareness around the upcoming Market-wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) reform, a major industry development that is expected to shape the way electricity is generated, used, and stored. The MHHS reform, set to be implemented between 2025 and 2026, will bring a much more granular level of data, which could be overwhelming for businesses that do not have a good understanding of their energy usage.

To address this challenge and other pressing concerns, the report outlines three critical measures that businesses believe the government should prioritise:

1. Providing support to manage energy demand, such as grants or tax breaks for energy efficiency measures, on-site generation, and energy management platforms.
2. Simplifying non-commodity costs, which have risen considerably in recent years, and reducing the reporting requirements associated with these charges.
3. Reducing red tape for renewable energy schemes and other energy initiatives, to streamline the deployment of these technologies.

In response to these findings, npower Business Solutions is launching a ‘Red Tape Challenge’ campaign, which aims to give businesses, partners, and stakeholders a platform to provide feedback and shape policy decisions related to energy and net zero targets.

Ben Whitelam, director of commercial, npower:

“Taking all the findings of this year’s Business Energy Tracker into account, the ‘Red Tape Challenge’ will be a new movement that brings together the collective voices of businesses, partners and stakeholders, letting the government know what needs to be done to accomplish their goals. Ultimately, what energy and net zero policies do – and do not – work?

“We’re hoping this campaign gives you the opportunity to shape policy, gain confidence when making vital net zero investments, and keep the UK on track to meet its sustainability and energy security targets.”

You can have your say here.

Download a free copy of the Business Energy Tracker report here.